Don't be scared to try the game, even if you know nothing about the rules. However, some Asians immediately leave the table when I sit down, as if I'm unlucky. If you are a pale-face, like me, you'll impress the dealer and some other players that you even understand it. The pace is slow at about 30 hands per hour, and 41% of hands result in a push. What I love about pai gow is that for bankroll preservation, there is nothing that beats it.
What makes pai gow difficult is there is order of hands and tiles seems largely random, and is difficult to memorize. The concept is the same as pai gow poker, where both player and banker make high and low hands, and then compare against each other.
Indeed, pai gow is a difficult game to learn. How such a complicated game ever got started, I have always wondered. It easily pre-dates roulette and baccarat. Pai gow is the oldest of the casino games.
