by Face Up Pai Gow Poker is a variation of the standard game of Pai Gow Poker featuring head-to-head play against the dealer with two optional side wagers, Fortune Bonus and Ace-High.
The game is played with a 53 card deck, consisting of a standard 52 card deck, plus a joker. The joker is not wild and can be used only as an Ace or to complete a Straight or Flush. Face-Up Pai Gow is very easy to pick up, especially if you know how to play regular Pai Gow Poker.
Although similar to the traditional game of Pai-Gow Poker, Face-Up Pai-Gow is much more fun to play for the following reasons:
- Unlike traditional Pai-Gow poker where players must set their hand before the dealers expose their cards, in Face Up Pai Gow Poker, players can see what the house hand is before acting on their own hand. Hence the name “Face Up ” poker
- If the dealer has an Ace-High Pai Gow hand, then all Face Up Pai Gow wagers will automatically result in a push (tie).
- Player’s do NOT pay commission on winning hands,. You do not pay a 5% commission when you beat the dealer.
- Face Up Pai Gow also offers the optional Fortune Bonus and then Ace-High bonus wagers.
How to Play Face Up Pai Gow Poker
The Face Up Pai Gow Poker deck consists of 53 cards which includes a Joker. The Joker card in Pai Gow is used three ways:
- As an Ace
- To complete a Straight
- To complete a Flush
For each Face Up Pai Gow Poker hand, players make a standard Pai Gow wager, with an optional Fortune Bonus and Ace-High wager to begin a round of play. If a player has wagered at least $5 on the Fortune Bonus, the dealer will place an “Envy” button next to their wager, which qualifies them for an additional envy payout on qualifying hands.
The dealer then follow hose procedures for Pai Gow Poker
- The dealer shuffles his deck and just like standard Pai Gow, proceeds to deal seven hands in a line in front of the dealer’s tray, one card at a time, face down, until seven hands of seven cards each are dealt. The dealer then checks that exactly four cards are left over, then places those cards in the discard rack.
- Delivering the Cards: The dealer then shakes the dice cup and rolls three dice. Before the dice are uncovered, all bets must be in the betting circle. The numbers on the dice are added and the value of the three dice indicate which player receives the first set of seven cards. Starting with the banker position as “one,” the dealer counts betting positions (including open seats) counter clockwise until reaching the sum of the dice. The dealer position receives the first hand. The dealer will then deliver seven cards to each spot on the table in front of each player, including the dealer and also spots with no wagers, in a clockwise rotation. In Pai Gow Poker, the Banker’s position is always 1, 8 or 15.
- Once all the cards are distributed, the dealer will go back and collect the cards distributed to seats without a wager and place them in the discard rack.
- The dealer will then set their hand according to House Way and then instruct the players to set their hand. Note: Unlike traditional Pai-Gow poker where players must set their hand before the dealers expose their cards, in Face Up Pai Gow Poker, the players get to set their hand AFTER the dealers expose their cards face up.
However, if the dealer’s hand is an Ace High Pai Gow, all players main wagers are pushed. - After the dealer’s hand is set, and it is determined that his or her hand does not contain an Ace High pai gow, each player will use the seven (7) cards they received to construct two (2) separate poker hands of two (2) cards and five (5) cards. The one hand that contain five cards is known as the “High Hand” or “Back Hand”. The other hand that contain two cards and is known as the “Second Highest Hand” or “Low Hand” or “Front Hand”.
- In Face Up Pai Gow Poker, the dealer’s cards are dealt Face Up prior to player’s setting their hand. After all players sets their hands in the designated space face down, the dealer will then compare each player’s five-card hand to the dealer’s five-card hand, and each player’s two-card hand is compared to the dealer’s two-card hand to determine the winners, losers, or tie hands.
The fie-card hand must ranked higher than the two-card hand (for example, if the two-card hand were to hold a pair of sevens, the five-card hand must hold a pair of eights or better).
Once a player is satisfied with their arrangement of the low and high hands, they place them each face down in designated areas on the table layout.
Fortune Bonus
The Fortune Bonus bet wins if your best possible five-card hand is three of-a-kind or better. A Fortune Bonus bet of at least $5 qualifies the player for Envy Bonus payouts. If you wager at least $5 on the Fortune Bonus, the dealer will place an “envy” button next to your bet. This qualifies you for an envy bonus payout.
| HAND | PAYOUT |
| Seven-Card Straight Flush, No Joker | 5,000 to 1 |
| Royal Flush Plus Royale Match | 1,000 to 1 |
| Seven-Card Straight Flush with Joker | 500 to 1 |
| Five Aces | 300 to 1 |
| Royale Flush | 110 to 1 |
| Straight Flush | 45 to 1 |
| Four-of-a-kind | 25 to 1 |
| Full House | 5 to 1 |
| Flush | 4 to 1 |
| Three-of-a-kind | 3 to 1 |
| Straight | 2 to 1 |
Envy Bonus
Players with envy buttons win the Envy Bonus at the end of the round if at least one player at the table receives a hand that qualifies for Envy Bonus payouts (has a four-of-a-kind or higher).
In the event that more than one player has at least a four-of-a-kind or higher in a round, all players with Envy buttons will win multiple Envy bonuses. A player however CANNOT win an Envy Bonus for their own hand or the dealer’s hand. A player will still be eligible for the Envy Bonus in the event they folded their hand.
| HAND | PAYOUT |
| Seven-Card Straight Flush, No Joker | $2,500 |
| Royal Flush Plus Royale Match | $500 |
| Seven-Card Straight Flush with Joker | $250 |
| Five Aces | $150 |
| Royale Flush | $55 |
| Straight Flush | $25 |
| Four-of-a-kind | $6 |
Ace High Bonus
The Ace-High Bonus wager wins if the dealer’s seven cards are an Ace-High Pai Gow hand (a hand with an Ace and no pairs or higher). The player will then receive an odds payout from the below paytable.
| HAND | PAYOUT |
| Dealer and Player Ace-High | 40 to 1 |
| Dealer Ace-High with Joker | 15 to 1 |
| Dealer Ace-High with No Joker | 5 to 1 |
