This traditional form of Pai Gow was originated in China, and is played with 32 Chinese domino tiles. Player and dealer are given four tiles each, and must form a high and low hand of two tiles. How To Play Pai Gow A hand is a hand of five cards, known as the high hand, while the two-card hand is called the low hand. To win, the player's hands must be stronger than the dealer's hands. Players bet on both hands of 5 cards and 2 cards alike, both hands should be played with force.
Introduction
Tien Gow is Cantonese, meaning 'Sky Nine' or 'Heaven Nine' - in Mandarin it is Tian Jiu. This is a trick taking game for four players using a single set of 32 Chinese dominoes divided into two suits, the name of the game being derived from the names of the highest pieces in each suit. Each player is dealt eight tiles; they can be played singly or in matching groups, the aim being to win the last trick.
The description on this page was put together by Joe Celko with help from Anthony Kam from Hong Kong. It is quite possible that different variants are played in other regions.
Players and Equipment
Tien Gow is a four player game using one set of Chinese dominoes. The set consists of all pairs of numbers from 1-1 to 6-6, with the following eleven tiles duplicated: 6-6, 6-5, 6-4, 6-1, 5-5, 5-1, 4-4, 3-3, 3-1, 2-2, 1-1.
The goal of the game is to win points by taking tricks, much like a Western card game. It is a gambling game, like most Chinese games. The players start with some money and money changes hand according to the scoring rules.
The Deal
One player is picked by dice to be the banker for the first hand. The banker puts a small puck or other marker on the table in front of him.
The banker stacks up a woodpile and deals each player a hand of eight tiles. The banker also leads to the first trick of the hand. After that, the winner of each trick leads the next trick. The winner of the last trick in one game becomes the next banker and leads the first trick of the next game.
The Play
In his turn, a player can lead:
- one tile (singleton)
- a pair of tiles (bo or pair)
- a set of 3 tiles (triplet)
- a set of 4 tiles (quartet)
Each of the other players in turn then plays the same number of tiles, and this constitutes one trick. Any tiles can be played, but if a player's tile(s) do not beat the current high tile, pair, triplet or quartet, then they must be played face down as discards. This introduces a guessing element into the game, as you cannot count the tiles perfectly. If a player's tile(s) can beat the current high tile, pair, triplet or quartet, they may be played face up and then become the new current high tile, pair, triplet or quartet. After all four players have played, the player who played the high tile, pair, triplet or quartet, takes the trick.
Rank and Suit of the Tiles
Tiles in a set of Chinese dominoes are divided into two suits (Civil and Military). See below for the classification and ranking (top to bottom)
Civil Suit
There are two copies of each civilian tile, and the two identical tiles are considered equal ranked. Note that all of the doubles are civilian. The civil suit is ranked from highest to lowest by this table.
Tile | tile name |
---|---|
[6-6] | Heaven |
[1-1] | Earth |
[4-4] | Man |
[3-1] | Goose |
[5-5] | Plum Flower |
[3-3] | Double Three |
[2-2] | Board |
[6-5] | Hatchet |
[6-4] | Partition |
[6-1] | Long leg Seven |
[5-1] | Big Head Six |
Military Suit
There is only one tile of each, but they make pairs based on the the total number of pips. In order by single tiles they are:
[6-3], [5-4] | Gow - Nines (the two tiles are ranked equally) |
[6-2], [5-3] | Bart - Eights (the two tiles are ranked equally) |
[5-2], [4-3] | Chut - Sevens (the two tiles are ranked equally) |
[4-2] | Lok - Six, or Big Six |
[4-1], [3-2] | Ng - Fives (the two tiles are ranked equally) |
[2-1] | Sam - Three, or Little Three |
There is also a special pair called the Gee Joon, made up of the [2-1] and [4-2] tiles.
Single Tile Tricks
A tile beats another tile if
- They are of the same suit, Civil or Military, and
- The first tile is higher in that suit's (Civil or Military) ranking.
In the case of a tie, the tile played earliest wins.
Thus if your tile is equal to or lower than the current high tile in a trick, it must be discarded face down. Similarly, if your tile is of a different suit than the tile led, it must be discarded face down.
Two Tile Tricks
Pairs are ranked as shown in the following table, following the same scheme as Pai Gow and other games. Pairs are considered suited -- a pair can be double-Civil, double-Military, or mixed (a Civil and a Military tile).
As with single tile tricks, a pair beats another pair:
- If they are of the same suit combination (both Civil, both Military or mixed), and
- The tiles in the first pair beat those in the second.
