Paigow

#1 Online Casino game of Pai Gow Poker for Android! Pai Gow Poker is a variant of Chinese Domino game also named Pai Gow, played with playing cards instead of Pai Gow's Chinese dominoes. Home Casino Action Table Games Pai Gow A Modified Take on Poker In the game of Pai Gow, each player and the dealer receive seven cards from which each player must form two hands, one of the five cards and one of two cards.

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Pai Gow Tile Set in Wooden Box. This antique-style wooden box features a traditional design and authentic look for the storage and presentation of this Pai Gow Set. These sets include tiles with red and white pips and a high-gloss black pearl finish, three small white dice and a Pai Gow Dealer Button.

Legend Behind Pai Gow

Pai gow (tiles) is perhaps the oldest casino game. The name roughly translates to 'make nine.' In fact, the concept of scoring by the ones digit only, as in baccarat, likely stems from pai gow.

Of all the casino games, there can be little debate that pai gow is the hardest to learn. Before playing the game, one should learn the ranking of 16 pairs of tiles. To the westerner, or anybody not steeped in Chinese mythology, this ranking will likely seem arbitrary and thus difficult to memorize. However, there is a legend behind the game, and acquainting oneself with that legend can aid in understanding the order of the pairs.

On December 30, 2011, I met a very nice Caucasian gentleman by the name of Colonel Rob Patton at the pai gow table at the Paris casino in Las Vegas. He mentioned that he had been playing the game for about 25 years. This took me quite by surprise. When I started to play the game around 2001, there was almost never another pale-faced player at the table. Now I would say non-Asians make up about 20% of the players.

In the mid Eighties, I would have been shocked to see any non-Asians playing. Based on early literature, the few Caucasian players you might have found were likely mathematicians like Michael Musante, John M. Gwynn Jr., or Bill Zender. To this day, white players are still often made to feel a bit unwelcome at pai gow tables. The attitude that 'whitey' can be unlucky is still prevalent in Macau and Australia.

Rob said his efforts to learn the game were not easy, due to Asian dealers not having the ability or inclination to explain the game in English. One day, though, he found a Caucasian dealer at Caesars in Lake Tahoe who was very helpful. In his efforts to explain the tile rankings, he told Rob the Chinese legend of the creation of the universe to help with the explanation. Here it is:

Part 1 - The Supreme Pair

Part 2 - The Civilian Pairs

Part 3 - The Military Pairs

Finally come the mixed pairs, which represent the military. The greater the number of dots, the higher the rank.

Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Poker Play

Rank of the 2-4 Gee Tile

Some casino rule books state the value of the 2-4 tile is above the two fives, while others rank it last with the 1-2 tile. In my own explanation of the rules, I rank it last. So, why the discrepancy? According to John Gwynn, who quotes Michael Musante, in his article 'A Detailed Study of Pai Gow,' (page 308), published in Finding the Edge, there is an unwritten rule that the 2-4 tile is ranked just above the five-point tiles (1-4 and 2-3), except if it is used to count as three points, in which case it is ranked last, with the 1-2 tile. This demotion only makes a difference when the Gee tile is combined with either five-point tile (1-4 or 2-3). In this case it is treated as three points, demoting it below the rank of the five-point tile. So, for all intents and purposes, both Gee tiles should be and effectively are ranked last.

If we assume that Gwynn and Mustante are right, and I wouldn't trust anybody more than them, then I would claim that the Venetian rules are in error, which imply the 2-4 tile is always ranked higher than the five-point tiles. However, this would only come into effect if the banker had the 1-2 tile and a 5-point tile, and the player had the 2-4 tile and the other 5-point tile. According to the rule booklet, the Venetian would score it as a win for the player. However, both hands should be equally ranked, which would be a win for the banker. The odds of this are 1 in 107,880.

