Pai Gow Poker - Joker Question

The casino that I work at has Pai Gow Poker where the Joker is completely wild. It can be used in the traditional way for straights and flushes or it can make pairs/trips/full house/four of a kind/etc too. Does this change the the odds for/against the bank or is there no change at all?

The house advantage is derived from the number of combinations where a tie would exist (Copy hand) and the 5% house commission on wins (the game is an even game save the tie and the commission).

So the only way that the house advantage can change is if the number of copy hands change. The joker would be used to complete pairs and therefore would no longer be an ace in the small poker hand. To see the joker then in the small hand (which would create a pair), a copy hand would only result when you play an equivalent pair. As a result, I believe that the number of copy hands would be reduced which would help the player. But think the change in advantage is only slight.

Yeah, the number of copy hands will be reduced, but only slightly.

Therefore, the very slight advantage that the house has, will be shaved.

But since the advantage the house has due to copies is so slight to begin with, shaving it is barely worth talking about.


No matter how you slice it, it's still the game that my wife calls "That stupid game with the quarters." Sometimes I agree with her.

Is there a side bet, like a dragon bonus, where you get paid extra for flushes and the like?

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Yeah, the number of copy hands will be reduced, but only slightly.

Therefore, the very slight advantage that the house has, will be shaved.

But since the advantage the house has due to copies is so slight to begin with, shaving it is barely worth talking about.


No matter how you slice it, it's still the game that my wife calls "That stupid game with the quarters." Sometimes I agree with her.

Its a California casino...there's no commission just a $1 collection per $100 bet on all hands.

Quote: MrPapagiorgio

Is there a side bet, like a dragon bonus, where you get paid extra for flushes and the like?

nope. no side bets or jackpots.

The odds of winning at Pai Gow and the house edge depend on the setting of hands (and the commission, of course). Has the casino modified its house way to take into account the truly wild joker? How are your fellow players playing when banking? Has their strategy changed?

You could move the odds more in your favour if you know that the house/banking players aren't setting their hands "optimally" when dealing with the joker.

Quote: cardshark

The odds of winning at Pai Gow and the house edge depend on the setting of hands (and the commission, of course). Has the casino modified its house way to take into account the truly wild joker? How are your fellow players playing when banking? Has their strategy changed?

You could move the odds more in your favour if you know that the house/banking players aren't setting their hands "optimally" when dealing with the joker.

I realize the odds depend on how you play each hand. I didn't want to complicate the question by bringing exact numbers into it because obviously there are lots of variables involved. Thats why I asked which way it skews the odds instead of asking for exact numbers.

And yes the house way is different.