How do you place your bets in Pai Gow Tiles?
Before dealing Pai Gow tiles, the players place their bets in a circle which is the same spot where they will receive their tiles. Players often pick a lucky seat number. If another player feels that a different spot is lucky, they can place a sidebet on the spot. The game play on the spot belongs to the owner of the spot, with the side better having no say in the play of the hand. If the hand wins, the casino will pay both bets (minus the 5% commission). If the hand loses, the casino will take both bets, but they can be pooled in the next hand for a player bank.
Dealing Pai Gow Tiles to players
In order to start the deal, the 32 tiles are stacked in eight rows of four. When the stacks are complete, the dealer will shake three dice in a small cup to determine where the deal starts. The sum of the numbers of the three dice dictate where the first hand is delivered. The deal counts in a counter clockwise matter starting with the dealer spot. The dealer is spot 1, 9, and 17. The right furthermost stack of tiles will go to the first spot and the rest of the hands are distributed in order in a counter clockwise manner.
Why and how can a player bank in Pai Gow Tiles?
The dealer has the advantage of winning copy hands (learn the tile rankings) and zeroes (when two tiles add to 10). It’s also common practice to take a player bank and disrupt the flow when the house hands are running hot. For those who play for casino rewards, the player bank slows down the game, giving more playing time at the table with less risk.
Because of these reasons, it’s beneficial to become the bank, but the player bank must be able to cover all bets on the table. A player can bank every other hand, typically up to 10% over their previous bet, on the last spot that they played. Some casinos allow players to combine into one player bank, but a player should take into account how the banks and player combinations fare during play. If you want to bank, let the dealer know when they are shuffling or stacking the tiles. They will give you the bank marker to show where the count starts.
During a player bank, the player can usually shuffle and stack the tiles in an accepted format. The player also shakes the dice cup to determine where the hands start. Two players are usually allowed to touch the tiles which can increase the camaraderie and feeling of “power” when joining forces, but check with the casino before doing so. Some of the more strict casinos do not allow the player to touch the shuffle, and instead the dealer will take verbal direction on the shuffle and cut.
Player Bank Cuts and Deliveries
Most of the cuts and deliveries have names and folklore explaining the name. One of my favorite deliveries which I picked up from Star City in Sydney, Australia is called Chicken Crossing the Road.
Some other common deliveries are House Way, Hong Kong Bank, Jung Quat, Cup Say, Head of the Dragon, Shut the Door, Open the Door, and Tower. In some of these, you can also stipulate “bottom first” which changes the order of the delivery.
Check with the casino before requesting certain deliveries as they may not be part of the house set of acceptable options. Shut the Door is a standard delivery, but many casinos will not allow Open the Door as it takes longer to deal. Hand speed is a consideration for player banks, and some which are too slow are not allowed. This video by Shawn Tinling has some well-explained examples of common Pai Gow Tiles player bank deliveries. Whenever the house (casino) banks, they always bank house way.