Chinese Dice

Finally, Rob addressed a question I have wondered about for years: Why do dice in all the Chinese games, namely pai gow, pai gow poker, baccarat, and sic bo, paint the one and four red but all the other numbers black? His answer follows.

Each tile pattern in the Chinese domino set is made up of the outcome of a throw of two six-sided dice. There are therefore 21 unique patterns (6+5+4+3+2+1).

Using the same coloring scheme of the traditional Chinese dice, every half domino with 1 or 4 spots has those dots colored red, (for example, the 4-5 domino has four red spots and five white spots). The only exception is the pair of 6-6 tiles. Half of the spots on the 6-6 domino are colored red to make them stand out as the top ranking Civilian tiles. In Pai Gow, dot color plays no role in the play of the game; it is only to visually make the tiles traditional.

The Chinese custom of painting the 4-spot red is said to have originated when an Emperor playing sugoruku (Japanese Backgammon) with his queen was about to lose and desperately needed fours to win the game. He cried out, threw the dice and they came up accordingly. He was so glad that he ordered that fours be painted red from then on.

The emperor is said to have been Lo Ling Wong who reigned under the title Chong Tsung (AD 684 - 701) during the Tang dynasty. Whether this story is true is questionable, and it has been suggested that the 4-spot is painted red because dice were imported from India where red fours are also traditional. The reason why the 1-spot is large and painted red is not clear. It is said the stark combination of black and white would be unlucky, red being considered very lucky in China. Another possibility is that it counters and balances the die, compensating for the opposite 6-spot indentations.

Type of Dominoes Used: Oriental
Type of Game: Oriental Dominoes

(Pai Gow is Cantonese; Pai Jo is Mandarin; aka Pai Kow)

This gambling game is an ancient Chinese or Korean domino game that has become very popular in quite a few Nevada, U.S., casinos.

Additional equipment needed: 3 dice to be thrown at the beginning of the game to determine the deal) and a number of chips of varying shapes denoting different denominations (or anything else that can be used for staking). Use chips during the game for staking and then settle accounts at the end of the game.

Object of the game: To have your high hand beat the banker's high hand and to have your low hand beat the banker's low hand.

Number of players: 4 players (one 'banker' and three 'punters') and any number of bystanders may participate.
Dominoes are stacked facedown in 2 piles, each pile containing 4 rows of 4 dominoes.
Each player takes a turn throwing 3 dice, going counterclockwise around the table and ending with the player who becomes the first banker, to determine where the deal begins. The dominoes are dealt by the banker, counterclockwise around the table, each player receiving 4 tiles.
Players examine their tiles without exposing them. From these tiles they form two separate hands of 2 tiles per hand: a high hand and a low hand, each designed to beat the banker's high hand and low hand. When the 3 players have placed their tiles on the table, they put their stake alongside. The banker may impose a limit if he wishes. Any onlooker may participate in the game by placing a stake alongside the tiles of a chosen player.
When all the stakes have been placed, the 3 players expose their first pair, their high hand. Next, the banker exposes his high hand. Then, the players expose their second pair, low hands. The banker follows by exposing his low hand.
To win a round, one of the three players or the banker must win both hands by holding a pair of tiles of higher standing than his opponents. If two different players win one hand each, the round is drawn and stakes are lifted from the table and may be staked again after the next deal. If the banker wins both hands, he takes all the stakes on the table. If a player wins both hands, the banker pays him his stake, and also those of any onlooker who may have laid a stake with him. The banker also pays the other players and participating onlookers, if their pairs rate higher than both of his. If any player's pairs are lower than the banker's, the banker wins their stakes. There is no exchange between banker and a player unless the value of each pair is higher (or lower) on both hands.
When the gains and losses have been settled, the banker deals the second pile of 16 tiles. The second round is played in the same way.
When both rounds are finished, all the tiles are reshuffled and stacked in two piles of 16 dominoes each. The player on the banker's right becomes the new banker, and the game continues. Players may drop out at the end of any round and their place may be taken by an onlooker.