For example, a Civil pair of Heavens, ([6-6] and [6-6]) beats a pair of Earth ([1-1] and [1-1]), but not a Military pair of sevens ([5-2] and [4-3]), nor a mixed pair of Goose-five if that is what was lead. A mixed pair of Man-seven ([4-4] and [5-2]) beats Goose-five, but neither is beaten by) the Civil Plum-pair ([5-5] and [5-5]).
When discarding, you do not have to follow suit and indeed you do not have to discard another pair -- you can discard any two tiles you like.
Double Civil | Double Military | Mixed | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pair | Name | Pair | Name | Pairs | |
4-2 & 2-1 | Supreme | ||||
6-6 & 6-6 | Heaven | 6-3 & 5-4 | Jaap Gow - mixed nines | 6-6 & 6-3 | 6-6 & 5-4 |
1-1 & 1-1 | Earth | 6-2 & 5-3 | Jaap Bart - mixed eights | 1-1 & 5-3 | 1-1 & 6-2 |
4-4 & 4-4 | Man | 5-2 & 4-3 | Jaap Chut - mixed sevens | 4-4 & 4-3 | 4-4 & 5-2 |
3-1 & 3-1 | Goose | 4-1 & 3-2 | Jaap Ng - mixed fives | 3-1 & 4-1 | 3-1 & 3-2 |
5-5 & 5-5 | Flower | ||||
3-3 & 3-3 | Long | ||||
2-2 & 2-2 | Board | ||||
6-5 & 6-5 | Hatchet | ||||
6-4 & 6-4 | Partition | ||||
6-1 & 6-1 | Long Leg Seven | ||||
5-1 & 5-1 | Big Head Six |
Special Pair
There is a special pair, the Gee Joon or 'Supreme' ([4-2] and [2-1]). This pair is not considered double-Military, even though both of its tiles belong to that suit. Nothing beats it, and it can beat nothing. Thus, if led, it will always win since nothing beats it, but if played against another other pair led, it must always be discarded since it beats nothing.
Triplet and Quartet Sets
Besides leading a single tile or a pair, a set of three or four can be led. A set is a combination of Military and Civil tiles made up of:
- Heavens and Nines
- Earths and Eights
- Man and Sevens
- Goose and Fives
For example, two Heavens and a Nine constitute a set of three, while two pairs of Earths and two Eights constitute a set of four. No other two pair combinations aside from sets of four, as defined above, can be led.
The rules for when a triplet or quartet beats another triplet or quartet is the same as those for pairs; a triplet or quartet beats triplet or quartet if:
- The tiles have the same suits, and
- Each tile in the first triplet or quartet beats its corresponding tile in the second triplet or quartet.
Since any quartet consists of two civilians and two Militaries, suit matching is not an issue.
For example, a triplet set of two Heavens and a Nine ([6-6], [6-6] and [6-3] or [5-4]) can beat a set of two Earths and an Eight ([1-1], [1-1] and [6-2] or [5-3]), but not a set of two Eights and an Earth because of mismatched suits. Indeed, pairs can be considered as sets of two tiles, except for the supreme pair, which is in a class by itself.
Again, in any discard situation, you never have to follow suit and can discard anything you like.
Scoring
As in many Chinese games, scoring is best done with chips. The winner of the last trick of a hand is the new banker and considered winner of this hand, although the only real objective is to make money. All other players pay the banker or are paid by the banker.
As the hand is played, tricks are collected and stacked in columns of four tiles high. Thus winning a triplet would generate twelve tiles which the winner of the trick stacks as three columns in a private woodpile in front of him. Every non-winner now counts the number of columns in front of him and compares it to a par value of four. If he's below par, he pays the winner of the hand the difference. If he's above par, the winner pays him the difference. Thus if you only win a triplet trick and it is not the last trick of the hand, then you are a loser with three columns, and you would pay the banker 4 - 3 = 1 point, which is worth a $1 at the end of the game in our examples.
As a special case any non-winner with no columns (no tricks) pays five points instead of four points.
'Banker Double' Rule
The banker's payments to or from the other players are doubled.
For example, if the current banker wins only one column, he pays 3 x 2 = 6 points to the winner (new banker).
A local variation in Hong Kong is that when the banker wins, the payments are also multiplied by his number of consecutive wins. So if the new banker wins a second time, he is paid 4 points per trick below par by the other players (tricks x banker double x double for second win). If he then goes on to win a third time, he would triple all transactions (6 points per trick), and on his fourth win they would be quadrupled, and so forth. The banker can stack the appropriate number of chips on top of the puck to indicate how many consecutive wins he has.
