Pai Gow Dominoes

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Pai Gow means 'make nine' in Cantonese which is played with one set of Chinese Dominoes. Chinese dominoes set consists of 32 tiles which are divided in two suits or groups. Pai Gow is a game of Chinese dominoes. It originated in Ancient China and is played in most Asian countries. Translated into English, Pai Gow means 'to make nine.' It is played with 32 dominoes, also called tiles, 11 of which are identical pairs. It is a ancient Chinese gambling game that is played with the Chinese dominoes tile set. Pai Gow is played in most Chinese communities. Today, it is played openly in major casinos in the world. This set is a great addition for anyone looking for a Pai Gow Set from an actual casino. Great for any casino item collector as well. Pai Gow Poker is a playing-card variation of the traditional Pai Gow Chinese gambling game (which is played using dominoes). Players create two poker hands—a five-card hand and a two-card hand—out of the seven cards each is dealt—with the ultimate goal of defeating the dealer’s two corresponding hands.

Pai gow (Chinese: 牌九; pinyin: pái jiǔ; Jyutping: paai4 gau2) is a Chinesegamblinggame, played with a set of 32 Chinese dominoes. It is played in major casinos in China (including Macau); the United States (including Boston, Massachusetts; Las Vegas, Nevada; Reno, Nevada; Connecticut; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Pennsylvania; Mississippi; and cardrooms in California); Canada (including Edmonton, Alberta and Calgary, Alberta); Australia; and, New Zealand.

The name 'pai gow' is sometimes used to refer to a card game called pai gow poker (or “double-hand poker”), which is loosely based on pai gow.

Rules[edit]

Starting[edit]

Tiles are shuffled on the table and are arranged into eight face-down stacks of four tiles each in an assembly known as the woodpile. Individual stacks or tiles may then be moved in specific ways to rearrange the woodpile, after which the players place their bets.

Next, each player (including the dealer) is given one stack of tiles and must use them to form two hands of two tiles each. The hand with the lower value is called the front hand, and the hand with the higher value is called the rear hand. If a player's front hand beats the dealer's front hand, and the player's rear hand beats the dealer's rear hand, then that player wins the bet. If a player's front and rear hands both lose to the dealer's respective hands, the player loses the bet. If one hand wins and the other loses, the player is said to push, and gets back only the money he or she bet. Generally seven players will play, and each player's hands are compared only against the dealer's hands; comparisons are always front-front and rear-rear, never one of each.

There are 35,960 possible ways to select 4 of the 32 tiles when the 32 tiles are considered distinguishable. However, there are 3620 distinct sets of 4 tiles when the tiles of a pair are considered indistinguishable. There are 496 ways to select 2 of the 32 tiles when the 32 tiles are considered distinguishable. There are 136 distinct hands (pairs of tiles) when the tiles of a pair are considered indistinguishable.

Basic scoring[edit]

The name 'pai gow' is loosely translated as 'make nine' or 'card nine'. This reflects the fact that, with a few high-scoring exceptions, the maximum score for a hand is nine. If a hand consists of two tiles that do not form a pair, its value is determined by adding up the total number of pips on the tiles and dropping the tens digit (if any). Examples:

• 1–3 with 2-3: value 9 (nine pips altogether)
• 2–3 with 5-6: value 6 (16 pips; drop the 10)
• 5–5 with 4-6: value 0 (20 pips; ones digit is zero)

Gongs and Wongs[edit]

There are special ways in which a hand can score more than nine points. The double-one tiles and double-six tiles are known as the Day and Teen tiles, respectively. The combination of a Day or Teen with an eight results in a Gong, worth 10 points, while putting either of them with a nine creates a Wong, worth 11. However, when a Day or Teen is paired with any other tile, the standard scoring rules apply.

Gee Joon tiles[edit]

The 1-2 and the 2-4 tiles are called Gee Joon tiles and act as limited wild cards. When used as part of a hand, these tiles may be scored as either 3 or 6, whichever results in a higher hand value. For example, a hand of 1-2 and 5-6 scores as seven rather than four.

Pairs[edit]

The 32 tiles in a Chinese dominoes set can be arranged into 16 pairs, as shown in the picture at the top of this article. Eleven of these pairs have identical tiles, and five of these pairs are made up of two tiles that score the same, but look different. (The latter group includes the Gee Joon tiles, which can score the same, whether as three or six.) Any hand consisting of a pair outscores a non-pair, regardless of the pip counts. (Pairs are often thought of as being worth 12 points each.)

When the player and dealer both have a pair, the higher-ranked pair wins. Ranking is determined not by the sum of the tiles' pips, but rather by aesthetics; the order must be memorized. The highest pairs are the Gee Joon tiles, the Teens, the Days, and the red eights. The lowest pairs are the mismatched nines, eights, sevens, and fives.

