Reason #3 why the Wizard likes Bovada:

Excellent Odds

In my opinion many online casinos are too stingy when setting the odds on their games. They think they will make more money that way but I believe they are misguided, because when players lose too quickly it’s not fun, and those players might not come back.

Bovada is one of the few casinos that understands this. They offer generous odds to let you play longer and get you a better chance of winning. Among their generous offerings are Full-Pay Jacks or Better returning 99.54%, six other video poker games paying over 99%, single-zero roulette, and my favorite, Pick ’em Poker, returning 99.95%!

Kudos to Bovada for not being afraid to give their players a good gamble.

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Pai Gow Poker Appendix 2

Last Update: Aug 15, 2007

This appendix presents my advice on when to split up a two pair. It first appeared in my newsletter dated March 2, 2001.

Probably the most frequent hand which necessitates a non-obvious decision is the two pair. I have always thought the house way for splitting pairs seemed rather arbitrary. For example at the Trump Plaza house way for splitting pairs is:

Low pair and low pair: Split unless holding a king or better.
Low pair and medium pair: Split unless holding a king or better.
Low pair and high pair: Split unless holding an ace.
Medium pair and medium pair: Split unless holding an ace.
Medium pair and high pair: Always split.
High pair and high pair: Always split.
Pair of aces and any other pair: Always split.

Where:
2 through 6: Low cards
7 through 10: Medium cards
Jack through king: High cards

This is very typical. Most other casinos use this exact rule or something similar.I ran my program to determine the best play under millions of two pair hands and recorded the results according to the value of each pair and the highest singleton. In some cases the best play also depended on the other singletons in which case my advice follows the correct play the majority of the time. Following is my advice on when to split two pairs when playing against the Trump Plaza house way.

Split the two pair unless:
1. The sum of the ranks is 9 or less and you have a king or ace singleton, or
2. The sum of the ranks is 15 or less and you have an ace singleton.

By the "sum of the ranks" I mean adding the value of each pair. For example a two pair consisting of 4’s and 8’s would have a sum of ranks of 4+8=12. Face cards and aces have a value according to their poker value, for example an ace would be highest at 14.

Switching from the house way two pair rule to my two rules above will cut the house edge by 0.04%, plus I think my two rules are easier to remember than those of the house way.

Michael Shackleford, ASA

My Pai Gow Poker coverage

Rules, strategy, & house edge
Dealer Probabilities:Shows the probability the dealer will form any given hand orless. Useful for making accurate strategy decisions.
When to split a two-pair:My advice on when to split a two pair.
Side Bets: Analysis of variouis side bets such as Fortune, Jackpot, and Emperor's Challenge.
No Push Pai Gow Poker:My analysis of this PGP variant.
Pai Gow Mania:My analysis.
Washington State pai gow poker: In Washington often there is no commission charged if the player makes the Fortune bet. I address this rule variant in my "Ask the Wizard" column.
New game. Play my new and improved Pai Gow Poker game.
Old game. Play my classic old Pai Gow Poker game.

Pai Gow Poker Appendix 2

My Pai Gow Poker coverage

House Way for...