Jackpot Pai Gow Poker. A $100,000 for the top win is assumed and a $5 bet, for a win of 20,000 to one. The table also assumes the player will always set his hand to maximize the value of the side bet, at the possible cost of his pai gow poker bet. The lower left cell shows a house edge of 2.21%, which for a side bet is pretty good. Fortune Pai Gow Poker at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino is pai gow poker with an optional bonus element.
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On This Page
Introduction
This section contains my analysis of the following pai gow poker side bets:
Dealer Bonus
Please see my page on the Dealer Bonus for information on that side bet.
Fortune Pai Gow Poker
Please see my page on the Fortune side bet for information on that side bet.
Jackpot Pai Gow Poker
'Jackpot' is a side bet I noticed at the Rio in November 2005. The game was closed at the time so the top prize was not evident, but according to the Shufflemaster web site it is alternatively $25,000, $50,000, or $100,000.
The following table shows the probability and return for each possible event. A $100,000 for the top win is assumed and a $5 bet, for a win of 20,000 to one. The table also assumes the player will always set his hand to maximize the value of the side bet, at the possible cost of his pai gow poker bet. The lower left cell shows a house edge of 2.21%, which for a side bet is pretty good.
Jackpot Pai Gow Poker Return Table
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Royal plus Pair of Aces* | 20000 | 12 | 0.00000008 | 0.001557 |
| Five Aces plus Pair | 400 | 72 | 0.00000047 | 0.000187 |
| Royal Flush plus Pair | 200 | 1560 | 0.00001012 | 0.002024 |
| Five Aces | 200 | 1056 | 0.00000685 | 0.00137 |
| Royal Flush | 100 | 24560 | 0.00015933 | 0.015933 |
| Straight Flush plus Pair | 60 | 11748 | 0.00007621 | 0.004573 |
| Four of a Kind plus Pair | 40 | 57648 | 0.00037399 | 0.01496 |
| Straight Flush | 30 | 173084 | 0.00112288 | 0.033686 |
| Four of a Kind | 20 | 249824 | 0.00162073 | 0.032415 |
| Full House plus Pair | 12 | 150480 | 0.00097624 | 0.011715 |
| Flush plus Pair | 8 | 489260 | 0.00317406 | 0.025393 |
| Straight plus Pair | 6 | 1155536 | 0.00749652 | 0.044979 |
| Full House | 6 | 4024560 | 0.02610925 | 0.156655 |
| Flush | 4 | 5631420 | 0.03653372 | 0.146135 |
| Straight | 3 | 10145388 | 0.06581799 | 0.197454 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 7470676 | 0.04846585 | 0.096932 |
| Nothing | -1 | 124556196 | 0.80805571 | -0.808056 |
| Total | 154143080 | 1 | -0.022088 |
* Both royal flush and pair of aces must be natural (no joker) for highest win.
If the top prize is less than $100,000, or the player bets more than $5 on the side bet, the return will be slightly less. The next table shows the house edge according to various other wins for a natural royal plus pair of aces according to the win on a to one basis.
House Edge by Highest Win
| Natural Royal plus Aces Pays | House Edge |
|---|---|
| 20000 | 2.21% |
| 10000 | 2.29% |
| 5000 | 2.33% |
| 4000 | 2.33% |
| 3000 | 2.34% |
| 2000 | 2.35% |
| 1000 | 2.36% |
Emperor's Challenge
Emperor's Challenge is a side bet I noticed at Hooter's Casino in Las Vegas in April, 2006. The following return table shows the probability and return of all possible outcomes. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 4.171%.
Emperor's Challenge Return Table
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural 7-card straight flush | 5000 | 32 | 0.00000021 | 0.001038 |
| Wild 7-card straight flush | 1000 | 196 | 0.00000127 | 0.001272 |
| Five aces | 500 | 1128 | 0.00000732 | 0.003659 |
| Royal Flush | 150 | 26092 | 0.00016927 | 0.025391 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 184644 | 0.00119787 | 0.059894 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 | 307472 | 0.00199472 | 0.049868 |
| Full House | 5 | 4188528 | 0.02717299 | 0.135865 |
| Flush | 4 | 6172088 | 0.04004129 | 0.160165 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 7672500 | 0.04977518 | 0.149326 |
| Straight | 2 | 11034204 | 0.07158417 | 0.143168 |
| 9 high pai gow | 40 | 31080 | 0.00020163 | 0.008065 |
| 10 high pai gow | 5 | 248640 | 0.00161305 | 0.008065 |
| J high pai gow | 2 | 963480 | 0.00625056 | 0.012501 |
| Nonpaying hand | -1 | 123312996 | 0.79999048 | -0.79999 |
| Total | 154143080 | 1 | -0.041714 |
I hear that in Washington State the player must bet at least $5 to qualify for the pai gow hands.
