hook3670
hook3670
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July 15th, 2011 at 2:04:51 PM permalink
I just got back from five nights in Lake Tahoe(I wrote a blog about it if anyone is interested). The house way for Pai Gow Poker is the strangest I have ever seen. They only have high(6 and over), or low(5 and under) for their pairs. They keep two low pair together NO MATTER WHAT. I had dealers keep a pair of twos and threes together with a 10 9 and fours and fives together with a 9 7 bizzare. Also, they split four nines or more no matter what else is in their hand. They only keep non faces 6 and above with another pair if they and A k not just an Ace but Ace king. I know there are variences in house ways, and I have played in A/C, Vegas, West Virginia etc... but these rules seemed very very different to me.
PerpetualNewbie
PerpetualNewbie
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July 15th, 2011 at 5:25:24 PM permalink
Most of this actually follows the trend that I've seen over the last few years that has trended toward more aggressive setting of hands. Since, in a fair game (even opportunity to bank and therefore the 'copy' element is even between house & player), the only house edge comes from the churn of wins/losses that are more driven by an aggressive hand-set.

I've seen the low-low together feature in house ways before. I feel this is a conservative setting as {low-low,J-high} is not a high-percentage winner or a high loser. Splitting the pairs will lead to wins and more losses (and more edge per bet made for the house).

However, I've never seen mid-quads not split w/o an ace. Heck, most houses will keep quad-Tens together in the back with an ace And I've never seen med/med or med/low together with A-K only. I have seen med/med together with A-face, med/low together with any A.

Other than the low-low together no matter what pairing, those are some pretty aggressive settings. Another step in the trend to draw more edge, IMO.
odiousgambit
odiousgambit
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July 16th, 2011 at 2:52:13 AM permalink
Quote: hook3670

these rules seemed very very different to me.



I think the WoO has established that correct strategies for the house especially are all about HE and nothing else. So if these House Ways [HWs] are truly more aggressive, that would make sense, but it sounds like possibly some one has decided to decide on HWs foolishly and player advantage or at least low HE is possible. The WoO already maintains that a player can knock down the HE by improving on the HW; the HW seems influenced by the need to make simple rules for the dealer.

In the matter of keeping low pairs together "no matter what" would certainly seem not the best move. It means the front hand has to be quite weak much of the time, when instead there could be a pair there. WoO methods have you keep the 2 pair in the back hand only when you can have the front hand with an Ace or King sometimes . Plenty of times you still split the 2 pair. So this alternate HW doesnt sound smart to me.

Is it possible you just had a dealer who didn't know the HW well? If I could play there I'd be looking at this pretty hard.
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!”   She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
SOOPOO
SOOPOO
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July 16th, 2011 at 5:06:16 AM permalink
Quote: PerpetualNewbie



Other than the low-low together no matter what pairing, those are some pretty aggressive settings. Another step in the trend to draw more edge, IMO.



This is not a 'trend'. The casinos set their house ways such that they maximize the house edge. The only restriction is that it must be reasonable for a human to set house ways. So they can't have an 'exact' best house ways, as an example...
If you have 99 55 AK it is clear to play AK up top. It is not so clear if you have 99 55 A7. But a house ways would usually play both the same, counting the A7 the same as AK.
Tiltpoul
Tiltpoul
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July 16th, 2011 at 6:09:13 PM permalink
Quote: hook3670

I just got back from five nights in Lake Tahoe(I wrote a blog about it if anyone is interested). The house way for Pai Gow Poker is the strangest I have ever seen. They only have high(6 and over), or low(5 and under) for their pairs. They keep two low pair together NO MATTER WHAT. I had dealers keep a pair of twos and threes together with a 10 9 and fours and fives together with a 9 7 bizzare. Also, they split four nines or more no matter what else is in their hand. They only keep non faces 6 and above with another pair if they and A k not just an Ace but Ace king. I know there are variences in house ways, and I have played in A/C, Vegas, West Virginia etc... but these rules seemed very very different to me.



I agree that's a strange way to set the hand. Harrah's Council Bluffs and Horseshoe use a similar house way, and most dealers agree it's a very odd way to set the hand
"One out of every four people are [morons]"- Kyle, South Park
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