Pai Gow Tiles Strategy Q
March 10th, 2026 at 12:39:34 AM
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Deep in the weeds on this one...
L0, H0, x, y
x and y are each lower in rank than L0 and should not be played together.
How does one determine which 10 to play with x and y?
Thank you.
L0, H0, x, y
x and y are each lower in rank than L0 and should not be played together.
How does one determine which 10 to play with x and y?
Thank you.
March 10th, 2026 at 1:31:03 PM
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Quote: mczlawDeep in the weeds on this one...
L0, H0, x, y
x and y are each lower in rank than L0 and should not be played together.
How does one determine which 10 to play with x and y?
Thank you.
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House ways (I think?) always pair the lower of x and y with high 10.
I, however, will play high 9 /low 8 as an exception.
March 10th, 2026 at 9:41:58 PM
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I use the Jb simple strategy from the wizard of odds page.
If the best low hand is 5,6,7 points. Play the best low hand.
Play the best low hand if best high is 5 pts or less
Play the best low hand if the best high hand is a 6 but lower than the Chong (high six tile) six
Play best high hand otherwise
If the best low hand is 5,6,7 points. Play the best low hand.
Play the best low hand if best high is 5 pts or less
Play the best low hand if the best high hand is a 6 but lower than the Chong (high six tile) six
Play best high hand otherwise
March 31st, 2026 at 11:56:06 PM
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Appreciate this. It works MOST of the time, as with basic strategy in general.
But see, for example, H0, L0, 7, 5.
Wizard optimal strategy says proper set is L0/5-H0/7, which the calculator pegs at a 0.018 advantage over "best low" set.
Similar anomalies for H6, L6, x, y hands and the odd H8, L8, x, y hand.
It's enough to drive you mad! So, I just keep playing and absorbing.
Next pai gow stop: Macau, where apparently the only place to play is the venerable Casino Lisboa.
But see, for example, H0, L0, 7, 5.
Wizard optimal strategy says proper set is L0/5-H0/7, which the calculator pegs at a 0.018 advantage over "best low" set.
Similar anomalies for H6, L6, x, y hands and the odd H8, L8, x, y hand.
It's enough to drive you mad! So, I just keep playing and absorbing.
Next pai gow stop: Macau, where apparently the only place to play is the venerable Casino Lisboa.
April 6th, 2026 at 8:45:24 AM
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Quick question, Pai Gow Experts
I don't understand why I pushed on this hand. I assume my "High 8" was not actually a high 8, and that the dealer's 3+1 tile makes their 8 better than my 8?
Thanks in advance :D Can't wait to master this game and finally play it in real life
I don't understand why I pushed on this hand. I assume my "High 8" was not actually a high 8, and that the dealer's 3+1 tile makes their 8 better than my 8?
Thanks in advance :D Can't wait to master this game and finally play it in real life
April 6th, 2026 at 9:38:26 AM
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That’s a win for player, not a push.
April 6th, 2026 at 9:43:15 AM
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So is it a glitch with the website?
April 6th, 2026 at 9:48:35 AM
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. Which website? Take a look at the attached pic, so it’s a player win. I notice a problem with these tile dot patterns.Last edited by: aceside on Apr 6, 2026
April 6th, 2026 at 9:58:43 AM
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This is from the Wizard Of Odds website, on the top of the screenshot you can see that this was shown to be a “push”.
April 6th, 2026 at 11:57:49 AM
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Quote: harrisQuick question, Pai Gow Experts
I don't understand why I pushed on this hand. I assume my "High 8" was not actually a high 8, and that the dealer's 3+1 tile makes their 8 better than my 8?
Thanks in advance :D Can't wait to master this game and finally play it in real life
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Easy one. Your assumption was correct. The ‘gor’ tile in the dealer’s 8 is higher in rank than your 8 whose highest tile is ‘mooy’. (The 10).
Your hand as set is referred to as ‘high 8’ because it is the highest 8 YOU could make with YOUR 4 tiles.
April 6th, 2026 at 12:28:56 PM
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Quote: harrisQuick question, Pai Gow Experts
I don't understand why I pushed on this hand. I assume my "High 8" was not actually a high 8, and that the dealer's 3+1 tile makes their 8 better than my 8?
Thanks in advance :D Can't wait to master this game and finally play it in real life
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I recently took time to learn the Legend Behind Pai Gow and it helped me memorize all those middle-rank tiles (instead of going with my gut)!
The dealer’s goose (3-1) tile beats your flower (5-5) tile on the 8-value hands, and you won the low hand 6 to 3, so you push this game.
The thing I have to remember now is that humans had flowers before clothing. I suppose that makes sense!