Progressive Pai Gow Poker
The Falls View casino in Niagara Falls Ontario offers 'Progressive Pai Gow Poker'. This is basic pai gow poker with an added $5 side bet.
The following table shows the return table based on a breakeven meter of 20536.05 bet units, which for a $5 bet is $102,680.24. The house edge at all other times is 11.5428% less 1.1242% for every $10,000 in the meter.
Progressive Pai Gow Poker Return Table
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Royal Flush or Five Aces + pair | 20536.05 | 336 | 0.000002 | 0.044764 |
| Wild Royal Flush + pair | 200 | 1260 | 0.000008 | 0.001635 |
| Straight Flush + pair | 50 | 11748 | 0.000076 | 0.003811 |
| Four of a Kind + pair | 40 | 57648 | 0.000374 | 0.01496 |
| Full House + pair | 12 | 150480 | 0.000976 | 0.011715 |
| Flush + pair | 8 | 489260 | 0.003174 | 0.025393 |
| Straight + pair | 4 | 1117388 | 0.007249 | 0.028996 |
| Natural Royal Flush or Five Aces | 2053.6 | 5304 | 0.000034 | 0.070664 |
| Wild Royal Flush | 100 | 20360 | 0.000132 | 0.013209 |
| Straight Flush | 25 | 173084 | 0.001123 | 0.028072 |
| Four of a Kind | 20 | 249824 | 0.001621 | 0.032415 |
| Full House | 6 | 4030416 | 0.026147 | 0.156883 |
| Flush | 4 | 5663712 | 0.036743 | 0.146973 |
| Straight | 2 | 10071516 | 0.065339 | 0.130677 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 7544548 | 0.048945 | 0.09789 |
| Nothing | -1 | 124556196 | 0.808056 | -0.808056 |
| Total | 154143080 | 1 | 0 |
Pai Gow Insurance
Pai gow 'Insurance' is a side bet that I noticed at the Red Rock casino in August, 2008. It appeared along with the Emperor's Challenge side bet. A 'pai gow' in pai gow poker is a hand with seven singletons, where no straight or flush is possible. This side bet wins if the player had a pai gow, the lower the highest card, the more it pays. The following return table shows the details. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 7.35%.
Pai Gow Insurance
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 high pai gow | 100 | 31080 | 0.000202 | 0.020163 |
| 10 high pai gow | 25 | 248640 | 0.001613 | 0.040326 |
| J high pai gow | 15 | 963480 | 0.006251 | 0.093758 |
| Q high pai gow | 7 | 2719500 | 0.017643 | 0.123499 |
| K high pai gow | 5 | 6386940 | 0.041435 | 0.207176 |
| A high pai gow | 3 | 14430780 | 0.093619 | 0.280858 |
| Loser | -1 | 129362660 | 0.839238 | -0.839238 |
| Total | 154143080 | 1 | -0.073457 |
Lucky 8's
Please see my page on the Lucky 8's for information on that side bet.
Pai Gow'd
Pai Gow'd is a side bet I noticed at the Four Queens on December 26, 2011. It is exactly like Pai Gow Insurance, explained above, but with a modified pay table. The lower right corner of the odds table below shows a house edge of 6.44%.
Pai Gow'd
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 high pai gow | 100 | 31080 | 0.000202 | 0.020163 |
| 10 high pai gow | 50 | 248640 | 0.001613 | 0.080652 |
| J high pai gow | 10 | 963480 | 0.006251 | 0.062506 |
| Q high pai gow | 7 | 2719500 | 0.017643 | 0.123499 |
| K high pai gow | 5 | 6386940 | 0.041435 | 0.207176 |
| A high pai gow | 3 | 14430780 | 0.093619 | 0.280858 |
| Loser | -1 | 129362660 | 0.839238 | -0.839238 |
| Total | 154143080 | 1 | -0.064384 |
The Jokolor is a side bet mentioned on page 85 in the a document titled Rules of casino games in Great Britain (1124K). The side bet wins if the player has a joker and/or all cards of the same color. The following table shows the house edge is 3.90%.
