Rivers / Pai Gow Poker Commission

I was at Rivers in Chicago yesterday playing Pai Gow Poker for 30 minutes waiting for traffic to die down.

Won $20, which is nice, but I found their commission structure very interesting. They round down to the nearest $.25 commission. This means that if you play $14, you only get charged $.50 commission.

I'm not sure if you can play $14.50 which I'm sure would be optimal strategy at that game.

I estimate that brings the house edge to around 2.1-2.2%, does my math work? If tiles were brought there, I believe it would cut tiles percentage down to around 1.7% also.

I'm not sure if the same commission structure is in place for their Bac games. If so, what is the house edge on the banker bet? EDIT - Checked the odds site, and the house edge would be EXTREMELY low. If that's how they play it's definitely the best bet in the casino, and with comps is probably slightly player advantage.

If this has been brought up before, I am sorry.

Rivers is a nice casino. Lucky Lucky is so popular, almost all tables on the weekend are $15 min. Do they have Pai Gow Progressive Jackpot there? or may be just Fortune Pai Gow?

No bonus. Illinois is a screwed up state.

Quote: FinsRule

No bonus. Illinois is a screwed up state.

Amen to that... I used to live there, and the game selection is atrocious since it's near impossible to get games approved there. I'm kind of surprised they have PGP... I believe the only other casino that has it (or HAD it) is Casino Queen.

Quote: Tiltpoul

Amen to that... I used to live there, and the game selection is atrocious since it's near impossible to get games approved there. I'm kind of surprised they have PGP... I believe the only other casino that has it (or HAD it) is Casino Queen.

Is IL one of these states that require the game be approved and the developer/distributor be licensed to do biz there?

Casino Queen HAD it.

Rivers is the only one that has it.

There was talk of Rivers getting tiles, I hope it comes true.

Finsrule, get down to a serious subject. Who is your Kentucky Derby pick ??

Done Talking made a powerful argument in Saturday's Grade II $500,000 Illinois Derby.

Barging between horses down the Hawthorne Race Course stretch, his body talk convinced trainer Hamilton Smith that he belongs in the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May.

Rivers Chicago!

I love this Casino! Going to be in Chicago from May 2 - May 6. $2.25 Train Ride from downtown on the "L" to Rosemont, One stop before O'Hara airport, free shuttle bus picks you up every 10 minutes, then take a 3 minute ride to the Casino. Channeling my inner Bart Scott: "CAN'T WAIT"

Quote: FinsRule

I was at Rivers in Chicago yesterday playing Pai Gow Poker for 30 minutes waiting for traffic to die down.

Won $20, which is nice, but I found their commission structure very interesting. They round down to the nearest $.25 commission. This means that if you play $14, you only get charged $.50 commission.

I wonder if the Rivers' commission structure is that way so as to compete with that of Potawatomi Bingo Casino 75 miles to the north in Milwaukee? At Potawatomi, they round UP their PGP commissions to the nearest $0.50. So winning a $14 or $15 bet would result in a $1.00 commission. I learned a long time ago to always bet in increments of $10 there.

Quote: FinsRule

There was talk of Rivers getting tiles, I hope it comes true.

Don't hold your breath on it. 1) I can't see IGC ever approving a game as complicated as tiles. 2) The hold is too low for the game to be successful, especially with the limited gaming positions.

I bet the only reason Rivers even offers PGP is to try to lure some of the Asian population away from Horseshoe. Getting tiles wouldn't make that big of an impact.

Went back to Rivers tonight. Big mistake.

But, yes the commission is rounded down for Baccarat also. You can bet $14 on banker and be only charged $.50 commission on wins. This is 3.5% commission which means a house edge of about .4%.

Also, when I was there on a busy Friday night, people are putting lots of money on your spot as bets. As I'm sure that is being put toward your comp rate, I'm fairly positive that by betting $14 on banker plus other people betting on your spot, you are at the least breaking even, and possibly making money with offers.

And that closes the book on that.