Payments for Tricks
These payments are made during the hand. They are in addition to the usual end of hand payments we just discussed. Notice that the 'banker double' rule also applies here.
Any trick won by playing the Gee Joon ('supreme pair') immediately collects two points from each other player as soon as the pair is played. Remember that the Gee Joon must be led to win, since the supreme pair beats nothing. Because of the 'banker double' rule, the Gee Joon would collect four points from the current banker, and if the Gee Joon was played by the current banker, it would collect four points from all others.
A player who wins a quartet trick immediately collects four points from each other player. Again, 'banker double' rule applies so he would either collect or pay out a multiple of four points.
Special Rules
The 'Early Death' Rule
The 'early death' rule changes the game play and is very important in terms of strategy. All other rules affect payment only and in that sense would influence players who might want to take greater or lesser risks, but do not directly influence game play.
If seven tiles have been played by each player so that the last trick is a singleton tile trick, then any players who have not won any trick during the first seven tiles immediately forfeit the last trick also. Those players' final tiles are immediately discarded face down regardless of what they are, and those unfortunate players, having no tricks, will pay five points to whoever wins.
Last Trick Bonuses
The end of hand payments (but not pay-per-trick payments) are doubled for everyone if the last trick is won by:
- Any quartet
- The Gee Joon ('supreme pair')
- The singleton Little Three (the smallest Military tile)
Note that in cases (a) and (b) there are (undoubled) pay-per-trick payments in addition to doubled end of hand payments.
This rule is in addition to the 'banker double' rule, so the banker would have all end of hand payments quadrupled.
Complete Game Bonus
If any player wins all eight tiles (this could be because of a clever use of the 'early death' rule or by real brute force!), the end of hand payments are also doubled. If his last trick happens to be a bonus trick as listed above, both doublings apply and the end of hand payments are thus quadrupled (or eight times if the banker wins!)
There is an exception, which is not recognised in all gaming groups, but it affects strategy. The exception is that the banker does not get the 'complete game bonus' if in the first trick he led a tile or combination that is 'unbeatable seen from his own eyes'.
This is not quite as simple as it sounds.
- A singleton Heaven [6:6]
- A Heaven-nine pair [6:6][5:4]
- The Gee Joon [1:2][2:4]
are all unbeatable when they are lead.
A pair [1:1][1:1] is also unbeatable if the player also holds a [6:6], of a single [1:1] if the player holds both [6:6]'s are also unbeatable. However if a player has no [6:6] then the pair [1:1][1:1] is not 'unbeatable in his own eyes' even if in fact no one can beat it, because there was the risk that one of the other players might have held both [6:6]'s.
'Big Six Captures Little Three' Bonus
This rule adds even more risk to saving the Little Three for your last trick in the hope of getting the special last trick double game bonus.
If the last trick is a single tile trick, and is led with the Little Three ([1:2] the smallest Military tile, also the smaller half of the supreme pair), and it is eventually won by a second player (who will become the new banker) with the Big Six ([2:4] the bigger half of the supreme pair), then you calculate all end of hand payments as usual (no doubling except for banker) but any payment that the other two players not involved with the Little Three and Big Six have to make to the player of the Big Six are made by the player of the Little Three instead. Thus the player of the Little Three would incur a heavy loss benefiting the other two players, while the player of the Big Six would not gain anything extra.
One Red Dot Group
The following rules is not used in all gaming groups. If a player is dealt a hand with exactly one red dot (all other pips are white), then he immediately wins by declaring this hand. His winnings are calculated as if he had won all the tricks. This gives him a complete game bonus, but no special last trick bonus since no tricks are played. Note that it is not possible for more than one player to have just one red dot. There are only 13 tiles without red pips, so only one player can have as many as seven of these.
Strategy
The winner of the last trick almost always wins the most money and so the objective of most hands is to win the last trick. Because of the early death rule, in order to achieve this it is also necessary to win at least one of the first seven tricks.
Because of the 'banker double' rule, some bankers may want to play it safe and cash all his sure-win tricks when he has the first lead. That greatly reduces his chance of winning but limits his loss.
Notice that if the final trick is not a singleton tile, the 'early death' rule cannot apply. This means that all players are in contention for the last trick and are eligible to win. Sometimes friendships of convenience might appear as two or three players gang up to create early-deaths.
Do not think early-deaths are rare! With good players, Mr. Kam estimates that every third game will have one or more 'early death' hands.
