Pai Gow Poker Envy Bonus Payouts

Pai Gow Poker Payouts. Now that you know how to play Pai Gow poker, you’ll need to understand how the payouts work. Bonus payouts are what make this game so exciting to play. The player has an option to make a bonus wager, and if they hit a big hand they will win a bonus. The size of the bonus depends on the size of your bet and the hand that you get. Fortune Pai Gow Poker® is an optional bonus bet that considers the best hand possible among your seven cards. You may bet any amount within table limits; however, a Fortune bet of at least $5 qualifies you for Envy Bonus payouts. You win the Envy Bonus when someone else.

The winning combinations and bonus payouts are given in our Pai Gow Poker Odds table. The reasons that Bonus / Fortune Pai Gow is more suited to higher-risk players are: a) you're betting twice as much per game (the bet and the bonus bet) and b) in the event of a tie, the bonus bet is not returned to you.

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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

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

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

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

Pai Gow Poker Envy Bonus Payouts
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

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.

Internal Links

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Introduction

This section contains my analysis of the following pai gow poker side bets:

Dealer Bonus


Please see my page on the Dealer Bonus for information on that side bet.

Free

Fortune Pai Gow Poker


Please see my page on the Fortune side bet for information on that side bet.

Jackpot Pai Gow Poker


'Jackpot' is a side bet I noticed at the Rio in November 2005. The game was closed at the time so the top prize was not evident, but according to the Shufflemaster web site it is alternatively $25,000, $50,000, or $100,000.

The following table shows the probability and return for each possible event. A $100,000 for the top win is assumed and a $5 bet, for a win of 20,000 to one. The table also assumes the player will always set his hand to maximize the value of the side bet, at the possible cost of his pai gow poker bet. The lower left cell shows a house edge of 2.21%, which for a side bet is pretty good.

Jackpot Pai Gow Poker Return Table

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Natural Royal plus Pair of Aces*20000120.000000080.001557
Five Aces plus Pair400720.000000470.000187
Royal Flush plus Pair20015600.000010120.002024
Five Aces20010560.000006850.00137
Royal Flush100245600.000159330.015933
Straight Flush plus Pair60117480.000076210.004573
Four of a Kind plus Pair40576480.000373990.01496
Straight Flush301730840.001122880.033686
Four of a Kind202498240.001620730.032415
Full House plus Pair121504800.000976240.011715
Flush plus Pair84892600.003174060.025393
Straight plus Pair611555360.007496520.044979
Full House640245600.026109250.156655
Flush456314200.036533720.146135
Straight3101453880.065817990.197454
Three of a kind274706760.048465850.096932
Nothing-11245561960.80805571-0.808056
Total1541430801-0.022088

* Both royal flush and pair of aces must be natural (no joker) for highest win.

If the top prize is less than $100,000, or the player bets more than $5 on the side bet, the return will be slightly less. The next table shows the house edge according to various other wins for a natural royal plus pair of aces according to the win on a to one basis.

House Edge by Highest Win

Natural Royal plus Aces PaysHouse Edge
200002.21%
100002.29%
50002.33%
40002.33%
30002.34%
20002.35%
10002.36%

Emperor's Challenge

Emperor's Challenge is a side bet I noticed at Hooter's Casino in Las Vegas in April, 2006. The following return table shows the probability and return of all possible outcomes. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 4.171%.

Emperor's Challenge Return Table

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Natural 7-card straight flush5000320.000000210.001038
Wild 7-card straight flush10001960.000001270.001272
Five aces50011280.000007320.003659
Royal Flush150260920.000169270.025391
Straight Flush501846440.001197870.059894
Four of a Kind253074720.001994720.049868
Full House541885280.027172990.135865
Flush461720880.040041290.160165
Three of a kind376725000.049775180.149326
Straight2110342040.071584170.143168
9 high pai gow40310800.000201630.008065
10 high pai gow52486400.001613050.008065
J high pai gow29634800.006250560.012501
Nonpaying hand-11233129960.79999048-0.79999
Total1541430801-0.041714

I hear that in Washington State the player must bet at least $5 to qualify for the pai gow hands.

Progressive Pai Gow Poker

The Falls View casino in Niagara Falls Ontario offers 'Progressive Pai Gow Poker'. This is basic pai gow poker with an added $5 side bet.

The following table shows the return table based on a breakeven meter of 20536.05 bet units, which for a $5 bet is $102,680.24. The house edge at all other times is 11.5428% less 1.1242% for every $10,000 in the meter.

Progressive Pai Gow Poker Return Table

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Natural Royal Flush or Five Aces + pair20536.053360.0000020.044764
Wild Royal Flush + pair20012600.0000080.001635
Straight Flush + pair50117480.0000760.003811
Four of a Kind + pair40576480.0003740.01496
Full House + pair121504800.0009760.011715
Flush + pair84892600.0031740.025393
Straight + pair411173880.0072490.028996
Natural Royal Flush or Five Aces2053.653040.0000340.070664
Wild Royal Flush100203600.0001320.013209
Straight Flush251730840.0011230.028072
Four of a Kind202498240.0016210.032415
Full House640304160.0261470.156883
Flush456637120.0367430.146973
Straight2100715160.0653390.130677
Three of a kind275445480.0489450.09789
Nothing-11245561960.808056-0.808056
Total15414308010

Pai Gow Insurance


Pai gow 'Insurance' is a side bet that I noticed at the Red Rock casino in August, 2008. It appeared along with the Emperor's Challenge side bet. A 'pai gow' in pai gow poker is a hand with seven singletons, where no straight or flush is possible. This side bet wins if the player had a pai gow, the lower the highest card, the more it pays. The following return table shows the details. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 7.35%.

