Las Vegas Pai Gow Poker Minimum Bet 2025

Five types of pai gow poker are dealt in Las Vegas. Face Up Pai Gow Poker is the most popular. It entered the market in 2018. Today, over 90 percent of pai gow poker games in our Las Vegas Table Game Survey are this version. The other options are Dealer Open, Emperor’s Challenge, Fortune Pai Gow Poker, and 5 Card Pai Gow.

Most Fortune Pai Gow Poker tables charge a 5% commission on wins. Three casinos still permit players to bank those games. No commission games cannot be banked by players.

Face Up Pai Gow Poker is faster and has a lower house edge than the other versions. The other two common pai gow poker variants are Fortune and Emperor’s Challenge. Emperor’s Challenge is sometimes dealt as Emperor’s Exposed, giving it the same house edge as Face Up.

Dealer Open Pai Gow Poker is the other no-commission variant available. The dealer automatically wins when dealt two or more jacks. 5 Card Pai Gow does not have a joker. Players and the dealer set a three-card high and two-card low hand.

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Las Vegas casinos with pai gow poker
How to play pai gow poker
How Face Up Pai Gow is different from the traditional game
No Commission Pai Gow Poker
5 Card Pai Gow

Las Vegas casinos with pai gow poker

We found 55 Las Vegas casinos with at least one type of pai gow poker. Some casinos deal multiple versions of pai gow poker. Paid members have access to more detailed information, including table game minimums and types of pai gow poker dealt.

The most common minimum bet is $15. However, it is $25 or $50 at most Las Vegas Strip casinos. There are no more $5 pai gow poker games in Las Vegas. The last was at Cannery. It is now regularly $10. Minimum bets tend to increase when progressive jackpots are large.

Pai gow poker table with a $2 progressive side bet at Red Rock Resort on April 9, 2024

Twenty-five Las Vegas Strip casinos

Eight downtown Las Vegas casinos

Twenty-two off-strip and locals casinos

Aliante
Arizona Charlie’s Decatur
Boulder Station
Cannery
Durango
Gold Coast
Green Valley Ranch
M Resort

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If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

How to play pai gow poker

A pai gow poker game uses a 53-card deck that includes a joker. This card may be used to complete a straight, flush, or straight flush. If it cannot be used for that purpose, it is an ace.

Players receive seven cards after making a bet that may include multiple optional side bets. The cards are split into a five-card low and two-card high hand. The five-card hand must beat the two-card hand. Once players have set hands, the house hand is exposed. The house has a set of rules it uses to set its hand. This varies by casino based on how aggressively management wants to play. Once set, it is compared to each player’s hand.

If the player’s five-card and two-card hands both beat the banker, the player is paid even money at face-up games. There is a 5% commission in Emperor’s Challenge and Fortune Pai Gow Poker. If the banker’s two hands beat both player hands, the house wins. If the banker wins one, and the player wins the other, it is a push.

The banker wins all ties. This is called a copy in pai gow poker. This is usually the house. However, players may bank at Emperor’s Challenge and Fortune Pai Gow Poker. The casino’s dealer becomes a player hand. The player banker is up against each player at the table. The house takes 5% of net winnings when a player banks. The player banker wins all copies just like the house usually does.

How Face Up Pai Gow is different from the traditional game

Face Up Pai Gow Poker turns a poker game with skill into one of luck. It is best suited for players who do not want to worry about strategy and want to go after the progressive jackpot and other side bets.

There is no skill involved in Face Up Pai Gow Poker. The house sets its hand first. If it is an ace-high pai gow, meaning a hand with an ace but no pair or better, the house pushes all player hands. If the dealer does not push, the hand is set. The player’s hand is set by the dealer as he or she helps the player find the best hand.

Players may not bank in Face Up Pai Gow Poker. The house does this every hand.

No Commission Pai Gow Poker

No Commission Pai Gow Poker has one installation in Las Vegas. It is at Golden Nugget. The table says it is Fortune Pai Gow Poker. Players set their hands before the dealer, allowing skill to be used. Once the players act, the dealer sets the house hand. If the dealer has a queen-high pai gow, players push. All other wins are paid even money.

5 Card Pai Gow

Harrah’s introduced 5 Card Pai Gow in April 2025. As the name suggests, players receive five cards. The dealer also gets five cards and sets the house hand first. A three-card high hand and a two-card low hand are set. This game does not have a joker. If the dealer has a 10 or less in the two-card low hand, all hands push. Otherwise, it plays the same as the other games. All wins pay even money. There is no commission.