April 6th, 2026 at 1:16:53 PM
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Quote: SOOPOOQuote: harrisQuick question, Pai Gow Experts
I don't understand why I pushed on this hand. I assume my "High 8" was not actually a high 8, and that the dealer's 3+1 tile makes their 8 better than my 8?
Thanks in advance :D Can't wait to master this game and finally play it in real life
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Easy one. Your assumption was correct. The ‘gor’ tile in the dealer’s 8 is higher in rank than your 8 whose highest tile is ‘mooy’. (The 10).
Your hand as set is referred to as ‘high 8’ because it is the highest 8 YOU could make with YOUR 4 tiles.
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But, the highest tile in player’s high hand is a “Yun,” which is higher than dealer’s corresponding tile of “Gor.” Right? See the attached picture from the online calculator.
April 6th, 2026 at 1:42:00 PM
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When we use High 8, confusion can ensue. A "High 8" can be at least a couple completely different things. It is in one sense the Yun tile (all red 4+4). Our player here did not have a Yun, he had a lower eight (6+2), which like the 5+3 tile is in the lower tier of ranks and is called Chop Bot.
When the app uses high 8 to describe your hand, it is referring to the fact that your 8 is accompanied by the Muy 10 tile (5+5) which is higher than the lower ranking Ping 10 tile (6+4) that is also in your hand, correctly played with the Cheung 6 tile.
Long and short is that despite the "high-8" designation of your H10/8 set, the dealer's gnor tile (3+1) is higher, and dealer's 8 is accordingly higher than your 8.
When the app uses high 8 to describe your hand, it is referring to the fact that your 8 is accompanied by the Muy 10 tile (5+5) which is higher than the lower ranking Ping 10 tile (6+4) that is also in your hand, correctly played with the Cheung 6 tile.
Long and short is that despite the "high-8" designation of your H10/8 set, the dealer's gnor tile (3+1) is higher, and dealer's 8 is accordingly higher than your 8.
April 6th, 2026 at 1:56:01 PM
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Quote: acesideQuote: SOOPOOQuote: harrisQuick question, Pai Gow Experts
I don't understand why I pushed on this hand. I assume my "High 8" was not actually a high 8, and that the dealer's 3+1 tile makes their 8 better than my 8?
Thanks in advance :D Can't wait to master this game and finally play it in real life
link to original post
Easy one. Your assumption was correct. The ‘gor’ tile in the dealer’s 8 is higher in rank than your 8 whose highest tile is ‘mooy’. (The 10).
Your hand as set is referred to as ‘high 8’ because it is the highest 8 YOU could make with YOUR 4 tiles.
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But, the highest tile in player’s high hand is a “Yun,” which is higher than dealer’s corresponding tile of “Gor.” Right? See the attached picture from the online calculator.
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Wrong. The gor tile is higher than the other 7 tiles in both the player and banker hand. It doesn’t ‘seem’ like that 4 dot tile should be highly ranked, but it is.
April 6th, 2026 at 1:58:12 PM
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You two above are correct. The player pushes the dealer because his high hand loses. There is no “Yun” in player’s hand.
April 17th, 2026 at 11:00:52 PM
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I have another question
The Wizard of Odds website lists an optimal strategy for Pai Gow Tiles.
Does the optimal move for a combination of dominoes ever change at all based on House Way?
Or can I use the same optimal house way everywhere without losing any EV?
Thanks
The Wizard of Odds website lists an optimal strategy for Pai Gow Tiles.
Does the optimal move for a combination of dominoes ever change at all based on House Way?
Or can I use the same optimal house way everywhere without losing any EV?
Thanks
April 18th, 2026 at 6:15:49 AM
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The optimal strategy changes with several things. I believe this game is strongly controlled by the individual dealer. Some of them may know the house way better than others, but the inefficiency of a dealer is not enough for player to beat her. Let’s take a look at this house way below. Should dealer play 7-9 or 8-8?
April 18th, 2026 at 7:09:01 AM
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Maybe it depends on the casino? I’m not sure - based on what I know about Pai Gow Tiles strategy I would play 8/8 though
April 18th, 2026 at 7:10:23 AM
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Sorry, I missed the part of the Wizard’s website where he wrote the Optimal Strategy is called that because it’s optimal against the Traditional house way - not against Any house way…
April 18th, 2026 at 8:24:53 AM
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For one fixed casino, the optimal house way may be different from one moment to another. Just imagine. If there is only one player at the table, there is an optimal house way. If there are five players at the table, there should be another house way. Right?
April 18th, 2026 at 8:49:22 AM
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I’m not sure I understand why having more players would change how the dealer is supposed to arrange their hand
April 18th, 2026 at 9:45:41 AM
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Quote: harrisI’m not sure I understand why having more players would change how the dealer is supposed to arrange their hand
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If you aware of certain tiles in other players hands you in rare instances will change how you play your hand. A simple example would be if you have a ‘teen’ and would normally play a gong. But if you are aware all other teen and day tiles are not available to the dealer, you would play a 9 instead of gong using your teen tile. There are many other examples.
