Tips and Strategies for Winning at Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Poker is a cool card game that mixes classic poker with the Chinese game of Pai Gow. You get seven cards and have to make two hands: a five-card hand (the big one) and a two-card hand (the small one). The trick is to make sure your five-card hand is always better than your two-card hand. It's gaining popularity in Kenyan online casinos.

Unlike the usual poker games you might play with your friends, Pai Gow Poker makes you split your cards into two hands. Plus, there's a joker that can act like an ace or complete special hands. It’s a bit slower-paced, and you've got to think about how both your hands measure up against the dealer's.

The joker is like a semi-wild card. It can finish off a straight, flush, or straight flush. If it can't do any of those, it just becomes an ace. This joker adds an extra layer of strategy to the game.

To win at Pai Gow Poker, balancing your hands is crucial because you need to beat both of the dealer's hands. If you only focus on making one super-strong hand, your other hand will be too weak, and you'll lose. You want two hands that can compete!

A common mistake is keeping a full house as your big hand. Even though a full house is strong in regular poker, in Pai Gow Poker, it’s often better to split it. Usually, you should put the three-of-a-kind in your five-card hand and the pair in your two-card hand to give yourself a better shot at winning both.

When you’ve got two pairs, the general rule is to split them up. But there are exceptions. Always split two high pairs (like Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces) and keep two small pairs together (like 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s or 6s). If you have one high pair and one low pair, split them unless you also have an ace. Then, play the ace with the low pair in your low hand.

If you have a hand without any pairs, straights, or flushes, the ace-high strategy is your best bet. Put your highest card (ideally an ace) in your five-card hand, and then use the next two highest cards in your two-card hand. This helps make both hands a little stronger.

Being the banker gives you a slight advantage because you win all ties. However, as the banker, you need to have enough cash to cover all the bets on the table, so make sure your bankroll can handle it.

To avoid getting tilted (making silly bets because you're annoyed), try to stay calm and focused. Pai Gow Poker takes patience. If you feel yourself getting frustrated, take a break or try a different game for a bit to clear your head.

For beginners, it’s a good idea to try out the game online before playing at a real casino. Many online casinos in Kenya offer free or low-stakes Pai Gow Poker games. This lets you learn the rules and strategies without risking too much of your money.

The best possible hand in Pai Gow Poker is five aces (four aces and a joker). This is because the joker acts as an ace in this scenario and creates the highest-ranking five-card hand.

You win in Pai Gow Poker by having both your five-card hand and your two-card hand rank higher than the dealer's corresponding hands. If only one of your hands is better, it’s a push (no win, no loss). If both of the dealer's hands are better, you lose your stake.

Pai Gow Poker is a blend of both luck and skill. The cards you are dealt are a matter of chance, but deciding how to split your hands requires a significant amount of skill and strategic thinking. Knowing the odds and probabilities also helps.

In Pai Gow Poker, an ace is always the highest-ranking card. When using the ace-high strategy, you place your highest card (preferably an ace) in the high hand and then use the next two highest cards in the low hand. This is especially important when you don't have any pairs, straights, or flushes.