Pai Gow Payoffs and
Parlay Fever
3 February 2006
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
How do I play three pairs in Pai Gow Poker?
Should the highest go up front, or the second
highest? Also, how about this for your unusual
file? The dealer and I copied hand four
consecutive times. Shawn R.
Pai Gow (which rhymes with pie now) Poker is
played with up to six players and a banker, each
being dealt seven cards. There are no draws. You
strategically arrange your seven cards into two
poker hands, one hand of two cards and the other
of five. To win, both your two-card hand and
your five-card hand must beat the banker's
corresponding hands. Winning one hand and losing
the other is a push (tie), and you neither win
nor lose.
Pai Gow Poker also has a 53rd card, the joker,
and that jester can be used as a wild card in a
straight, a flush, straight flushes, or as an
ace. The hierarchy of Pai Gow poker hands is
comparable to that of typical poker hands,
except that a five-ace hand (four aces plus the
joker) outranks a royal flush.
Newbies at Pai Gow Poker typically make two
rookie mistakes. They fail to see a five-card
flush or straight, or they incorrectly set their
hands when dealt two or more pairs. Since
two-pair hands appear fairly often, setting them
correctly is imperative. Perfect strategy
protocol for playing two pairs is this: If your
hand has either an unmatched Ace or King, keep
the two pairs in your five-card hand. If you
have neither, play the lower-ranking pair as the
two-card hand.
As for three pairs, always use the highest pair
in your two-card hand, and the second and third
highest pairs in your five-card hand.
Your heap of consecutive copies, Shawn, was
eerie because you lost, but it happens. For
those needing to know, a copy is where the
player and banker have identical two-card or
five-card hands. For example, let's say both you
and the dealer each have a King and Queen as
your two-card hands. Copies always go to the
banker, giving him/her a built-in advantage over
the player.
Dear Mark,
Do pushes on parlay bets win if you tie a game?
The bookie I use won't pay if one of the games
ties. Chuck D.
Being that your return mail address shows me
that you don’t reside in one of the two states
where sports betting is legal (Nevada and
Oregon), I surmised, Chuck, that your bookie
operates from the left of the law. Besides,
land-based "legal" casinos usually don't
penalize for pushes. Most legal bookmakers will
still pay off your parlay wager even if one or
more selections ties. When a push occurs, then
the wager simply reverts to the next lower
number of bets made. For example, if you place a
six-team parlay and you have five winners and a
push, your bet pays out as a five-team parlay.
If you place a two-team parlay and one team wins
and one pushes, the wager becomes a straight
bet. Likewise, if any of your picks loses, your
wager loses, regardless of the outcome of the
other games.
It seems the only winner here, Chuckie, is your
bookie.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "A casino is like a
beehive. You know there is honey in it, but to
get at it, you have to endure many stings." --VP
Pappy
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