The house way is the fixed set of rules a casino uses to split a Pai Gow Poker hand into its five-card high hand and two-card low hand. The dealer always sets the house’s hand this way, and players can choose to follow it too, which costs only slightly more than perfect play.
The house way tells the dealer exactly how to split seven cards into a high and a low hand.
Against a dealer banker, Wizard of Odds puts Pai Gow Poker at about 2.72% using the house way and 2.51% with optimal play.
On £10 hands, that gap is about £2.10 per 100 hands on average.
Every casino publishes its own house way, so details differ between games.
Used in
Pai Gow Poker (and Pai Gow tiles)
Deck
52 cards plus a semi-wild joker
House edge using house way
About 2.72% v dealer banker
House edge with optimal play
About 2.51% v dealer banker
Win on both hands pays
Even money less 5% commission
What the house way means
In Pai Gow Poker, every player and the dealer receive seven cards and must split them into a five-card high hand and a two-card low hand, with the high hand ranking above the low one. That split is the only real decision in the game, and the house way is the casino’s written rulebook for making it. The dealer has no freedom: the house hand is always set by the house way.
Players may set their own hands however they like within the rules, or ask the dealer to set them the house way. Blackjack and baccarat dealers also follow fixed drawing rules, such as the baccarat third card rule, but the phrase ‘house way’ belongs to Pai Gow. You will find it in our casino glossary.
Pai Gow Poker rules that shape the house way
The Wizard of Odds Pai Gow Poker page (opens in a new tab) sets out the game. It uses 53 cards: a standard deck plus a joker that counts as an ace or completes a straight, flush or straight flush. Each of your hands is compared with the matching banker hand.
How Pai Gow Poker bets settle
Result
What happens to a £10 bet
You win both hands
Paid even money less 5% commission: £9.50
You win one, lose one
Push: your £10 is returned
You lose both hands
You lose £10
A hand ties exactly (a ‘copy’)
That hand goes to the banker
Copies going to the banker, and the 5% commission, are where the house edge comes from. The commission works like the vigorish on a baccarat banker bet. Because one-win-one-loss results push, many hands end with no money changing hands at all, which slows the rate at which money changes hands.
Common house way rules
House ways vary in their detail, especially for two pairs, three pairs, straights and flushes, so always read the version at your table. The opening rules follow directly from the need to keep the high hand stronger than the low one:
No pair: the highest card goes in the high hand, and the next two highest cards form the low hand.
One pair: the pair stays in the high hand, and the two highest remaining cards form the low hand.
Joker: used as an ace unless it completes a straight, flush or straight flush.
Bigger hands (two pairs and upwards): set by the casino’s own table of rules, which differ between games.
Sort your seven cards by rank and look for pairs, straights and flushes.
Check the joker: decide whether it makes a straight or flush, otherwise treat it as an ace.
Apply the house way for your hand type, or your own judgement if you know optimal play.
Confirm the high hand outranks the low hand before you set; a reversed hand is a foul under the game’s rules.
House way vs optimal play: the cost in pounds
Using Wizard of Odds’ figures for a game where the dealer banks:
Pai Gow Poker cost per 100 hands at £10 (shown arithmetic)
Strategy
House edge
Average loss per hand
Average loss per 100 hands
House way
About 2.72%
About 27p
About £27.20
Optimal strategy
About 2.51%
About 25p
About £25.10
The gap is small, which is the house way’s appeal: you can copy the dealer’s method and give away only about 0.21% more. Wizard of Odds’ house edge summary table (opens in a new tab) shows a lower figure of 1.46% because it allows for players sometimes taking the bank, which lowers the edge. Compare other games on our casino poker house edge page and the full house edge table.
House way in UK online casinos
Pai Gow Poker is less common online in the UK than Casino Hold’em or Three Card Poker. Where it appears, the help screen should set out the house way the game uses and the payout rules, including the commission. Each round must be started by you, and at least five seconds must pass between the start of one game and the next under UK rules, as with any non-slot casino game.
Pai Gow Poker and our partner offers
Our partner offers are slot offers and are not intended for Pai Gow Poker or other table games. Check each casino’s game lobby to see which poker-based tables it lists, and read the terms, because table and live games are often excluded from bonuses or count for less. 18+ and terms apply.
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Frequently asked questions
What does house way mean in Pai Gow Poker?
House way means the casino’s fixed rules for splitting seven cards into a five-card high hand and a two-card low hand. The dealer must always set the banker’s hand this way. Players can choose to use it too, which is simple and costs only a little more than optimal play. Our full Pai Gow Poker guide covers the rest of the rules.
Should I use the house way in Pai Gow Poker?
Using the house way is a sensible choice for most players, because it costs only about 0.21% more than optimal play against a dealer banker. On £10 hands that is roughly £2.10 per 100 hands. Setting hands by guesswork can cost much more than that. Our guide to choosing a game looks at how this compares with other tables.
Is the house way the same at every casino?
No, each casino or game publishes its own house way, and the details differ, mostly for hands with two or more pairs, straights and flushes. The rules for no-pair and one-pair hands vary least, because they follow from the need for the high hand to outrank the low one. Always read the help screen or the rules card for the game you are playing. Our casino poker hub lists the poker-based games we cover.
Why does the banker win copies in Pai Gow?
The banker wins copies, meaning exact ties on a hand, because that rule is one of the two ways the game builds in a house edge, alongside the 5% commission on wins. A similar idea appears in blackjack, where a player bust loses even if the dealer also busts. See why the dealer wins ties in blackjack.
What happens if I set my Pai Gow hand wrongly?
If your two-card hand outranks your five-card hand, the hand is fouled and is settled as the game’s rules set out, so read them before you play. Setting a legal but weak split simply lowers your chances. Using the house way avoids both problems, because it always produces a valid hand. Our poker hand rankings page helps you check which hand ranks higher.
What is the house edge in Pai Gow Poker?
Against a dealer banker, the house edge is about 2.72% using the house way and 2.51% with optimal play, according to Wizard of Odds. A lower 1.46% figure is quoted where players sometimes take the bank. The 5% commission on wins and the banker winning copies are what create the edge. Our guide to the house edge explains how to turn edges into pounds.
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