If you're going to play Poker make a trip over to Bally's, the players there are generally drunk tourists and the tables are real fishy. Play a solid ABC Poker game (play strong hands in position, make solid continuation bets, don't attempt pure bluffs on the turn and river since everyone will call you down even with bottom pairs, semi-bluff if the implied odds are good or if the price is right.) and you'll come out ahead barring any bad beats.
You'll mostly just find Pai Gow Poker (the card game). I have no idea how to play the tiles version of the game and I've only ever seen it offered at the Wynn and New York New York. It's actually a really relaxing and simple game you and Belinda can play. You push like 70% of the time (I'll have to look up the exact number, but it's high) and the game is slow by Vegas standards so it's a good way to chat it up with the dealers and get free drinks from the cocktail waitresses. Pretty much any liquor you can imagine (even top shelf) is offered for free to gamblers - just make sure you tip the cocktail waitress or she won't come back.
It's a easy game to play, here are the rules:
- Each player and the dealer gets their own 7-card hand
- You must make two poker hands. One 5-card hand (called "the bottom") and one 2-card hand (called "the top")
- The bottom hand must be stronger than the top hand (ie if you have two pair, kings and queens, then the kings must go in the bottom hand and the queens must go in the top hand).
- After everyone has set their hand, the dealer flips over their cards and makes their own hand according to a set of rules called the "House Way."
- If both your top hand and bottom hand beats the dealer's top and bottom hands then you win! Payouts are 0.95:1 making it less than even-money. Basically, you pay a 5% commission on wins, this is how the house gets its edge.
- If both your hands lose to the dealer's then you lose.
- If only one hand wins against the dealers then its a push (this happens a lot).
- Ties favor the dealer
- The deck is a standard 52-card deck plus one Joker. The Joker acts as a "bug" meaning that it can be used to complete straights, flushes, and straight flushes. If none of those are possible in your hand then it acts as an Ace. Obviously it is the best card you can have in Pai Gow.
Basic strategy boils down to what is effectively the House Way:
- Keep all two-pairs together where the stronger pair is 8s or less. (Keep 8s and deuces together, split 9s and deuces)
- Always always always split full houses. (Put the 3-of-a-kind in the bottom hand and the pair in the top hand)
- If you have a 6 or 7 card straight, set your hand so that the top hand is as strong as possible (ie. you have 2345678 in your hand, put the 87 up top and the lower straight on the bottom)
This will pretty much give you all the info you need:
http://wizardofodds.com/paigowpoker
There's other shit you can do like play as the banker but I wouldn't mess with that unless you have a shload of money. It basically lets the player playing as the banker win ties but they must set their hand the house way and they must wager enough money to cover all the bets on the table.
