Saving Money At Pai Gow Poker Thanks To Wizard

I returned from a short Vegas trip earlier today. I played a fair amount of Pai Gow Poker. I hate the house edge, but I enjoy the slow pace of play, the occasions where i have to really think about how to set a hand and the opportunity for player banking. So long as I'm comfortable with the money being bet, I'll always exercise my option to bank (even when other players get grumpy about it or refuse to bet). During this most recent trip, an issue came up where I remembered a comment buried in one of Wizard's articles about PGP and it saved me a little cash (frankly, it was a trivial amount, but still, the principle was there).

I was playing PGP with a dealer who appeared to be new to PGP or perhaps new to dealing altogether. On my first hand, I pushed against her (I won the low hand and she won the high). Instead of a push, she paid me. I could also tell by how she set her hand that she hadn't been dealing PGP very long. Anyway, on my first opportunity to bank, there was another player at the table. Everyone sets their hand and the dealer compares my hand to hers. I win. She then motions for me to toss her a chip to pay the commission. I stop her. I remembered something written in one of Wizard's articles that said that when a player is banking, the commission is only paid on a NET win, not individual bets (this is also how it was done by all previous dealers I played against). Remembering this, I ask the dealer if the commission isn't resolved until after I compare my hand to all of the players on the table. She looks confused. The floor was nearby so I called the floor over and explained the situation. The floor immediately sided with me and told the dealer to determine the commission after resolving my bet against the other player.

Thanks for the story. My pleasure to have helped. Yes, the commission is charged against the net win. One of those rules that is probably almost never invoked, so good for you for remembering it.

Bear in mind that is not the case in all jurisdictions. Some casinos do indeed charge commission on gross win, not net win. In that case, I would assume it's not even in your interest to bank.

Quote: Deucekies

Bear in mind that is not the case in all jurisdictions. Some casinos do indeed charge commission on gross win, not net win. In that case, I would assume it's not even in your interest to bank.

You should still bank under that rule.