Play Pai Gow Tiles
- Play Pai Gow Tiles
- Play Pai Gow Tiles For Free
- Play Pai Gow Tiles Online For Free
- Play Pai Gow Tiles Free
Pai Gow Tiles is the predecessor of Pai Gow Poker. It has its roots in Ancient China and is arguably one of the oldest games that is currently played in casinos. On this site, we focus primarily on Pai Gow Poker. The game uses standard playing cards and poker hand rankings; most gamblers enjoy the familiarity.
That said, a lot of people prefer to play Pai Gow Tiles. The game moves more slowly than Pai Gow Poker, which makes it easier to preserve your bankroll. And because the game uses dominoes rather than playing cards, it offers a unique flavor to the gambling experience.
On this page, we’ll give you a comprehensive tutorial for playing Pai Gow Tiles. Think of this as a mini workshop. We’ll explain the rules and hand rankings (using dominoes), so you’ll have everything you need in order to get started playing immediately.
A hand of pai gow begins with all 32 tiles being shuffled. Each player makes a bet, and receives four tiles; the dealer also takes four tiles for their own hands. The players now look at their tiles, and arrange them into two separate hands of two tiles each. Practice and learn on my free. My thanks and compliments to 'JB' for an outstanding job on this.
Get Eight 100% Match Bonuses | Bitcoin accepted. 100% bonus. |
Rules Of Pai Gow Tiles
The game is played with 32 dominoes, each with two sets of dots. For the remainder of this page, we’ll refer to the sets in a “top:bottom” format. So, a 3:4 means 3 dots on top and 4 dots on the bottom. Some dominoes, such as the 3:6 and 2:5, 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 In Pai Gow Tiles
Hand rankings and scoring in Pai Gow Tiles will seem complicated to novices. Remember these two rules of thumb:
- Hand values are calculated by adding the dots on the dominoes and dropping the tens place. For 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 detailed below).
That’s the easy part. Now, let’s cover Days, Teens, Gongs, and Wongs.
- 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.
There’s more to learn…
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).
Let’s move on to pairs.
Among the 32 Pai Gow Tiles, there are 16 possible pairs (for 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 – 1:2 and 2:4
- #2 – 6:6 and 6:6
- #3 – 1:1 and 1:1
- #4 – 4:4 and 4:4
- #5 – 1:3 and 1:3
- #6 – 5:5 and 5:5
- #7 – 2:2 and 2:2 (vertical)
- #8 – 2:2 and 2:2 (horizontal)
- #9 – 5:6 and 5:6
- #10 – 4:6 and 4:6
- #11 – 1:6 and 1:6
- #12 – 1:5 and 1:5
- #13 – 4:5 and 3:6
- #14 – 2:6 and 3:5
- #15 – 3:4 and 2:5
- #16 – 2:5 and 1:4
Unfortunately, there is no easy system for memorizing the above ranking order.
Playing Pai Gow Tiles To Win
The strategy for Pai Gow Tiles involves splitting your 4 tiles into two hands that maximize your chances of winning both hands. It’s more complex than it sounds. Given the time, we could provide beginner, intermediate, and advanced strategies. We may do so in the future. In the meantime, there are very few online casinos at which to play Pai Gow Tiles. Most offer Pai Gow Poker because it is far more popular with gamblers.
We recommend that you visit Bodog Casino to play Pai Gow Poker. They’ll give you an instant 10% sign-up match on your first deposit. Rather than placing your bonus into a pending account until you earn it out, Bodog drops it into your active account, so you can start using it immediately. Visit Bodog Casino today to start enjoying Pai Gow Poker.
Pai Gow is a traditional Chinese casino game that is rich in history and cultural significance and is enjoyed throughout the Asian world.
Thanks to globalization and the trade of culture and ideas, Pai Gow has made its way to the Western hemisphere, where we can now enjoy the beautiful game of Pai Gow Poker.
Admittedly, the game has a complex set of rules and has a high entry barrier for new players. However, once you learn the game, it is a great experience to indulge in.