Ties[edit]

When the player and dealer display hands with the same score, the one with the highest-valued tile (based on the pair rankings described above) is the winner. For example, a player's hand of 3-4 and 2-2 and a dealer's hand of 5-6 and 5-5 would each score one point. However, since the dealer's 5-5 outranks the other three tiles, he would win the hand.

If the scores are tied, and if the player and dealer each have an identical highest-ranking tile, the hand is ruled a copy and the dealer wins. For example, if the player held 2-2 and 1–6, and the dealer held 2-2 and 3–4, the dealer would win since the scores (1 each) and the higher tiles (2-2) are the same. The lower-ranked tile in each hand is never used to break a tie.

There are two exceptions to the method described above. First, although the Gee Joon tiles form the highest-ranking pair, they are considered to have no value when evaluating ties. Second, any zero-zero tie is won by the dealer, regardless of the tiles in the two hands.

Strategy[edit]

The key element of pai gow strategy is to present the optimal front and rear hands based on the tiles dealt to the player. There are three ways to arrange four tiles into two hands when no two of them form a pair. However, if there is at least one pair among the tiles, there are only two distinct ways to form two hands.

Using the tiles shown at right, the following hands and scores are possible:

• A and B (0), C and D (0)
• A and C (5), B and D (5)
• A and D (3), B and C (7)

The player must decide which combination is most likely to give a set of front/rear hands that can beat the dealer, or at least break a tie in the player's favor. In some cases, a player with weaker tiles may deliberately attempt to attain a push so as to avoid losing the bet outright. Many players rely on superstition or tradition to choose tile pairings.

See also[edit]

Play Puerto Rican Dominoes Online

External links[edit]

• Pai gow lore at Wizard of Odds website (Michael Shackleford)

Do you prefer playing Pai Gow Tiles or Pai Gow Poker? Pai Gow Tiles is played with dominoes and Pai Gow Poker is played with playing cards. Pai Gow tile is slow in comparison to Pai Gow Poker. But playing with tiles has its own charm, uniqueness and experience. Here you will find the hand rankings of Pai Gow Tiles and Pai Gow Poker.

Pai Gow Tile

Recall the Basics

Before you understand the rules and hand ranking just recall the Pai Gow Tile game. There are 32 dominoes used in Pai Gow, which are mixed or shuffled by the House Supervisor. The dominoes are placed in eight stacks of four each. The Player/Dealer and up to seven players are dealt one stack (four dominoes). The object of the game is to set the dominoes into two hands (front and back, two dominoes per hand) for the best ranking combination. If they are lower, the Player/Dealer wins. When the Player/Dealer and players have the same ranking combinations, the Player/Dealer is the winner.

Rules Of Pai Gow Tiles

• The game is played with 32 dominoes, each with two sets of dots. Some dominoes, such as the 3:6 and 2:5 (“top:bottom” format), appear only once. Others, such the 6:6 and 1:5 appear twice. Even though some dots are red while others are white, the color is irrelevant.
• The goal of Pai Gow Tiles is identical to the goal for Pai Gow Poker: to beat the dealer (or technically, the banker when the dealer isn’t banking).
• At the beginning of a hand, the banker will mix the 32 dominoes and arrange them in 8 stacks of 4.
• The players (up to 7 besides the banker) will choose their bets.
• Then, dice are rolled to determine the distribution of the 8 stacks of tiles – each player receives 1 stack.
• Your job is to arrange your 4 tiles into two hands. Each hand will contain 2 tiles. Each tile (or domino) has a value based on its two sets of dots.
• If both of your hands beat the banker’s hands, you’ll win and your bet is paid even money.
• If both of your hands lose against the banker’s hands, you’ll lose your bet.
• If you win one hand while the other hand loses, you’ll push and your bet is returned to you.
• If you win both hands, the banker will collect 5% of your winnings as a commission. This is one of the reasons it’s an advantage to act as the banker.

Hand Rankings

Hand values are calculated by adding the dots on the dominoes and dropping the tens place. As an example a hand comprised of 3:4 and 4:5 would be scored as “6”. Here’s the math: 3:4 equals 7 and 4:5 equals 9. 7 plus 9 equals 16. Drop the tens place digit and you’re left with 6.
A nine is the best hand possible (with a few exceptions )

Days, Teens, Gongs, and Wongs

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A 1:1 tile is called a Day.
A 6:6 tile is called a Teen.
If you pair up either of them with an eight (i.e. 2:6, 3:5, 4:4, etc.), the resulting value is 10, not zero. The hand is called a Gong and outranks a nine.
If you pair up either with a nine (i.e. 3:6, 4:5, etc.), the resulting value is eleven, not one. The hand is called a Wong. It too, outranks a nine.
A 1:2 tile and a 2:4 tile are both known as Gee Joon tiles. They can represent a value of 3 or 6, depending upon which yields the best score. For example, suppose that you have a 1:2 tile paired with a 4:5 tile. Normally, with the 1:2 tile representing 3, the hand would be scored as 2 (3 plus 9 equals 12, drop the tens place digit). However, because the 1:2 is a Gee Joon, it can represent 6, giving the hand a score of 5 (6 plus 9 equals 15, drop the tens place).

