Face Up Pai Gow Poker Malaysia – Full Dealer Info Strategy Guide
Face Up Pai Gow Poker flips the traditional Pai Gow Poker format by exposing the dealer's entire seven-card hand face-up before you arrange your own cards. Available at Maxim88 Malaysia, this rare slice of full information transforms the decision-making: you set your high and low hands knowing precisely what you must beat, while the casino balances that advantage by turning ties into dealer wins and trimming the payouts. The result is a slower, more cerebral table game that rewards patient, methodical players.
What is Face Up Pai Gow Poker?
Standard Pai Gow Poker has the dealer's cards face-down. Face Up Pai Gow Poker reveals all dealer cards before players split their hands into a five-card "high" hand and two-card "low" hand. This information advantage is balanced by ties always going to the dealer (rather than pushing as in standard Pai Gow).
How to Play
- Ante bet: Place your wager before cards are dealt.
- Dealer hand revealed: All seven dealer cards are turned face-up.
- Receive seven cards: You receive your seven-card hand face-up.
- Set your hands: Split your cards into a five-card high hand and two-card low hand, aiming to beat the dealer's equivalent hands.
- Compare: Both high and low hands are compared. Win both to win the bet. Win one to push (except in Face Up where ties favour the dealer).
Strategy Advantage
Tip 1: Use Dealer Hand Information
With the dealer's hand visible, you can optimise your hand split based on what you need to beat specifically. If the dealer has a weak low hand (e.g. 2-3), you can afford to sacrifice your low hand strength to build an overwhelming high hand.
Tip 2: Banker Option
In Face Up Pai Gow Poker, players can optionally "bank" — taking the dealer position against other players. Banking is advantageous as ties go to the banker, making the banker role statistically profitable over time.
Tip 3: Set a Safe Low Hand Before Chasing the High
Because a tie on either hand counts as a loss in the face-up format, the classic "house way" of keeping your two-card low hand respectably strong becomes even more important here. When you hold a marginal seven, prioritise placing your second-best pair or a solid high card in the low hand rather than stacking everything into the five-card high hand — copying the dealer outright is far costlier in this variant than in standard Pai Gow.
Providers at Maxim88
- Playtech — Offers Face Up Pai Gow Poker in their comprehensive live table game collection.
- Microgaming Plus — Pioneer provider with Pai Gow variants including the face-up format.