Pai Gow Poker Side Bet Payouts

Unlike payouts in craps and roulette, which change based on the type of bet you make, Pai Gow Poker payouts are simple to remember: you’re paid even money if you win. It doesn’t matter if you’re holding a pair, full house, or royal flush. Mar 18, 2015  Fortune pai gow poker is a popular variant played in casinos today. The game is exactly like pai gow poker with the exception of an optional fortune bonus side bet.

The infamous Pai Gow Insurance is a new version of Pai Gow Poker offered at Station Casinos in Las Vegas. This game first debuted at Red Rock in the summer of 2008 and has since grown in popularity. The game is pending review by the New Jersey gambling commissions for inclusion in Atlantic City casinos. For the time being, to the best of our knowledge, the game is only available sparingly in Las Vegas casinos.

Pai Gow Insurance is played exactly like Pai Gow Poker; however, there is an optional side-bet which pays out if a player is dealt a Pai Gow hand. If you’re not familiar with the term “Pai Gow Hand” this is a non ranking hand (high card only) meaning no pairs, no straights, no flushes.

The payouts for Pai Gow Insurance are:

Pai Gow Poker Bonus Bet

9 High Pai Gow – 100 to 1
10 High Pai Gow – 25 to 1
J High Pai Gow – 15 to 1
Q High Pai Gow – 7 to 1
K High Pai Gow – 5 to 1
A High Pai Gow – 3 to 1

Las Vegas Casinos offering Pai Gow Insurance side-bets: Red Rock, Aliante Station, Palace Station, Boulder Station, Texas Station and Sunset Station.

We frequently visit casinos all over North America. While it’s likely there are others offering this game, at this time these are the only ones we know of.

Where to Play Pai Gow Insurance Online

There are no reputable or safe options for playing Pai Gow with an insurance side bet online. We will update this page as soon as we hear of somewhere that does offer the game.

Fortune Pai Gow

Many Pai Gow Insurance tables also offer the fortune side bet. This is a seperate side-bet with the following pay-table:

If you’re interested in learning how to play Pai Gow visit our pages: Learn Pai Gow Poker and Pai Gow Poker Strategy.

Pai Gow Poker Bonus Payouts

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On This Page

Introduction

'Fortune' is a side bet in Pai Gow Poker that pays based on the value of the player's seven cards. It doesn't not matter how the player sets his hand. In addition, if another player has a four of a kind or better the player making the Fortune bet will get an 'Envy Bonus.' At every table I have seen there is a $5 minimum and the Envy Bonus is a fixed amount.

Following are pay tables that I am aware of, based on the player's own hand. Wins are on a 'to one' basis.

Fortune Pay TablesExpand

HandPay Table
12345678
Natural 7 Card S/F5,000 to 18,000 to 15,000 to 12,500 to 15,000 to 15,000 to 18000 to 11000 to 1
Royal Flush + R/M1,000 to 12,000 to 12,000 to 11,000 to 12,000 to 11,000 to 12000 to 1750 to 1
Wild 7 Card S/F750 to 11,000 to 11,000 to 1750 to 11,000 to 1500 to 11000 to 1500 to 1
5 Aces250 to 1400 to 1400 to 1250 to 1400 to 1300 to 1400 to 1250 to 1
Royal Flush100 to 1150 to 1150 to 1125 to 1150 to 1110 to 1100 to 1150 to 1
Straight Flush50 to 150 to 150 to 150 to 150 to 145 to 130 to 150 to 1
4 of a Kind20 to 125 to 125 to 125 to 125 to 125 to 120 to 125 to 1
Full House5 to 15 to 15 to 15 to 15 to 15 to 15 to 15 to 1
Flush4 to 14 to 14 to 14 to 14 to 14 to 14 to 14 to 1
3 of a Kind3 to 13 to 13 to 13 to 13 to 13 to 13 to 13 to 1
Straight2 to 12 to 12 to 12 to 12 to 12 to 12 to 12 to 1
Three PairPushLossLossLossLossLossLoss1 to 1

The next table shows the Envy Bonus for each paytable.