Top Pai Gow Casinos Online
- Accepts Players From USA
- Hundreds Of Popular Casino Games
- Amazing New Online Casino
- Play Instantly On Mobile Or Desktop
Deposit Options include:- visa
- mastercard
- bitcoin
- debit
- Reputable, Legit, USA Online Casino
- Quick Payouts, Easy to Use Software
- Mobile, Download, and Instant Play
- Excellent 225% Deposit Bonus
Compatible with:- windows
- apple
- android
- mobile
- Top USA Friendly Casino, Fast Payouts
- Quick Visa & Bitcoin Deposit Options
- Safe, Secure, and Highly Reputable Online Casino
- Excellent Welcome Bonus of 300%
Deposit Options include:- visa
- mastercard
- amex
- debit
- check
- wire
- ethereum
- litecoin
- bitcoin
- Most Reputable Online Casino
- Up to $1,000 Welcome Bonus
- Visa, MasterCard, & More Deposit Methods
- Offers Live Casino Games
Deposit Options include:- visa
- paypal
- neteller
- mastercard
- debit
100% up to €250- Safe and Secure Online Casino
- $/€1600 Casino Welcome Bonus
- Play Over 400 Casino Games
- Huge Jackpot Slots
Deposit Options include:- visa
- mastercard
- paypal
- check
- wire
- neteller
- skrill
100% up to €1600- Legit Online Casino
- $200 Casino Welcome Bonus
- Accepts Visa, MasterCard, eWallets, & More
- Dozens of Casino Games to Pick From
Deposit Options include:- visa
- mastercard
- neteller
- paypal
- wire
100% up to €140- Large Australian Bitcoin-Friendly Casino
- Mobile Friendly
- Up to $2,250 in Welcome Bonuses
- Large Selection of Pokies
Compatible with:- windows
- apple
- android
- mobile
- Safe and Legitimate Australian Casino
- 100s of Slots and Table Games
- Mutiple Daily Deposit and Reload Deals
- Easy Deposits with Bitcoin
Compatible with:- windows
- apple
- android
- mobile
The Rules Of Pai Gow Online
Pai Gao (牌九), spelled “Pai Gow” in casinos, means “make nine.” The number nine is important to this tile-based game as the maximum number you can make is indeed nine. The traditional version of Pai Gow is played with domino-like tiles rather than cards, which didn’t translate well to a Western demographic, which is why Pai Gow Poker was invented.
Pai Gow Poker is a variation of Pai Gow and Texas Hold ‘Em poker and has a more manageable set of rules than its traditional counterpart. Pai Gow Poker is much easier to translate to an online setting as well, seeing as there are fewer player-on-player and more player-on-dealer interactions.
This article will give you a detailed rundown on all you need to know about both iterations of Pai Gow. If you’re a beginner looking to familiarize yourself with this beautiful game, read on for more information.
How To Play Pai Gow Poker
The rules for Pai Gow and Pai Gow Poker are vastly different, as Pai Gow Poker is merely a loose interpretation of the traditional game. Pai Gow Poker employs a standard 52-card deck with a single Joker card and borrows more rules from the poker side than the Pai Gow side.
If you’re aware of the poker hand rankings, Pai Gow Poker shouldn’t be too difficult to accustom yourself to
Steps To Play Pai Gow At An Online Casino
Place Your Bets and Receive Your Cards
Take a seat at the virtual table and place how much you want to bet. After your wager has been processed, the dealer will deal seven cards face up to you and seven down to themselves.
The Joker Card
In Pai Gow Poker, the Joker acts as a filler card and can be plugged into 5-hands such as straights, flushes, straight flushes, or royal flushes.
If you cannot form any of those hands, then the Joker simply acts as an ace to form pairs.
Sort Your Hand
Sorting out which hand to present is the meat and potatoes of Pai Gow Poker. The aim of the game is to arrange your seven cards into poker hands – one consisting of five cards and one consisting of two.
The five-card hand must outrank the two-card hand. In that sense, you cannot arrange your two-card hand to have a pair of aces while you only have a pair of sixes in your five-card hand.
Five and Two Card Hands
For the five-card hand, the standard rules of poker hand rankings apply.
The only difference between Pai Gow Poker hand rankings and normal Texas Hold’Em rankings is that the A 2 3 4 5 straight is considered the second-best straight in the game, as opposed to K Q J 10 9.
For the two card hands, suits don’t matter – you only have to concentrate on whether you have a pair or not. A pair of aces would be the strongest two card hand you can have.
Beat the Dealer
It goes without saying that you want to be beating the dealer.