If you still have trouble remembering the suits and rankings, you can play an equivalent game with Western playing cards -- use all black cards (as the Civil Suit) except Jacks and Deuces, and these red cards (as the Military Suit): two Aces, two Kings, two Queens, two Tens and one each of Jack and Deuce. Then the ranking would be natural (Ace high, King, Queen, Jack and so forth with the Deuce low) in each color and all pairing and combining-into-set rules are preserved if you just play pairs/sets of the same index and suit-matching becomes color-matching.
The red Jack is the [4-2] and the red Deuce is the [2-1] and together they form the supreme pair.
There is a Chinese webpage from Hunan, China which describes the rules of Goo Pai. The game is played with the same tiles and looks something like Tien Gow, but the rules for Goo Pai are very different. The rankings are similar to PaiGow and the play goes around the table as in a trick taking game.
However a double 6-6 can beat a Gee Joon combo in this game. But in Tien Gow, the double 6-6 cannot win because of mismatched suits. Goo Pai disregards the suit, so when a single tile is played, it ranks against other single tiles in one ranking order. If a pair is played, it ranks against other pairs in another ranking order, regardless of the suit. The rules do not even mention triplet and quaduplet combo play. The scoring is also very simplistic, just pay by the number of stacks won.
Other Pages
Here are links to:
- earlier version of this page, compiled by Joe Celko, at Game Cabinet.
- CP Lai's page on Heaven Nine, with notes on Chinese terminology and tactics, help in recognising the tile combinations, and further useful links.
Here is a DOS program with which you can play Tien Gow against the computer. It is rather old and will only work under Windows if run full screen.
Pai Gow Poker is one of those Americanized Chinese gambling games that today are part of almost every casino. This game is a social game just as poker and can be played by six players simultaneously using a 52-card deck. In addition to the players, land-based casinos appoint a dealer at the table to assist players. Similar to other casino games, the players in Pai Gow Poker play against the house, not against each other.
This game came to be when a Chinese game called Pai Gow in which dominoes were used, was mixed with poker cards. What came out as a result was a gambling game with a very reasonably low risk compared to other games. Pai Gow Poker is a more of a game of skill, although learning the cards and using the skills is not that farfetched for beginners. The hands are easy and obvious, and strategies can be applied without much difficulty. The fact that all the players play together against the house makes this game very fun and leisure game.
The game as we know it today was established in California in the mid-80s in 1985. The person that invented the game first began offering it at his own casino, and later the game began appearing across many other casinos without prior permission of its author due to a lack of patent for the game. Since then Pai Gow Poker has brought millions of players to casinos and the game today has a well-deserved status.
Pai Gow Poker Rules
Pai Gow Poker uses many rules that are commonly known in standard poker, such as:
- The game is played with standard fifty-two cards and a joker from a single deck only.
- As in other games, the joker is used to complete a hand like straight flush, flush, straight or royal flush, and it can be used instead of an Ace.
- Each player receives 7 cards along with the dealer too after all the players have made their bets previously.
- With these seven cards, the players have to form two hands, one five card hand and one two card hand. The only condition is for the five card hand to be of higher value than the two card hand.
- The two card hand will always be a pair of the highest possible value, while the five card hand will be a standard poker hand.
- The dealer will reveal his cards after the players have divided their cards. The dealer follows a special rule referred to as the House Way. This rule is actually a predetermined manner in which the dealer will play the cards. This rule varies from casino to casino.
- The two hands of each player are then compared against the dealer's hand and the player with the two hands of higher values will take his winnings.
- There is a special rule for a tie. If the two card hand of both the player and the dealer are composed of pair of Kings or Aces, then the house wins.
- In order for the player to win his both hands need to be stronger than the dealer's hands. In this case the bet pays 1 to 1. If the player loses one hand to the dealer, then it's a push. In all other scenarios, the player loses. Five percent commission is taken of each winning.
- The banker role rotates between players, and each player can refuse the role.
The Basics of Pai Gow Poker
Objective of the Game
The objective in Pai Gow Poker is for players to assemble hands that are stronger than the dealer in order to beat the house and win the bet with the help of seven cards. The only chance to win is to have both hands of higher value. The lower hand, which is the two card hand is always a pair (if there two cards of same value) while the higher five card hand can be any of the standard hands used in poker. The two card hand mustn't be of a higher value than the five card hand.
