Pai gow poker is a game that combines the Asian tile game of pai gow with traditional poker. Unlike online poker where you play against other live opponents, online pai gow poker is played against a computerized dealer supplied by the online casino.
This simplifies the game considerably and allows you to focus on playing your own hand, rather than worrying about a table full of players dealing with decisions, such as who will choose to be the banker, who will act first and how they will assemble their hands. Online, it's just you trying to beat the house.
Beating the house at online pai gow poker is difficult, because you must pay the casino a five percent commission on every winning bet. This is the house edge, and it's why they feature the game. However, you can make an effort to insure that that five percent edge is the only advantage the casino has over you.
Believe in "The House Way"
On your online pai gow poker screen, you will be presented with the option to arrange your cards "The House Way." If you choose this option, the computer will arrange your cards for you. The computer arranges the cards the same way it arranges its own hand, so you are not giving the online casino any special edge by having the house arrange your cards. In fact, choosing to arrange them yourself may cost you money.
Don't Believe in "The House Way"
Well, believe, but verify. If you're not convinced that the house arrangement is optional, there are online pai gow poker hand calculators that can calculate the expected win value of every possible card combination based on the seven cards you provide, and will give you readout of the best configuration. Since you're playing online, you can use these calculators in a separate window as you play.
Watch Out for Rounding
Some online casino software for pai gow poker may round your commission up to the nearest 25 cents. This may not seem like a big deal, but it can add up, and increases the house edge. If your online casino does this, be sure to bet in multiples of five dollars, so the commission will always come out even.
Quit While You're Ahead
If you play long enough, that five percent commission will catch up with you. Set a win/loss goal and quit when you've reached it. This will make sure you have fun while playing and are able to protect a nice win when you get one.