Pai Gow Poker is a much slower game than other casino games, so you can really take your time and deliberate over the best course of action you want to employ for your seven cards.
Play Pai Gow Tiles
Best Online Casinos To Play Pai Gow Poker For Money
We recommend these top-rated operators to play casino games for real money. They all offer Pai Gow Poker and a large selection of online casino games for you to choose from.
Top 3 Online Pai Gow Strategies
Although casino games are largely games of chance, some games have higher RTP (return-to-player) percentages than others. Pai Gow is a low volatility game that requires active participation from the player.
Thus, there are various strategies that you can employ to increase your chance to beat the dealer. Below are some of the best strategies.
Split Pairs
This strategy can be complicated for new players, but the basic gist of splitting is that if you have two pairs (AA + JJ, for example), then you would put the AA in the two-card hand and the JJ in the five-card hand.
The lower-ranking pair should always go in the five-card hand. Additionally, you should split full houses into trips and a pair. There are certain house rules for splitting cards, but generally, it is up to your discretion unless told otherwise.
Bankroll Management
The best strategy any player can be aware of is managing their money. You can’t play if you don’t have money. Pai Gow Poker is a very slow-paced game with a lot of pushes, so thankfully, you won’t burn through your money that quickly.
A progressive overload strategy where you incrementally increase your bet sizes upon winning may be a beneficial way to maximize profits. It’s important to play however you want as long as you are comfortable spending that money.
Playing The Bonus Bet Smart
Bonus bets are typically a way for the house to rake in your money. It’s a known trap in the casino world; however, the reward can sometimes outweigh the risks.
Seasoned players keep a mental note of the number of times the bonus hasn’t been triggered in a row and would strategically place a bonus bet when the timing is right. Of course, this is technically guesswork, but you can estimate when to bet on the bonus just like counting cards.
Pai Gow Poker Payouts
If you get a premium hand in Pai Gow Poker, you have the chance to win big! The table below shows you how much you’re able to win depending on what hand you get.
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| 7 Card Straight Flush | 8,000 to 1 |
| Royal Flush and Royal Match | 2,000 to 1 |
| 7 Card Straight Flush With Joker | 1,000 to 1 |
| 5 Aces | 400 to 1 |
| Royal Flush | 150 to 1 |
| Straight Flush | 50 to 1 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 to 1 |
| Full House | 5 to 1 |
| Flush | 4 to 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 to 1 |
| Straight | 2 to 1 |
Pai Gow Tiles: The Traditional Chinese Game
Pai Gow Tiles (or just Pai Gow) is the traditional, original version of Pai Gow Poker. Although the aim of the game is rather similar where the player must form 2 ranking “hands”, the rules and terms are completely different and can be very foreign to those unfamiliar with Chinese culture.
Play Pai Gow Tiles For Free
The game uses 32 tiles which are ranked individually and can form pairs. Players must place their bets before any tiles are dealt. Unlike Pai Gow Poker, the original game of Pai Gow has a completely different ranking system.
Below is a list of the best hands you can get:
- Gee Joon – domino six (2 white 4 red) & domino three (2 white 1 red)
- Teen – domino twelve pair (6 white 6 red each)
- Day – domino two pair (2 red each)
- Yun – domino eight pair (8 red each)
- Gor – domino four pair alternate (4 white 1 red each)
- Mooy – domino ten pure (10 white each)
- Chong – domino six pair pure (6 white each)
- Bon – domino four pair pure(4 white each)
- Foo – domino eleven pair (11 white each)
- Ping – domino ten pair alternate (6 white 4 red each)
- Tit – domino seven pair (6 white 1 red each)
- Look – domino six pair alternate (5 white 1 red each)
Have Fun With Pai Gow Poker & Win!
Pai Gow truly is a wonderful game to enjoy if you’re looking for a slow-paced event that requires a bit of mental work. It can be tough to learn the rules at first, but once you get the gist of the game, it’s a lot of fun.
Play Pai Gow Tiles Online For Free
On top of that, the chance to win that 8,000 to 1 payout always looms over your head as a possibility. Due to the low volatility and high RTP of this game, it’s truly a player-oriented game.
Play Pai Gow Tiles Free
Check out our trusted online casinos to find one that hosts Pai Gow Poker games online. What could be better than relaxing in the comfort of your own home and playing some Pai Gow Poker? Not much.