Should you set your own hand or use the house way in Pai Gow?
The house way is a fine default: it sets most hands the best way. Setting every hand perfectly lowers the house edge only a little, so learn the few hands where it goes wrong rather than fighting it.
Setting every hand the house way, the house edge is 2.72%; setting every hand the best way, 2.55%. The best setting differs from the house way on 13.5% of hands.
Practice setting hands in the trainerThe house way, rule by rule
House way or best setting
| Strategy | House edge | Win | Push | Lose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| House way | 2.72% | 29.12% | 40.50% | 30.38% |
| Best setting for every hand | 2.55% | 29.23% | 40.45% | 30.32% |
The engine’s simulation of 400,000,000 rounds on the same deals, against a dealer who banks and sets the house way, with a 5% commission on wins.
Why
The house way is the rule book the dealer follows, written to set hands well without thinking. Most hands have one obviously right setting, and the house way finds it. The differences are in close calls, mostly two pair, an ace with a pair, and some straights and flushes. Getting those right is worth something, but far less than the commission and the dealer’s copies cost you.
Hands where the house way goes wrong
In 20,000 seeded deals, the best setting beat the house way on 13.7% of them. The first few with a real difference:
| Your seven cards | House way | Best setting for every hand | Gain per unit bet |
|---|---|---|---|
| A♥ Q♣ Q♦ J♣ 6♠ 2♦ 2♥ | A♥ Q♣ Q♦ J♣ 6♠ / 2♦ 2♥ | Q♣ Q♦ 6♠ 2♦ 2♥ / A♥ J♣ | +0.0396 |
| A♣ A♥ 9♣ 6♣ 5♠ 3♦ 2♦ | A♣ A♥ 5♠ 3♦ 2♦ / 9♣ 6♣ | A♣ A♥ 9♣ 5♠ 2♦ / 6♣ 3♦ | +0.0155 |
| A♥ J♣ J♠ 10♣ 4♥ 4♠ 2♠ | A♥ J♣ J♠ 10♣ 2♠ / 4♥ 4♠ | J♣ J♠ 4♥ 4♠ 2♠ / A♥ 10♣ | +0.0198 |
| A♣ J♥ 8♥ 6♥ 4♣ 3♣ 2♠ | A♣ 6♥ 4♣ 3♣ 2♠ / J♥ 8♥ | A♣ 8♥ 6♥ 4♣ 3♣ / J♥ 2♠ | +0.0191 |
| A♣ J♠ 8♠ 6♣ 5♣ 4♣ 2♦ | A♣ 6♣ 5♣ 4♣ 2♦ / J♠ 8♠ | A♣ 8♠ 6♣ 5♣ 4♣ / J♠ 2♦ | +0.0184 |
| A♦ Q♣ 10♥ 8♥ 5♣ 3♦ 2♣ | A♦ 8♥ 5♣ 3♦ 2♣ / Q♣ 10♥ | A♦ 10♥ 5♣ 3♦ 2♣ / Q♣ 8♥ | +0.0127 |
Average result per unit bet against a dealer who sets the house way (Foxwoods), after the 5% commission on wins. From the exact distribution of the dealer’s hands; it ignores that your seven cards can’t also be in the dealer’s hand, which only matters when two settings are very close. The best value in each row is green.