Face Up Pai Gow Poker adds an exciting twist to the classic casino card game because the players can see the dealer’s cards. That information comes at a cost, though, as each hand is an automatic push if the dealer’s best five-card combo is an ace-high.
I provide a complete explanation of the rules below, highlighting the odds, payouts, and house edge of Face Up Pai Gow Poker. If you read until the end, you’ll also find my strategy tips that can improve your results!
How to Play Face Up Pai Gow Poker?
In Face Up Pai Gow, your goal is to create two poker hands, one five-card and one two-card hand, that beat the dealer’s respective hands. Unlike traditional Pai Gow, the dealer’s cards are dealt face up right from the start.
Every round of Face Up Pai Gow begins with the players making their ante wagers. The dealer uses a 53-card deck, which includes a joker. As with the traditional game, the Pai Gow joker is wild but can only act as an ace to complete a straight, flush, or straight flush.
The dealer gives every player seven cards, placing their cards face up. After you get your cards, you must decide which cards go in your high hand and which go in the low hand. The high and low hands have five and two cards, respectively.
Like traditional Pai Gow, your five-card high hand must beat your two-card low hand. Also, the ace-to-five straight is the second-best straight in the game.
After players and the dealer construct their hands, it is time to decide the winner. If both your hands beat the dealer’s hands, you win. When the results are split, it is a push, and you lose if the dealer’s hands beat both of yours.
Also, in Face Up Pai Gow Poker, the round automatically ends in a push if the dealer’s best five-card hand is ace-high. However, there’s a side bet on that.
Face Up Pai Gow Side Bets
In addition to the ante wager, there are two Pai Gow side bets available in Face Up games.
- Ace-High Bonus: A side wager that wins if the dealer’s best hand is Ace-High
- Fortune Bonus: A side bet that wins if the player’s five-card hand is a straight or better
Since these are side bets, they are paid out separately from the ante wager and you need to wager an extra bet to qualify.
Face Up Pai Gow Odds, Payouts, and House Edge
Here are the key numbers behind Face Up Pai Gow:
- True odds to win: 24.79%
- Payout: 1:1
- House edge: 1.81%
You have roughly a one in four chance of beating both the dealer’s hands and winning your ante wager and netting an even-money payout.
For comparison, the house edge in classic Pai Gow Poker ranges between 2.5% and 3.0%. The Face Up Pai Gow house edge is lower because you can see the dealer’s cards, and there is no commission.
In both games, the RTP is only theoretical and only applies if you play with optimal strategy.
Face Up Pai Gow Strategy
Here are three strategy tips to help you win at Face Up Pai Gow.
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The Face Up Pai Gow rules require your five-card hand to be better than your two-card hand. If you set your hands incorrectly, you forfeit the round and lose your stake. So, also double-check your hands before revealing them.
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The player has an advantage in Face Up games because they can see the dealer’s cards. Take advantage of this feature and look at the dealer’s cards. This will help you determine how strong their hands are going to be and guide you in setting your own hands in the optimal way.
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Splitting pairs is a risky but potentially profitable move. Namely, splitting a high pair, like aces, can help you beat the dealer’s two-card hand and force a push.
Where to Find Face Up Pai Gow Poker?
Unfortunately, Face Up Pai Gow Poker is rare to find because of the more favorable rules for the players. Most casinos, online or land-based, don’t offer this variant of the game.
If you want to play regular pai gow online, I strongly recommend checking BetUS. The casino offers a few different tables with flexible limits.
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