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Pai Gow

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Pai Gow is a popular Chinese game played in most Chinese communities as well as major casinos in China. It is also played in casinos in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Chinese dominoes used in Pai Gow are different from the dominoes we normally play with. These Chinese dominoes are colored black with combinations of red and white dots.

These dominoes, however, are not unique to this game and are used in many other Chinese games.

History

Translated, Pai Gow means to make nine. This game originated in China and is thought to be thousands of years old and was derived from two older games named yu-p’u and yeh-tza. The game has been introduced to other countries by Chinese travelers and immigrants.

Though played with dominoes, Pai Gow isn’t that much different to most card games. This reason alone attracts most card players to try out and eventually fall in love with the fun and ease of play that Pai Gow offers.

Game Play

The dominoes or tiles used in Pai Gow are first mixed and then stacked into eight piles of four tiles each. These stacks are known as a woodpile. The dealer reshuffles them according to a set pattern until a new woodpile has been created. After which, betting follows.

Each player in Pai Gow, including the dealer is handed four tiles. These four tiles make two pairs or hands. The dots of each pair are summed and the lowest pair becomes known as the front hand while the higher value pair becomes the rear hand. If the player beats the dealer’s front and rear hands, the player wins all bets. If both hands are lost the player loses but if only one hand wins, the player gets to keep only the money he/she bet. Since Pai Gow means to make nine, the highest value of a hand would be nine. If the value of a pair exceeds nine, the tens place is then dropped. For example, if the value of a pair is fifteen, then its actual value would be five.

Special combinations exist in Pai Gow. In these special combinations the hand can score more than nine points. Double-one and double-six tiles are special tiles known as Day and Teen respectively. A Day or Teen combined with an eight scores ten (known as a Gong), if combined with a nine scores eleven (called a Wong). However, if a Day or Teen is combined with a ten, the score will only be two. Special tiles known as Gee Joon, act as wild cards and can be valued as either three or six depending on the hand. They are the one-two and two-four tiles. A one-two and a five-six tile for example results in a score of seven instead of four.

Pairs of same numbered tiles in Pai Gow are also scored differently. A pair has a higher score than a non-pair. Matching look-alike pairs have a higher value than non-look-alike pairs of the same value and of course, higher value pairs score more than lower-value pairs. A pair of Gee Joon tiles has the highest rank. If the player’s score ties with the dealer, pair ranking is used to determine who has the higher rank.

Conclusion

Now that you know the basics, you can hit the Pai Gow tables and enjoy the game. You can also purchase Chinese dominoes and start having fun with friends. Another viable option is to try the many Pai Gow games available online. With hundreds of online casinos offering Pai Gow, the choices are endless and can sometimes be overwhelming. To give you a head-start on your online Pai Gow experience, we have listed the top casinos that offer the best Pai Gow in the business so be sure to check it out!