Pai Gow Poker Hands
For example, a Civil pair of Heavens, ([6-6] and [6-6]) beats a pair of Earth ([1-1] and [1-1]), but not a Military pair of sevens ([5-2] and [4-3]), nor a mixed pair of Goose-five if that is what was lead. A mixed pair of Man-seven ([4-4] and [5-2]) beats Goose-five, but neither is beaten by) the Civil Plum-pair ([5-5] and [5-5]).
When discarding, you do not have to follow suit and indeed you do not have to discard another pair -- you can discard any two tiles you like.
Double Civil | Double Military | Mixed | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pair | Name | Pair | Name | Pairs | |
4-2 & 2-1 | Supreme | ||||
6-6 & 6-6 | Heaven | 6-3 & 5-4 | Jaap Gow - mixed nines | 6-6 & 6-3 | 6-6 & 5-4 |
1-1 & 1-1 | Earth | 6-2 & 5-3 | Jaap Bart - mixed eights | 1-1 & 5-3 | 1-1 & 6-2 |
4-4 & 4-4 | Man | 5-2 & 4-3 | Jaap Chut - mixed sevens | 4-4 & 4-3 | 4-4 & 5-2 |
3-1 & 3-1 | Goose | 4-1 & 3-2 | Jaap Ng - mixed fives | 3-1 & 4-1 | 3-1 & 3-2 |
5-5 & 5-5 | Flower | ||||
3-3 & 3-3 | Long | ||||
2-2 & 2-2 | Board | ||||
6-5 & 6-5 | Hatchet | ||||
6-4 & 6-4 | Partition | ||||
6-1 & 6-1 | Long Leg Seven | ||||
5-1 & 5-1 | Big Head Six |
Special Pair
There is a special pair, the Gee Joon or 'Supreme' ([4-2] and [2-1]). This pair is not considered double-Military, even though both of its tiles belong to that suit. Nothing beats it, and it can beat nothing. Thus, if led, it will always win since nothing beats it, but if played against another other pair led, it must always be discarded since it beats nothing.
Triplet and Quartet Sets
Besides leading a single tile or a pair, a set of three or four can be led. A set is a combination of Military and Civil tiles made up of:
- Heavens and Nines
- Earths and Eights
- Man and Sevens
- Goose and Fives
For example, two Heavens and a Nine constitute a set of three, while two pairs of Earths and two Eights constitute a set of four. No other two pair combinations aside from sets of four, as defined above, can be led.
The rules for when a triplet or quartet beats another triplet or quartet is the same as those for pairs; a triplet or quartet beats triplet or quartet if:
- The tiles have the same suits, and
- Each tile in the first triplet or quartet beats its corresponding tile in the second triplet or quartet.
Since any quartet consists of two civilians and two Militaries, suit matching is not an issue.
For example, a triplet set of two Heavens and a Nine ([6-6], [6-6] and [6-3] or [5-4]) can beat a set of two Earths and an Eight ([1-1], [1-1] and [6-2] or [5-3]), but not a set of two Eights and an Earth because of mismatched suits. Indeed, pairs can be considered as sets of two tiles, except for the supreme pair, which is in a class by itself.
Again, in any discard situation, you never have to follow suit and can discard anything you like.
Scoring
As in many Chinese games, scoring is best done with chips. The winner of the last trick of a hand is the new banker and considered winner of this hand, although the only real objective is to make money. All other players pay the banker or are paid by the banker.
As the hand is played, tricks are collected and stacked in columns of four tiles high. Thus winning a triplet would generate twelve tiles which the winner of the trick stacks as three columns in a private woodpile in front of him. Every non-winner now counts the number of columns in front of him and compares it to a par value of four. If he's below par, he pays the winner of the hand the difference. If he's above par, the winner pays him the difference. Thus if you only win a triplet trick and it is not the last trick of the hand, then you are a loser with three columns, and you would pay the banker 4 - 3 = 1 point, which is worth a $1 at the end of the game in our examples.
As a special case any non-winner with no columns (no tricks) pays five points instead of four points.
'Banker Double' Rule
The banker's payments to or from the other players are doubled.
For example, if the current banker wins only one column, he pays 3 x 2 = 6 points to the winner (new banker).
A local variation in Hong Kong is that when the banker wins, the payments are also multiplied by his number of consecutive wins. So if the new banker wins a second time, he is paid 4 points per trick below par by the other players (tricks x banker double x double for second win). If he then goes on to win a third time, he would triple all transactions (6 points per trick), and on his fourth win they would be quadrupled, and so forth. The banker can stack the appropriate number of chips on top of the puck to indicate how many consecutive wins he has.
Payments for Tricks
These payments are made during the hand. They are in addition to the usual end of hand payments we just discussed. Notice that the 'banker double' rule also applies here.
