I’m not a huge gambler- I don’t play the pokies and the only table game I really enjoy is Blackjack- but when my wife and I were in Vegas earlier this year I spent an incredibly enjoyable 5 hours at the Tropicana playing Blackjack one evening.
At the end of the night I was down $80, and I considered it money well spent for a unique experience that could never otherwise hope to have (We have Casinos here in Australia, but they have none of the charm or sense of fun of the ones in Las Vegas).
Re: fouling your hand at Pai Gow. First, if you let them know you’re new, they’re usually pretty lenient. Hell, I’ve even see a dealer correct a hand that would enable a player to win (needed to call over the pit boss, but the pit boss approved it as well). Depending on how busy they are, how tired they are, etc., they might let you slip up 1 or 2 times. By that time you should get the hang of it.
What often happens is that if a (new) player messes up, on the subsequent hands, the dealer will ask to “check” their hand just to be sure. And they’ll correct any mistakes, so they’ll prevent the foul.
Second, if you’re ever unsure, you can always have the house (dealer) play your hand. They will play it how the house would play, though. And in some cases it is more focused on pushing (not losing) than winning.
Lastly, always remember that it behooves the casino to have you play. Why go out of their way to discourage you - especially if you’re new to the game ? The casino would much rather have you learn (and play) than to punish you and discourage you from playing.
What he said. I tried Pai Gow for the first time a few months ago, and the dealers were amazingly helpful. I made sure I wasn’t at a busy table, and the dealers walked me through the whole deal. Fixed a couple of hands for me as well. I walked away up a bit, and the dealers got well-tipped. On the whole I’ll stick with blackjack, but Pai Gow is a nice diversion sometimes.
What about Smoking? My Mother is also going, and she has Asthma. Asthma and smoking do not mix.
That is to say, I KNOW that Vegas allows, and all but encourages smoking. However, I also hear that the air is filtered. What is the net sum of these two events then?
Casinos can be an awfully smoky. People will chain smoke and leave their cigs burning in the ashtray. I’m pretty sure there are smoke free tables which are pretty tolerable, as casinos have massive air conditioning systems capable of creating their own weather systems.
Pai Gow is a blast to play and has such small odds going to the house that they actually take a house fee in order to compensate for the odds. It gives you the thrill of a poker hand without the stress. It’s usually my game of choice when I’m approaching broke and trying to kill time.
When you guys are talking about Pai Gow, do you mean Pai Gow Poker, or the game with the things that look like dominoes? Or is there a difference (other than cards vs. dominoes)?
Regarding smoking, there will be sections of smoking and non-smoking tables. The sections are usually pretty close together, but if you’re in a major casino I think Mom will be ok as long she’s not sitting at a table with smokers. They filter the hell out of that air. At a small downtown casino is the only place I’d worry about air quality.
It seems everyone here is referring to Pai Gow Poker. I think it’s a rule that you have to be Asian to play regular Pai Gow with the dominoes.
In college, on poker nights, one of my friends introduced us to a game very similar to Pai Gow, only it had more cards, and three hands. A two card hand, and two five cards hands, following the same rules (the ‘bottom’ five card hand had to be the best hand, and the two-card one was the worst.) You won against the dealer if you had 2/3, he won if he had 2/3. A push happened if you each took one hand and tied on another (rare, but it happens, the two card hand was the tie 99% of the time.)
Think of gambling as entertainment - you want to get the most bang for your buck. That means learning how to bet, what are the odds, etc. And set limits. I’ll take 200 clams into a casino - that’s my lower limit, what I am willing to spend for an evening’s entertainment, and I’ll stretch it out as long as I can. But I have an upper limit as well - if I triple my stake, I cash in and walk away. The extra 400 bucks I just made will buy a really nice dinner for SWMBO and me, and probably a show on top of it.