Money Management in Pai Gow Poker

Managing your money properly in pai gow poker means betting in a way that maximizes your winnings and minimizes your losses. Good money management is almost as important as good playing strategy for making your time at the pai gow poker table as profitable as possible.

Though the casino may limit how often you can play as banker, you should take full advan­tage of the opportunities that you’re given. To do so, your wagers should be as high as possible when you’re playing as the banker. At the same time, though, you have to make sure that you can afford to cover the other player’s bets. Even if you have an advantage, it’s never wise to gamble more money than you’re willing to lose, since a small advantage by no means guarantees that you’ll win. A good rule of thumb in pai gow poker is to wager no more than 1/100 of your total bankroll on any single hand. If your total gambling bankroll is $5,000, for example, you shouldn’t wager more than $50 on a single hand.

Conversely, you should bet as little as possible when not playing as banker. Every dollar you wager when not banking is subject to the house edge, so it’s best to keep this amount as small as you can. You can’t wager less than the table minimum, of course, and you may also find the excitement of gambling worth the price you pay in terms of the house edge. How much you’re willing to gamble when you’re at a disadvantage is a personal preference, but, again, don’t bet more than you can afford to lose.

If you set concrete win goals and loss limits before you play, you’re more likely to leave the table happy.

Having the discipline to quit, either when you’ve lost your limit or won your goal, is essential to gambling of any kind. It avoids catastrophic losses and gives you a reasonable chance to go home a winner.

Many gamblers believe that they are “due for a win” after a streak of losses. When such players lose a few bets in a row, they often increase their bet dramatically, expecting a win. This expectation is called the gambler’s fallacy.

Unfortunately, losing a few bets or even many bets in a row does not affect the odds of winning the next bet. So even if you’ve lost a few bets running, you shouldn’t bet more than what you had planned. Chasing your losses with big bets is a sure way to end up in the poor house.