Jokolor
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Six cards same color plus joker | 30 | 460460 | 0.002987 | 0.089617 |
| Seven cards same color, without joker | 10 | 1315600 | 0.008535 | 0.085349 |
| Any hand with joker | 5 | 19898060 | 0.129088 | 0.645441 |
| Loser | -1 | 132468960 | 0.85939 | -0.85939 |
| Total | 154143080 | 1 | -0.038982 |
This side bet is paired with pai gow poker games, including EZ Pai Gow, offering the G3 electronic side bet wagering. As far as I can tell at the Rampart casino, it is just titled the 'Bonus Bet.'
Bonus Bet Return Table
| Event | Dynasty Pays | Envy Bonus | Combinations | Probability | Dynasty Return | Envy Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural 7-card Straight Flush | 8000 | $ 5000 | 32 | 0.000000 | 0.001661 | 0.000208 |
| Royal Flush + Natural AQ Suited | 2000 | $ 1000 | 72 | 0.000000 | 0.000934 | 0.000093 |
| Wild 7-card Straight Flush | 1000 | $ 500 | 196 | 0.000001 | 0.001272 | 0.000127 |
| Five Aces | 400 | $ 250 | 1128 | 0.000007 | 0.002927 | 0.000366 |
| Royal Flush | 150 | $ 50 | 26020 | 0.000169 | 0.025321 | 0.001688 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | $ 20 | 184644 | 0.001198 | 0.059894 | 0.004791 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 | $ 5 | 307472 | 0.001995 | 0.049868 | 0.001995 |
| Full House | 5 | $ 0 | 4188528 | 0.027173 | 0.135865 | 0.000000 |
| Flush | 4 | $ 0 | 6172088 | 0.040041 | 0.160165 | 0.000000 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | $ 0 | 7672500 | 0.049775 | 0.149326 | 0.000000 |
| Straight | 2 | $ 0 | 11034204 | 0.071584 | 0.143168 | 0.000000 |
| Losing combinations | -1 | $ 0 | 124556196 | 0.808056 | -0.808056 | 0.000000 |
| Total: | 154143080 | 1.000000 | -0.077656 | 0.009268 |
The next table shows the overall house edge according to the number of players, including yourself, and various bet amounts. Note that the high edge is lowest at a bet of $1. This is because the win for the Envy Bonus is the same, regardless how much the player bets.
Bonus Bet House Edge
| Players | $1-$4 bet | $5 bet | $10 bet | $15 bet | $25 bet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 7.77% | 3.13% | 5.45% | 6.22% | 6.84% |
| 5 | 7.77% | 4.06% | 5.91% | 6.53% | 7.02% |
| 4 | 7.77% | 4.99% | 6.38% | 6.84% | 7.21% |
| 3 | 7.77% | 5.91% | 6.84% | 7.15% | 7.39% |
| 2 | 7.77% | 6.84% | 7.30% | 7.46% | 7.58% |
| 1 | 7.77% | 7.77% | 7.77% | 7.77% | 7.77% |
This is a progressive side bet found with G3 electronic betting units. The player may bet $1 to $25. All jackpot wins are the same, regardless of bet size, so I would never bet more than $1. As usual with progressive bets, wins are on a 'for one' basis. That means you don't get your original bet back, even if you win. To be consistent with other pages on this site, the following page is on a 'return basis,' meaning what the player can expect to get back for his bet, based on a $1 bet.
G3 Progressive
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7-card Straight Flush | Jackpot | $ 228 | 0.000001 | 0.000000 |
| Five Aces | 0.1×Jackpot | $ 1,128 | 0.000007 | 0.000000 |
| Royal Flush | $500 | $ 26,092 | 0.000169 | 0.084636 |
| Straight Flush | $100 | $ 184,644 | 0.001198 | 0.119787 |
| Four of a Kind | $75 | $ 307,472 | 0.001995 | 0.149604 |
| Full House | $4 | $ 4,188,528 | 0.027173 | 0.108692 |
| All other | 0 | $ 149,434,988 | 0.969456 | 0.000000 |
| Total | 154,143,080 | 1.000000 | 0.462719 |
The bottom right corner shows a return of 46.27% on all fixed wins. The value of the progressive is 22.11% for each $100,000 in the meter. To reach 100% the meter would need to be $243,011.06.When I saw this bet at the Rampart casino on March 17, 2011, the meter was at $207,361, for a return of 92.12%. This was probably unusually high, because the Rampart has had a truck with a big sign in the back drive around Summerlin promoting the large jackpot.