If you notice, if you are at a table with 5 ‘friends’, there often is chatter going back and forth. It’s not about dinner plans.
April 18th, 2026 at 12:55:14 PM
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Quote: acesideThe optimal strategy changes with several things. I believe this game is strongly controlled by the individual dealer. Some of them may know the house way better than others, but the inefficiency of a dealer is not enough for player to beat her. Let’s take a look at this house way below. Should dealer play 7-9 or 8-8?
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Let me make a guess!
I believe that normally, the house way is to have balanced hands, so 8-8. But in this case, making 8-8 would put two of the stronger tiles in one hand, so I think the house way in this example would be 7-9 with a medium-strong 7 and a fairly strong 9 (as opposed to a weak 8 and a fairly strong 8).
Am I correct?
April 19th, 2026 at 6:25:09 AM
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I think you are right. The house way of the following hand is 8-8.
April 19th, 2026 at 12:27:22 PM
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You’re right — the ‘optimal’ strategy on Wizard is based on the traditional house way, not every possible variation. In most casinos the differences are small enough that sticking to that strategy is still very solid. The only time it really shifts is in edge cases or when you have extra information (like seeing other players’ tiles). For practical play, using the standard optimal strategy consistently is the way to go
November 4th, 2026 at 9:56:26 PM
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New problem to chew on. It's been driving me nuts, actually. Catching up, I've been playing here and there, where ever I can find the game. Palace Station (Vegas), Peppermill (Reno), Resorts World Sentosa (Singapore), Casion Lisboa (Macau), Borgata (Atlantic City). (Side note: If you are not expert level with a large bankroll, skip Eskimo Joe's in San Bruno, CA. Some very odd rules/protocols here with many high rolling players. Did not feel welcome. Yikes.)
As I've sunk more deeply into optimal strategy, the most vexatious combination to set seems to be the 11-point hand. I frequently confuse whether the better set is 5/6 or 2/9. Under basic procedure, when the best low hand (5) warrants playing it, I pair it with the six (normally, where the six involves a high tile less than Cheung 6). For reasons that are elusive, the strategy error checker on the Wizard of Odds game simulator will tell me I should be playing 2/9. I feel lost. And this is all aside from the 4/7 situation (usually with a Gee tile), which is a noted optimal strategy exception.
So, tile fiends, is there a consistent rule of thumb you follow for 11-point hands where 5/6 or 2/9 are possible sets?
Thank you, as always.
As I've sunk more deeply into optimal strategy, the most vexatious combination to set seems to be the 11-point hand. I frequently confuse whether the better set is 5/6 or 2/9. Under basic procedure, when the best low hand (5) warrants playing it, I pair it with the six (normally, where the six involves a high tile less than Cheung 6). For reasons that are elusive, the strategy error checker on the Wizard of Odds game simulator will tell me I should be playing 2/9. I feel lost. And this is all aside from the 4/7 situation (usually with a Gee tile), which is a noted optimal strategy exception.
So, tile fiends, is there a consistent rule of thumb you follow for 11-point hands where 5/6 or 2/9 are possible sets?
Thank you, as always.
November 5th, 2026 at 5:26:50 AM
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Wizard has summarized this in his strategy. For an 11-point hand, you follow this priority order:
0/Wong,
1/Gong,
2/Hi9,
5/6,
2/9,
4/7,
3/8.
Therefore, you play 5/6 instead of 2/9.
0/Wong,
1/Gong,
2/Hi9,
5/6,
2/9,
4/7,
3/8.
Therefore, you play 5/6 instead of 2/9.
November 5th, 2026 at 9:50:10 AM
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I'm not sure I follow. In all circumstances? Isn't there some variation based on particular tiles, eg. H8, H0. I have several pages of Wizard strategy, but missed this. Do you have a link? Much appreciated.
November 5th, 2026 at 9:54:00 AM
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This is a basic strategy, meaning it is good for the majority of situations. You just visit Wizard Pai Gow tiles website and find the one page pdf summary of all his basic strategies.
November 5th, 2026 at 12:07:20 PM
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I see. I've really been trying to hone optimal (advanced) strategy. Here's a fun one: L0-L4-H8-9. 2/9 is an available set, which is "better" than 4/7 under the basic hierarchy. But WoO calculator pegs the preferred set as 4/7 with a 1.5% better probability of not losing compared to 2/9 (and despite the advanced strategy notation that that 4/7 is to be played when best low is 4 (true) AND any tile is a Gee (not true). My head hurts.