Any trick won by playing the Gee Joon ('supreme pair') immediately collects two points from each other player as soon as the pair is played. Remember that the Gee Joon must be led to win, since the supreme pair beats nothing. Because of the 'banker double' rule, the Gee Joon would collect four points from the current banker, and if the Gee Joon was played by the current banker, it would collect four points from all others.
A player who wins a quartet trick immediately collects four points from each other player. Again, 'banker double' rule applies so he would either collect or pay out a multiple of four points.
Special Rules
The 'Early Death' Rule
The 'early death' rule changes the game play and is very important in terms of strategy. All other rules affect payment only and in that sense would influence players who might want to take greater or lesser risks, but do not directly influence game play.
If seven tiles have been played by each player so that the last trick is a singleton tile trick, then any players who have not won any trick during the first seven tiles immediately forfeit the last trick also. Those players' final tiles are immediately discarded face down regardless of what they are, and those unfortunate players, having no tricks, will pay five points to whoever wins.
Last Trick Bonuses
The end of hand payments (but not pay-per-trick payments) are doubled for everyone if the last trick is won by:
- Any quartet
- The Gee Joon ('supreme pair')
- The singleton Little Three (the smallest Military tile)
Note that in cases (a) and (b) there are (undoubled) pay-per-trick payments in addition to doubled end of hand payments.
This rule is in addition to the 'banker double' rule, so the banker would have all end of hand payments quadrupled.
Complete Game Bonus
If any player wins all eight tiles (this could be because of a clever use of the 'early death' rule or by real brute force!), the end of hand payments are also doubled. If his last trick happens to be a bonus trick as listed above, both doublings apply and the end of hand payments are thus quadrupled (or eight times if the banker wins!)
There is an exception, which is not recognised in all gaming groups, but it affects strategy. The exception is that the banker does not get the 'complete game bonus' if in the first trick he led a tile or combination that is 'unbeatable seen from his own eyes'.
This is not quite as simple as it sounds.
- A singleton Heaven [6:6]
- A Heaven-nine pair [6:6][5:4]
- The Gee Joon [1:2][2:4]
are all unbeatable when they are lead.
A pair [1:1][1:1] is also unbeatable if the player also holds a [6:6], of a single [1:1] if the player holds both [6:6]'s are also unbeatable. However if a player has no [6:6] then the pair [1:1][1:1] is not 'unbeatable in his own eyes' even if in fact no one can beat it, because there was the risk that one of the other players might have held both [6:6]'s.
'Big Six Captures Little Three' Bonus
This rule adds even more risk to saving the Little Three for your last trick in the hope of getting the special last trick double game bonus.
If the last trick is a single tile trick, and is led with the Little Three ([1:2] the smallest Military tile, also the smaller half of the supreme pair), and it is eventually won by a second player (who will become the new banker) with the Big Six ([2:4] the bigger half of the supreme pair), then you calculate all end of hand payments as usual (no doubling except for banker) but any payment that the other two players not involved with the Little Three and Big Six have to make to the player of the Big Six are made by the player of the Little Three instead. Thus the player of the Little Three would incur a heavy loss benefiting the other two players, while the player of the Big Six would not gain anything extra.
One Red Dot Group
The following rules is not used in all gaming groups. If a player is dealt a hand with exactly one red dot (all other pips are white), then he immediately wins by declaring this hand. His winnings are calculated as if he had won all the tricks. This gives him a complete game bonus, but no special last trick bonus since no tricks are played. Note that it is not possible for more than one player to have just one red dot. There are only 13 tiles without red pips, so only one player can have as many as seven of these.
Strategy
The winner of the last trick almost always wins the most money and so the objective of most hands is to win the last trick. Because of the early death rule, in order to achieve this it is also necessary to win at least one of the first seven tricks.
Because of the 'banker double' rule, some bankers may want to play it safe and cash all his sure-win tricks when he has the first lead. That greatly reduces his chance of winning but limits his loss.
Notice that if the final trick is not a singleton tile, the 'early death' rule cannot apply. This means that all players are in contention for the last trick and are eligible to win. Sometimes friendships of convenience might appear as two or three players gang up to create early-deaths.
Do not think early-deaths are rare! With good players, Mr. Kam estimates that every third game will have one or more 'early death' hands.