Why can't the envy bonus just apply to the dealer's hand as well? The envy part of the bonus cuts the house edge of the bet so little that I think letting the dealer's hand count toward the envy bonus would be a nice little benefit.
It'd be great to have the dealer get a royal flush with no top and everyone at the table be delighted.
Dan, make this happen!
First royal I ever witnessed in PGP was the dealer's hand at the MGM Grand.
I always think where there's a bet that can have an annoying factor (obvious one is 5-card poker where your straight flush bonus isn't paid if the dealer doesn't qualify) it eventually p***es off punters.
I have not played there, but at least one casino in NE Iowa pays the envy on the dealer's hand.
Thank you!! I knew I'd been somewhere this year that paid based on the dealer's hand.
While I'm on the subject of making table games better, maybe Paigowdan can answer this question for me...
Why can't the envy bonus just apply to the dealer's hand as well? The envy part of the bonus cuts the house edge of the bet so little that I think letting the dealer's hand count toward the envy bonus would be a nice little benefit.
It'd be great to have the dealer get a royal flush with no top and everyone at the table be delighted.
Dan, make this happen!
Fins, Envy is an arbitrary rule - it can be 'declared' to pay on any hand, including the dealer's, possibly with submitting a rule change to gaming. This change WILL reduce the HA of the bonus bet by about 0.8%, because of the additional envy payout possibility.
Fins, Envy is an arbitrary rule - it can be 'declared' to pay on any hand, including the dealer's, possibly with submitting a rule change to gaming. This change WILL reduce the HA of the bonus bet by about 0.8%, because of the additional envy payout possibility.
So you're saying, that you as the game designer cannot make that part of your bonus rules?
So you're saying, that you as the game designer cannot make that part of your bonus rules?
No, not at all. I certainly could have, - but simply chose not to. Why? Well for two reasons:
1. The concept of Envy was to envy the other players, not the dealer, as a semantic decision.
2. It would reduce the house edge with no offsetting 'dealer type bet.'
If there is enough demand to include the dealer's hand for Envy payouts, it will be considered (and probably be dismissed, in all honesty) by casino operators and my distributor.
On a side note, I'm always more envious of dealer's hands than I am of other players' hands.
Thanks for the feedback.
On a side note, I'm always more envious of dealer's hands than I am of other players' hands.
Agreed... funny story on EZ Pai Gow from my last Council Bluffs trip...
I was playing both sides of the bonus (Insurance and High Hand). I turn over a Jack-high Pai Gow, which pays a respectable 15-1 on the bonus. I was pretty happy, as I was going to make $50 on the hand.... dealer turns over, a 9-high Pai Gow... sure I won the hand, but I'd rather get $500 and lose, rather than the $70 win!
A nine-high?? I once caught one with $7 on insurance - $700 big ones. My wife took five black chips, and left me two, to play craps after PGP. She explained to me that 'it's not your money - it's OUR money....that's different!' Oh....By the way, insurance is a great bet, IMO. ANYTIME you make money on your losers you're a genius. I disagree with some pundits on this.
Pai Gow Poker Envy Bonus Payouts
Actually, we have noticed that games with PG Insurance actually have lower holds, as it diverts a lot of money back to the players on hands otherwise fully lost, because both the bonus table and insurance tables are somewhat bottom-heavy, or biased to overpay on lower hits than higher wins. This causes a 'canceling' effect (similar to simultaneous play of pass line and don't pass bets) - as many players' losers are effectively winners.
When a deck is 'out of norm,' with a lot of 'outside hands' (bonus hands occuring along with a lot of pai gows), the money comes out of the rack. Tables with both bets have a negative effect on table hold, as few player sessions have hands that are strictly limited to one and two pairs only. A lot of casino operators order the game's layout felt with no Pai Gow insurance bets on them, for a reason. It is a trend.
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