Fortune Envy BonusesExpand

HandPay Table
12345678
Natural 7 Card S/F$1000$5000$3000$1000$2500$2500$5000$500
Royal Flush + R/M$250$1000$1000$750$500$500$1000$250
Wild 7 Card S/F$100$500$500$250$250$250$500$150
5 Aces$50$250$250$100$150$150$250$100
Royal Flush$25$50$50$50$55$55$50$50
Straight Flush$10$20$20$20$25$25$20$20
4 of a Kind$5$5$5$5$6$6$5$5

The next table shows the number of combinations, probability, and contribution to the return for each hand, under pay table 2, which I believe to be the most popular. The lower left cell shows a house edge of 7.77% before considering the Envy Bonus.

Pay Table 2 -- Return Table

HandPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Natural seven-card straight flush8,000320.000000210.00166079
Royal Flush + R/M2,000720.000000470.00093420
Wild seven-card straight flush1,0001960.000001270.00127155
Five Aces4001,1280.000007320.00292715
Royal Flush15026,0200.000168800.02532063
Straight flush50184,6440.001197870.05989370
Four of a Kind25307,4720.001994720.04986795
Full house54,188,5280.027172990.13586494
Flush46,172,0880.040041290.16016517
Three of a kind37,672,5000.049775180.14932555
Straight211,034,2040.071584170.14316833
Three pair-12,862,0000.01856717-0.01856717
All other-1121,694,1960.78948855-0.78948855
Total0154,143,0801.00000000-0.07765575
Gow

The next table shows the return table for the Envy Bonus under pay table 2, based on a $5 bet. The lower right cell shows that each additional player at the table is worth 0.93%, based on a $5 bet. If the player bets more than $5 the value of the Envy Bonus equals 0.04634162/b, where b is the amount bet.

Envy Return Table -- Paytable 2

HandPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Natural seven-card straight flush$5,000320.000000210.00020760
Royal Flush + R/M$1,000720.000000470.00009342
Wild seven-card straight flush$5001960.000001270.00012715
Five Aces$2501,1280.000007320.00036589
Royal Flush$5026,0200.000168800.00168804
Straight flush$20184,6440.001197870.00479150
Four of a Kind$5307,4720.001994720.00199472
Total519,5640.003370660.00926832

The next table shows the contribution for each hand under all seven pay tables, before considering the Envy Bonus.

Fortune Pai Gow Poker Return — Expected ReturnsExpand

Pai Gow Poker Side Bet Payouts 2017

HandPay Table
12345678
7 Card Straight Flush0.0010380.0016610.0010380.0005190.0010380.0010380.0016610.000208
Royal Flush + Royal Match0.0004670.0009340.0009340.0004670.0009340.0004670.0009340.00035
7 Card Straight Flush with Joker0.0009540.0012720.0012720.0009540.0012720.0006360.0012720.000636
5 Aces0.0018290.0029270.0029270.0018290.0029270.0021950.0029270.001829
Royal Flush0.016880.0253210.0253210.0211010.0253210.0185680.016880.025321
Straight Flush0.0598940.0598940.0598940.0598940.0598940.0539040.0359360.059894
4 of a Kind0.0398940.0498680.0498680.0498680.0498680.0498680.0398940.049868
Full House0.1358650.1358650.1358650.1358650.1358650.1358650.1358650.135865
Flush0.1601650.1601650.1601650.1601650.1601650.1601650.1601650.160165
3 of a Kind0.1493260.1493260.1493260.1493260.1493260.1493260.1493260.149326
Straight0.1431680.1431680.1431680.1431680.1431680.1431680.1431680.143168
Three Pair0-0.018567-0.018567-0.018567-0.018567-0.018567-0.0185670.018567
All Other-0.789489-0.789489-0.789489-0.789489-0.789489-0.789489-0.789489-0.789489
Total-0.080008-0.077656-0.078279-0.0849-0.078279-0.092855-0.120027-0.044292

The next table shows the return table for the Envy Bonus, based on a $5 bet. The bottom row shows how much the house edge is reduced for each other player at the table.

