Pai Gow Moments

Pai Gow, a tile-game similar to the card game Black Jack, is a betting game. What makes Pai Gow different from other gambling games is that you place a bet before you receive your tiles and, after you have seen your cards and created possible pairs or hands, you are not allowed to change, neither increase nor decrease your bet. In simplest terms, you place a bet, you are given four tiles, you play these tiles and, depending on how you arranged your pieces, you either win or lose the amount you have bet.

Everyone involved in Pai Gow, from the player to the dealer or bank, can win or lose money, and this is done two ways: through bets, and commissions.

Making money through bets is fairly simple. You place a bet and after all the tiles are received, you can win or lose your bet. If both your pairs beat the hands held by the dealer, you win back your bet, and also get the amount the bank / dealer has wagered. If both your pairs lose to the pairs of the dealer, it goes without saying that the money you wagered. In case only one of your pairs beat the tiles of the dealer, both of you are in a situation called “Push”. In this instance, the money does not remain on the table and added to the succeeding pot, but goes directly to the dealer.

Commissions of a players winnings, is another way money can be made by playing Pai Gow. Commissions, however, are only applied to games played in Casinos. The standard commission charged by casinos in the United States is 5% of your winnings. For example, you bet a hundred, and won, you do not receive double your hundred (200) but your bet and 95% from the house (195). The commission is only taken from winnings. For draws (push situations) and loses, the house / dealer will not take any additional 5% from you. If you’re playing at home with friends, there is no need to give 5% of the money you won from the bank as commission, not unless it is something everyone has agreed upon.

You also do not need to be a player to make money on Pai Gow. As a spectator, you and your friend can place bets on the tiles held by another player or on the dealer. However, instead of the money going to the player or the bank, the money just changes hands between you and your companion.

Despite having slightly complicated rules and same-sounding names of pairs and divisions, the game of Pai Gow is becoming more and more popular in western societies, not just in predominantly Chinese communities. This is evidenced by the growing number of casinos that include Pai Gow in their accepted events, and the increasing number of Pai Gow information or gaming sites on the internet.

Apart from being a favorite past-time among the Chinese (young and old alike), Pai Gow is attracting followers of other nationalities as well. The reason for the increased interest in Pai Gow could be the intricacy of the game itself.

Many find the game of Pai Gow very challenging. Figuring out the mathematical possibilities and chances of creating pairs are innumerable; and this may probably be one of its drawing powers. For others, trying to find a way to “beat the system” and discovering new techniques is the reason why they are inexplicably drawn to this game. Still others play the game of Pai Gow because of its novelty. It’s a new game using a different kind of playing tiles and rules. For those familiar with the betting process and playing procedures of black jack, Pai Gow serves as an exciting alternative. In most casinos, the game of Pai Gaw is played on Black Jack tables.

Pai Gow enthusiasts may play the game at major casinos and, if they can purchase a Pai Gow set, from the comforts of their own home. If a Pai Gow tile set is difficult to secure, there are websites that permit on line gaming. These on line games may or may not accept actual bets.

Although there is a growing number of Pai Gow players and enthusiasts in western societies, it may take some time before Pai Gow rises in rank and can be likened to more traditional games such as cards, dominoes and the highly popular Oriental betting game that also involves tiles, mah jong. However, as more people take an interest in Pai Gow, and with more information on how to play the game, the rules, strategies and betting procedures being made easily available to interested parties, the popularity of Pai Gow will most definitely increase.

No matter how you look at it, Pai Gow is definitely not just a passing fancy. It is slowly getting itself recognized as one of many mainstream gambling activities, and from the looks of things, Pai Gow will be here to stay.

Although Pai Gow is generally about creating pairs, grouping two tiles with each other is not that easy to do. Remember that in Pai Gow, having tiles with identical markings does not necessarily constitute a strong hand.

To excel or win in Pai Gow, many players use “strategies”: some of which are new – developed only in recent years an example of which is the Denenberg Strategy, the others are more traditional. Most Pai Gow players and casinos offering this game prefer to use the “traditional strategy” or variations of this. Strategy playing in Pai Gow involves knowing how to create pairs and which pairs you, at all times, should strive to create. It is important to note, however, that before a Pai Gow player decides to focus on perfecting his strategy, he must first be very well acquainted with the pairings or divisions and the names of these.

