Side Bets in Pai Gow Poker: Odds, Payouts, House Edge, and More

1. Fortune

• • Win condition: 3-of-a-kind or better
  • Odds: 21.05%
  • Payout: Up to 8,000 to 1
  • House edge: Up to 12%

The fortune bet in Pai Gow is one of the most common side wagers available in the popular table game. For this wager, the player must be able to create a 3-of-a-kind or better with their seven-card hand to win.

This wager is very similar to real-money video poker games. As long as you can make a 3-of-a-kind or better, you will win. However, your payout will depend on the strength of the hand you can create.

A typical payout table for the fortune side wager looks like this:

As you can see, this wager has one of the highest Pai Gow Poker side bets payouts.

Casinos can use different pay tables for this bet, so make sure the casino you are using offers player-friendly payouts. Also, because Pai Gow uses a “Joker,” it is possible to have a 5-of-a-kind.

However, the joker in Pai Gow can only be used to complete straights or act as an ace. Also, the best payouts are for natural hands that do not use a joker.

2. Diamondz

• Win condition: 6 or more “diamonds” appear on the board
• Odds: 10.34%
• Payout: Up to 1,000 to 1
• House edge: 11.93%

Another popular side wager in Pai Gow is the Diamondz bet. This wager, as the name suggests, rewards players based on the number of diamonds that are dealt for a given hand. The diamonds in both the player’s and the dealer’s hands count.

There are 14 cards total between your hand and the dealer’s. You need at least six of them to be diamonds in order to win a payout.

You have roughly a 7.69% chance of six diamonds appearing in the same round. When you account for all winning combinations, you have a 10.34% chance of winning this side bet.

The more diamonds that appear in the round, the bigger your payout is.

• • 6 diamonds pays 5-1
  • 7 diamonds pays 12-1
  • 8 diamonds pays 25-1
  • 9 diamonds pays 50-1
  • 10 diamonds pays 100-1
  • 11 diamonds pays 200-1
  • 12 diamonds pays 300-1
  • 13 diamonds pays 500-1
  • 14 diamonds pays 1000-1

Another important factor to consider for this wager is the role the joker plays. It will act as a diamond for the purposes of this bet.

3. Jokolor

• • Win condition: Have a joker and/or all cards of the same color
  • Odds: 14.061%
  • Payout: Up to 30 to 1
  • House edge: 3.90%

Next up is the uniquely named Jokolor bet. This wager has one of the best Pai Gow Poker side bets house edges of any wager on my list.

The easiest way to win this wager is to be dealt the joker. There are 53 cards in the deck, and you are dealt seven cards. So, the probability of you being dealt a joker on any given hand is 12.9088%.

You can also win if all the cards in your hand are the same color, which has less than a 1% chance of happening. For the best payout, you need both a joker and cards of the same color, which only has a .2987% chance of occurring.

In total, you have a 14.061% chance of winning this wager. On the bright side, the payout odds for the Jokolor side wager can be very rewarding.

• • Joker: 5 to 1
  • All cards are the same color: 10 to 1
  • Joker and all cards are the same color: 30 to 1

Note that this wager focuses on the color of the cards in your hand, not the suit. So, hearts and diamonds can work together, as well as spades and clubs.

4. Emperor’s Challenge

• • Win condition: Have a 9 High Pai Gow or better
  • Odds: 20%
  • Payout: Up to 5,000 to 1
  • House edge: 4.171%

There are also Pai Gow Poker side bets that reward players for having bad hands. The Emperor’s Challenge is arguably the most popular among them.

For this bet, it is important to know that, in addition to being the name of the game, “Pai Gow” refers to a hand that has no winning combination other than the high card.

See the table below for an example of payouts for this side wager.

As you can see, you can win the Emperor’s Challenge by having a strong hand. Or you can win a respectable prize for a qualifying Pai Gow hand.

In total, you have approximately a 20% chance, or a one-in-five shot, of winning this bet. The trade-off for so many winning combinations is a slight decrease in payouts compared to other Pai Gow side wagers.

5. Insurance

• • Win condition: Have a 9 High Pai Gow or better
  • Odds: 16.076%
  • Payout: Up to 100-1
  • House edge: 7.35%

Round out my list of the best Pai Gow side wagers is the insurance bet. If you are familiar with real-money blackjack, you likely already know the basics of this bet.

As with the Emperor’s Challenge, the insurance bet pays players even if they have a bad hand. In fact, the worse your hand, the better your payout will be.

• • Ace-high Pai Gow = 3-1
  • King-high Pai Gow = 5-1
  • Queen-high Pai Gow = 7-1
  • Jack-high Pai Gow = 15-1
  • 10-high Pai Gow = 25-1
  • 9-high Pai Gow = 100-1

The downside of this bet is that, unlike the other wagers above, you are likely to lose your ante wager. It is challenging to beat the dealer with only a high card in both your upper and lower hands. On the bright side, the payouts from the insurance bet will help cover your losses from the ante bet.