Pai Gow Insurance

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
9 high pai gow100310800.0002020.020163
10 high pai gow252486400.0016130.040326
J high pai gow159634800.0062510.093758
Q high pai gow727195000.0176430.123499
K high pai gow563869400.0414350.207176
A high pai gow3144307800.0936190.280858
Loser-11293626600.839238-0.839238
Total1541430801-0.073457

Lucky 8's


Please see my page on the Lucky 8's for information on that side bet.

Pai Gow'd


Pai Gow'd is a side bet I noticed at the Four Queens on December 26, 2011. It is exactly like Pai Gow Insurance, explained above, but with a modified pay table. The lower right corner of the odds table below shows a house edge of 6.44%.

Pai Gow'd

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
9 high pai gow100310800.0002020.020163
10 high pai gow502486400.0016130.080652
J high pai gow109634800.0062510.062506
Q high pai gow727195000.0176430.123499
K high pai gow563869400.0414350.207176
A high pai gow3144307800.0936190.280858
Loser-11293626600.839238-0.839238
Total1541430801-0.064384

The Jokolor is a side bet mentioned on page 85 in the a document titled Rules of casino games in Great Britain (1124K). The side bet wins if the player has a joker and/or all cards of the same color. The following table shows the house edge is 3.90%.

Jokolor

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Six cards same color plus joker304604600.0029870.089617
Seven cards same color, without joker1013156000.0085350.085349
Any hand with joker5198980600.1290880.645441
Loser-11324689600.85939-0.85939
Total1541430801-0.038982

This side bet is paired with pai gow poker games, including EZ Pai Gow, offering the G3 electronic side bet wagering. As far as I can tell at the Rampart casino, it is just titled the 'Bonus Bet.'

Pai Gow Bonus Payouts

Bonus Bet Return Table

EventDynasty PaysEnvy BonusCombinationsProbabilityDynasty ReturnEnvy Bonus
Natural 7-card Straight Flush8000$ 5000320.0000000.0016610.000208
Royal Flush + Natural AQ Suited2000$ 1000720.0000000.0009340.000093
Wild 7-card Straight Flush1000$ 5001960.0000010.0012720.000127
Five Aces400$ 25011280.0000070.0029270.000366
Royal Flush150$ 50260200.0001690.0253210.001688
Straight Flush50$ 201846440.0011980.0598940.004791
Four of a Kind25$ 53074720.0019950.0498680.001995
Full House5$ 041885280.0271730.1358650.000000
Flush4$ 061720880.0400410.1601650.000000
Three of a Kind3$ 076725000.0497750.1493260.000000
Straight2$ 0110342040.0715840.1431680.000000
Losing combinations-1$ 01245561960.808056-0.8080560.000000
Total:1541430801.000000-0.0776560.009268

The next table shows the overall house edge according to the number of players, including yourself, and various bet amounts. Note that the high edge is lowest at a bet of $1. This is because the win for the Envy Bonus is the same, regardless how much the player bets.

Bonus Bet House Edge

Players$1-$4 bet$5 bet$10 bet$15 bet$25 bet
67.77%3.13%5.45%6.22%6.84%
57.77%4.06%5.91%6.53%7.02%
47.77%4.99%6.38%6.84%7.21%
37.77%5.91%6.84%7.15%7.39%
27.77%6.84%7.30%7.46%7.58%
17.77%7.77%7.77%7.77%7.77%

This is a progressive side bet found with G3 electronic betting units. The player may bet $1 to $25. All jackpot wins are the same, regardless of bet size, so I would never bet more than $1. As usual with progressive bets, wins are on a 'for one' basis. That means you don't get your original bet back, even if you win. To be consistent with other pages on this site, the following page is on a 'return basis,' meaning what the player can expect to get back for his bet, based on a $1 bet.

G3 Progressive

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
7-card Straight FlushJackpot$ 2280.0000010.000000
Five Aces0.1×Jackpot$ 1,1280.0000070.000000
Royal Flush$500$ 26,0920.0001690.084636
Straight Flush$100$ 184,6440.0011980.119787
Four of a Kind$75$ 307,4720.0019950.149604
Full House$4$ 4,188,5280.0271730.108692
All other0$ 149,434,9880.9694560.000000
Total154,143,0801.0000000.462719

Pai Gow Poker Payout Chart

The bottom right corner shows a return of 46.27% on all fixed wins. The value of the progressive is 22.11% for each $100,000 in the meter. To reach 100% the meter would need to be $243,011.06.When I saw this bet at the Rampart casino on March 17, 2011, the meter was at $207,361, for a return of 92.12%. This was probably unusually high, because the Rampart has had a truck with a big sign in the back drive around Summerlin promoting the large jackpot.

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