Face Up Pai Gow Poker
A variant of Pai Gow Poker where the banker's seven cards are dealt and set face up according to a fixed house way, and the usual 5% commission is replaced by an automatic push on Ace-high banker hands.
Coming soon — not yet playable
Rules
Face Up Pai Gow Poker (also marketed under names like EZ Pai Gow Poker or Emperor's Challenge, depending on the licensor) is played exactly like standard Pai Gow Poker (also in this library): each player splits seven cards into a five-card and a two-card hand, both of which must beat the banker's corresponding hands to win.
The key difference: the banker's seven cards are dealt face up and set according to a fixed, publicly known "house way" rather than being set privately — every player at the table can see exactly how the banker's hand will be arranged before comparing it to their own.
Instead of charging the usual 5% commission on winning bets (standard in regular Pai Gow Poker), this version simply pushes (returns) all player wagers automatically whenever the banker's best hand is Ace-high ("pai gow," the weakest possible non-hand) — eliminating the need to calculate commission on every win.
Strategy notes: Because the banker's hand-setting strategy is fully public and fixed rather than a private decision, this version removes any banker-side strategic skill entirely — the only decision players make is how to set their own seven cards, exactly as in standard Pai Gow Poker.
Common house rules
No commission, but automatic pushes
The defining trade-off: players don't pay the usual 5% commission on wins, but every wager automatically pushes (rather than paying out) whenever the banker's hand is the weakest possible Ace-high 'pai gow' hand.
House way is fully public
Unlike standard Pai Gow Poker where a home-game banker might set their own hand at their discretion, this version requires the banker's hand to be set according to a fixed, known formula — worth adopting for a home table that wants to remove banker bias entirely.
Multiple brand names, same core mechanic
Different casinos market this exact structure under different trademarked names (EZ Pai Gow, Emperor's Challenge, and others) — they're functionally the same game with cosmetic branding differences.
Related games
Based on shared category, origin, and rules that reference each other.
Pai Gow Poker
A banking card-table adaptation of the ancient Chinese tile game Pai Gow: each player splits seven cards into a five-card hand and a two-card hand, both of which must beat the banker's.
Learn the rules →Crazy 4 Poker
A Shuffle Master casino game where players make the best four-card hand from five cards, with the option to bet up to 3x their ante if holding a pair of aces or better.
Learn the rules →Four Card Poker
A casino banking game where players make the best four-card hand from five dealt cards, competing against a dealer who draws from six cards with no qualifying requirement.
Learn the rules →Guts
A fast, high-variance dealer's-choice staple: everyone gets a few cards, then privately decides in or out — those who stay and lose match the pot.
Learn the rules →