If you still have trouble remembering the suits and rankings, you can play an equivalent game with Western playing cards -- use all black cards (as the Civil Suit) except Jacks and Deuces, and these red cards (as the Military Suit): two Aces, two Kings, two Queens, two Tens and one each of Jack and Deuce. Then the ranking would be natural (Ace high, King, Queen, Jack and so forth with the Deuce low) in each color and all pairing and combining-into-set rules are preserved if you just play pairs/sets of the same index and suit-matching becomes color-matching.
The red Jack is the [4-2] and the red Deuce is the [2-1] and together they form the supreme pair.
There is a Chinese webpage from Hunan, China which describes the rules of Goo Pai. The game is played with the same tiles and looks something like Tien Gow, but the rules for Goo Pai are very different. The rankings are similar to PaiGow and the play goes around the table as in a trick taking game.
However a double 6-6 can beat a Gee Joon combo in this game. But in Tien Gow, the double 6-6 cannot win because of mismatched suits. Goo Pai disregards the suit, so when a single tile is played, it ranks against other single tiles in one ranking order. If a pair is played, it ranks against other pairs in another ranking order, regardless of the suit. The rules do not even mention triplet and quaduplet combo play. The scoring is also very simplistic, just pay by the number of stacks won.
Other Pages
Here are links to:
- earlier version of this page, compiled by Joe Celko, at Game Cabinet.
- CP Lai's page on Heaven Nine, with notes on Chinese terminology and tactics, help in recognising the tile combinations, and further useful links.
Here is a DOS program with which you can play Tien Gow against the computer. It is rather old and will only work under Windows if run full screen.
Pai Gow Poker is one of those Americanized Chinese gambling games that today are part of almost every casino. This game is a social game just as poker and can be played by six players simultaneously using a 52-card deck. In addition to the players, land-based casinos appoint a dealer at the table to assist players. Similar to other casino games, the players in Pai Gow Poker play against the house, not against each other.
This game came to be when a Chinese game called Pai Gow in which dominoes were used, was mixed with poker cards. What came out as a result was a gambling game with a very reasonably low risk compared to other games. Pai Gow Poker is a more of a game of skill, although learning the cards and using the skills is not that farfetched for beginners. The hands are easy and obvious, and strategies can be applied without much difficulty. The fact that all the players play together against the house makes this game very fun and leisure game.
The game as we know it today was established in California in the mid-80s in 1985. The person that invented the game first began offering it at his own casino, and later the game began appearing across many other casinos without prior permission of its author due to a lack of patent for the game. Since then Pai Gow Poker has brought millions of players to casinos and the game today has a well-deserved status.
Pai Gow Poker Rules
Pai Gow Poker uses many rules that are commonly known in standard poker, such as:
- The game is played with standard fifty-two cards and a joker from a single deck only.
- As in other games, the joker is used to complete a hand like straight flush, flush, straight or royal flush, and it can be used instead of an Ace.
- Each player receives 7 cards along with the dealer too after all the players have made their bets previously.
- With these seven cards, the players have to form two hands, one five card hand and one two card hand. The only condition is for the five card hand to be of higher value than the two card hand.
- The two card hand will always be a pair of the highest possible value, while the five card hand will be a standard poker hand.
- The dealer will reveal his cards after the players have divided their cards. The dealer follows a special rule referred to as the House Way. This rule is actually a predetermined manner in which the dealer will play the cards. This rule varies from casino to casino.
- The two hands of each player are then compared against the dealer's hand and the player with the two hands of higher values will take his winnings.
- There is a special rule for a tie. If the two card hand of both the player and the dealer are composed of pair of Kings or Aces, then the house wins.
- In order for the player to win his both hands need to be stronger than the dealer's hands. In this case the bet pays 1 to 1. If the player loses one hand to the dealer, then it's a push. In all other scenarios, the player loses. Five percent commission is taken of each winning.
- The banker role rotates between players, and each player can refuse the role.
The Basics of Pai Gow Poker
Objective of the Game
The objective in Pai Gow Poker is for players to assemble hands that are stronger than the dealer in order to beat the house and win the bet with the help of seven cards. The only chance to win is to have both hands of higher value. The lower hand, which is the two card hand is always a pair (if there two cards of same value) while the higher five card hand can be any of the standard hands used in poker. The two card hand mustn't be of a higher value than the five card hand.
Pai Gow Poker Hands
In order to form a hand, players can use a joker. It can be used to replace a card any kind of straight or flush. In other cases the joker is valued as an Ace. The following are the hands in Pai Gow Poker arranged from the weakest to the strongest:
- No Pair hand is a hand that has no cards that can be combined together to form a pair.
- One Pair is a hand consisted of any two cards of the same value.