The Pairs

Among the 32 Pai Gow Tiles, there are 16 possible pairs (as example, a hand comprised of a 2:3 tile and a 1:4 tile). A pair always beats a non-pair hand, regardless of the dots. The ranking of pairs is as follows, starting from the highest score to the lowest score:

• 1:2 and 2:4
• 6:6 and 6:6
• 1:1 and 1:1
• 4:4 and 4:4
• 1:3 and 1:3
• 5:5 and 5:5
• 2:2 and 2:2 (vertical)
• 2:2 and 2:2 (horizontal)
• 5:6 and 5:6
• 4:6 and 4:6
• 1:6 and 1:6
• 1:5 and 1:5
• 4:5 and 3:6
• 2:6 and 3:5
• 3:4 and 2:5
• 2:5 and 1:4

Pai Gow Poker Hand Rankings

Most Pai Gow Poker hands are ranked according to traditional poker rules. You’ll remember that the game is played by splitting 7 cards into two separate hands: a 2-card hand and a 5-card hand.

• The 2-card hand- The best hand you can have is a pair of Aces (or an Ace and a joker). From there, pair rankings descend to a pair to 2’s. If your 2-card hand does not contain a pair, a high card wins. A pretty easy to rank your pai gow poker 2 card hand.
• As you probably realize, flushes are irrelevant within your 2-card hand. In descending order of value
• The best 5-card hand you can have is 4 Aces and a joker (which is the same as 5 Aces).
• You can also have a royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house flush, straight, 3 of a kind, two pairs, single pair and high card.
• There is one notable exception to traditional poker rankings. Pai Gow Poker hand ranks distinguish an Ace-K-Q-J-10 as a higher-ranking straight than an Ace-2-3-4-5. From there, the highest card of a straight determines its value. For example, a Q-J-10-9-8 outranks a 9-8-7-6-5.
• Five Aces – A-A-A-A-Joker
• Royal Flush – 10-J-Q-K-A of the same suit
• Straight Flush – Five cards of the same suit ranked in order (for example, 5-6-7-8-9 of clubs)
• Four-of-a-kind – Four cards of the same rank (for example, 7-7-7-7) The highest-ranked cards would win should the dealer and player both have four-of-a-kind.
• Full House – Three-of-a-kind and one pair. Ties are broken by the highest-ranking three-of-a-kind (for example, Q-Q-Q-7-7 beats a J-J-J-10-10)
• Flush – Five cards in the same suit, regardless of ranking (for example, 3-6-8-10-J of diamonds)
• Straight – Five cards of different suits ranked in order (for example, 5 hearts – 6 clubs – 7 diamonds – 8 hearts – 9 spades)
• Three-of-a-kind – Three cards of the same ranking (for example, 5-5-5)
• Two Pair – Two sets of pairs (for example, 10-10 and 4-4)
• One Pair – Two cards of the same ranking (for example, 3-3)
• High Card – If no one has at least a pair, then the highest-ranking card wins (for example, A-10-5-4-2 beats Q-10-7-4-2)

Some Pai Gow Poker Examples

If you are dealt an Ace of Hearts, Joker, Queen of Hearts, 9 of Clubs, 10 of Clubs, Queen of Diamonds and King of Hearts, here are some hands to think about:

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• Highest hand: A/Hearts-Joker-Q/Hearts-Q/Diamonds-9/Clubs (Two Pairs)
  Second highest: K/Hearts-10/Clubs (High Cards). With this example, the chances of beating the dealer’s highest hand are great, but maybe not the second-highest hand. This results in a push, or tie, which extends your playing time.
• Highest hand: A/Hearts-Joker-9/Clubs-10/Clubs-K/Hearts (One Pair)
  Second highest: Q/Hearts-Q/Diamonds (One Pair). With this example, the highest hand would probably not beat the dealer’s, but the second-highest hand probably would. Again, another push, but nothing lost.
• Highest hand: 9/Clubs-10/Clubs-Joker-Q/Diamonds-K/Hearts (Straight)
  Second highest: Q/Hearts-A/Hearts (High cards). The Straight would almost certainly win, and there is a good chance that a Queen and Ace as the high cards would beat what the dealer has for the second highest hand.

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You need to compare both of your hands to both of the dealer’s hands to determine whether you’ve won, lost, or pushed.