Fortune Pai Gow Poker Envy Bonus — Expected ReturnsExpand

FortunePai
HandPay Table
12345678
7 Card Straight Flush0.0000420.0002080.0001250.0000420.0001040.0001040.0002080.000021
Royal Flush + Royal Match0.0000230.0000930.0000930.000070.0000470.0000470.0000930.000023
7 Card Straight Flush with Joker0.0000250.0001270.0001270.0000640.0000640.0000640.0001270.000038
5 Aces0.0000730.0003660.0003660.0001460.000220.000220.0003660.000146
Royal Flush0.0008440.0016880.0016880.0016880.0018570.0018570.0016880.001688
Straight Flush0.0023960.0047910.0047910.0047910.0059890.0059890.0047910.004791
4 of a Kind0.0019950.0019950.0019950.0019950.0023940.0023940.0019950.001995
Total0.0053980.0092680.0091850.0087960.0106740.0106740.0092680.008703

The next table shows the house edge for each pay table by total players (including yourself).

Fortune Bet Overall House EdgeExpand

Total
Players
Pay Table
12345678
65.30%3.13%3.24%4.09%2.49%3.95%7.37%0.08%
55.84%4.06%4.15%4.97%3.56%5.02%8.30%0.95%
46.38%4.99%5.07%5.85%4.63%6.08%9.22%1.82%
36.92%5.91%5.99%6.73%5.69%7.15%10.15%2.69%
27.46%6.84%6.91%7.61%6.76%8.22%11.08%3.56%
18.00%7.77%7.83%8.49%7.83%9.29%12.00%4.43%

Fortune Pai Gow Poker Progressive -- Version 1

I have an unconfirmed report that the following pay table is offered in Washington State. The bet amount is $1, nd there is no Envy Bonus. The following return table shows the return from the fixed wins only is 48.45%. For every $10,000 in the meter, the return will go up by 0.76%. The break-even meter (when there is no house edge) is $679,171.90

Fortune Pai Gow Poker House Edge

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
7 Card Straight Flush100% of meter320.000000210
Royal Flush + Royal Match50% of meter720.000000470
7 Card Straight Flush with Joker25% of meter1960.000001270
5 Aces250011280.000007320.01829469
Royal Flush200260200.00016880.03376084
Straight Flush1001846440.001197870.11978741
4 of a Kind753074720.001994720.14960386
Full House641885280.027172990.16303793
All Other01494349880.969456350
Total15414308010.48448473

Fortune Pai Gow Poker Progressive - Version 2

This is a $1 progressive jackpot bet I have seen at the Wynn, Rampart, Golden Nugget, and Suncoast casinos. Wins are paid on a 'for one' basis, in other words the player doesn't get his bet back if he wins. The return column shows the return for only fixed wins. In other words, not including the top two awards, the player can expect to get back 46.27% of his money back.

Fortune Pai Gow Poker House Edge

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Seven-card straight flushJackpot2280.000001?
Five aces10% of jackpot1,1280.000007?
Royal flush$50026,0920.0001690.084636
Straight flush$100184,6440.0011980.119787
Four of a kind$75307,4720.0019950.149604
Full house$44,188,5280.0271730.108692
Loser$0149,434,9880.9694560.000000
Total154,143,0801.0000000.462719

Pai Gow Poker Side Bet Payouts

The value of the jackpot is 2.21% for each $10,000 in the meter. The break-even meter (where there house edge is exactly zero) is $243,011.06. I have yet to see a jackpot get anywhere near this high.

Pai Gow Poker Layout

Internal Links

Pai Gow Poker Side Bet Payouts Today

  • Pai gow poker — main page.
  • Side bets — Lots of other side bets seen in pai gow poker.