- Two Pair is a hand consisted of two pairs with cards of the same value.
- Three of a Kind is a hand consisted of three cards of the same value.
- Straight is a hand in which all cards are arranged in a sequence, for example from 6 to 10.
- Flush is a hand in which all cards are of the same suite, either clubs, diamonds, spades or hearts.
- Full House is a hand consisted of two cards of the same value, and three cards that are all of some different value.
- Four of a Kind is a hand consisted of four cards of the same value.
- Straight Flush is a hand in which all cards of the same suite, but also they need to be arranged in a sequence, for example from 7 to Jack.
- Royal Flush is a hand consisted of Jack, King, Queen, Ten and an Ace, but all five cards need to be of the same suite.
In any of the hands, the remaining cards help determine the winner in cases when the competing five card hands are identical.
The Ranking of Two Card Hands
There are special rules set for the ranking of the two card hands. It is obvious that with two cards the only hand you can play is a pair i.e. a hand consisted of two cards of the same value, with a pair of 2s as the weakest, and a pair of Aces as the strongest two card hand.
But, there is also a No Pair hand. This hand is also valued, but here the weakest hand is a combination of 2 and a 3, while the strongest No Pair two card hand is consisted of a King and an Ace. A Pair hand always beats a No Pair hand. The Joker here is used instead of an Ace too.
The House Way
As mentioned previously, the House Way is a predetermined manner of how the dealer will play with his hand. This rule can vary from casino to casino. Somewhere you may find it more in your favor, somewhere you may not, in general it doesn't vary substantially.
The Odds
Although Pai Gow Poker a house edge that is worse than craps, blackjack and baccarat, it is still a very decent edge that varies between 2 and 3 percent. Since it is a game of skill this edge can be easily eliminated with a little spell of luck. Also, since it is a much slower paced game compared to other games with a lot of ties and pushing your playing time is much longer and your bankroll is more prone to survive.
An Easy Pai Gow Strategy to Use
First, when playing Pai Gow Poker, whether using a strategy or not, you need to remember that both of your hands need to win. So basically you have to think how to equally distribute your hands. If you can't form a strong five card hand, make sure at least for your two card hand to be as high as it can get in order to cause for a push and stop the house from winning. Or do the other way around, by setting a strong five card hand while making a weak two card hand.
If your hand is a no pair hand, just use the third and second highest cards for the two card hand. If you have at least one pair the highest two cards should be used as a two card hand. This strategic playing extends to different scenarios for having dealt 2 pairs, 3 pairs, three of a kind and all the other possible hands and involves how to split your hands and use the most of all cards dealt.
Summary
Pai Gow Poker has spurred so much interest in the public due to its ingenious way of playing with two hands at the same time so that many experts have even written books on the optimal strategies that can be used for playing the game. Try the game a little at any online casino offering it for practice, and we guarantee you will immediately like it.
Useful Pai Gow Poker Glossary
– Back Hand: used to refer to the five card hand.
– Banking: this is when players bet either against the players or the dealer.
– Foul Hand: this is when a player has not split his hands appropriately which means his two card hand is stronger than his five card hand. It is used in land-based casinos.
– Front Hand: used to refer to the two card hand.
For a more comprehensive list of terms and phrases, check out our Pai Gow Glossary section.
YOU MIGHT BE ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THESE:
RELATED NEWS
Divine Fortune™ Megaways™ Now Live in New Jersey and Pennsylvania [...]
Trio of Incredible Progressive Jackpot Games Are Coming to the Microgaming Platform Soon [...]
A New Classic Slot: Joker King Arrives from Pragmatic Play [...]
MORE INTERESTING ARTICLES
Wild Symbols in Slots Explained [...]
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THESE POPULAR PAGES
ONLINE CASINO PAI GOW POKER RESOURCES
STRATEGYHow To Play Pai Gow
Check out our simple but yet effective strategy for Pai Gow.
GLOSSARYCovers most of the important terms of Pai Gow Poker.
RULESNeed to read up on the rules? No problem, just go here.
HISTORYLearn the old and modern history of Pai Gow.
GAME REVIEWSFind new cool games here reviewed by our expert review team.
READY TO PLAY NOW? CHECK OUT OUR #1 ONLINE PAI GOW CASINO
Rules Of Pai Gow
BACK TO TOPHow To Play Pai Gow Dominoes
CASINODIRECTORY.COM SUPPORTS MOBILE!
How To Play Pai Gow Dominoes
CHECK OUT OUR SITE ON YOUR SMARTPHONE OR TABLET.