Basically, there are two general PaiGow strategies (though with numerous variations, these players learn through experience and trial and error) and these depend on the tile that you have been dealt with. In the eventuality that you are given four tiles and you are unable to create any pair with them, then look for what are termed as “Only Acceptable” divisions. If you cannot see any pairings that fall under the Only Acceptable division then look for what are called “Best High Division” and “Best Low Division”.

If you have been lucky enough to receive tiles where you can create pairs, remember that you should never split pairs of tiles that have 4, 5, 6, 10 or 11 spots on the tile face. If you have a pair of 7 split these if you have a Teen and the value of your low hand after the split is 7 or higher. Split an 8 pair if the value of your low hand is 7 or higher. Split a pair of 9s if the total value of your low hand is equal to or higher than 9, and finally, split a Teen or Day set if after the split, your low hand will either have a value of at least six, or if you have tiles that has 9 or 11 spots.

Determining how and when to split your tiles is indeed quite tricky. Therefore, it is really recommended that a Pai Gow player fully understand the pairings and the names that go with each pair first, before he even attempts to master strategies: be it modern or traditional ones.

The game of Pai Gow is a little complex and may take some time before you become adept with the rules. Basically, it starts by placing bets and then the dealer or bank distributes four tiles to all of the players, including himself. When you get your tiles, you are to create two hands, one called a high hand and the other a low hand, by making combinations.

If you were dealt with a less than desirable set of tiles, you are, unfortunately, unable to replace the tiles or draw more tiles. You are constrained to make the most out of the tiles you have with you. Since the main purpose of the game is to have a pair of hands that are high in value. To increase your chances of winning the game, you should make both your high and low hands strong (high value).

While you (and everyone else involved in the game) are deciding on the best pairing for your set of four tiles, the faces of the tiles should not be shown to anyone. When everyone is content with the way they have arranged their tiles, it is only then that the tiles, including the tiles of the dealer, are turned up. Incidentally, if you are having trouble remembering the value of the hands, keep in mind that the names of the highest valued pairs are followed by either a “wong” or a “gong”. If none of your pairs have a wong or a gong in the name, then count the dots, tiles with a total of 9 are ranked as the highest.

When all the tiles are exposed, you then compare your high hand followed by your low hand with those of your opponent (who is basically just the dealer / banker) respectively. To win a game of Pai Gow, both your high and low hands should beat the high and low hands of the other players. If one hand loses to another, no money exchanges hands and the situation is called a “push”. If you lose in both hands, you naturally, lose the game (and your wagers).

Although the game can be played by several players, you should only concern yourself with your tiles and that of the dealer. Your aim (and the aim of the other players) is to have a combination that is strong enough to beat the hands of the dealer. In cases of ties, unfortunately, the bets go to the dealer.

PaiGow, which roughly translates to “make nine” or “nine card” in Cantonese, is a game that is quite similar to the popular dominoes. The game originated in China and is played using a set of Chinese dominoes. It is primarily a gambling game and surprisingly, even in predominantly Chinese communities, the game is mostly played in underground casinos. The game, however, is widely accepted and played openly in selected casinos in cities in Macau and China, as well as in casinos in the United States (Las Vegas, Nevada, Atlantic City and New Jersey). It is also played in some card rooms in California and even casinos found in Australia, the Land Down Under.

A complete Pai Gow set should have 32 “named” tiles which make up 16 pairs; and dice. The standard dimension of each tile is about 1 inch wide by 2 inches tall. These are usually black in color with the markings (seen only on one side of the tile) in either white or red.

There are between two to twelve spots on each Pai Gow tile and these are arranged in different patterns and come in different colors. Players of Pai Gow should, not only take note of the total spots in each tile, but the arrangement as this is critical in the game. The different colored spots, however, have no bearing on how the game is played.

A number or rank is assigned each pair of tiles. The rank of the pair of tiles does not depend on the number of spots on the tile face. In Pai Gow, a pair of tiles with more spots is ranked lower and is less valuable than a pair of tiles with lesser number of spots. The main object of a Pai Gow game is to have a hand (through the rankings of your tiles) that is higher than those of your opponents.

Pai Gow may be played by a minimum of two and a maximum of eight players and a dealer. It is a betting game thus, players put in their bets even before the tiles are dealt.

The game of PaiGow, however, should not be mistaken for the Americanized version which is called Pai Gow Poker. The game was created jointly by Sam Torosian and Fred Wolf. Unlike the authentic PaiGow, Pai Gow Poker (also known as Double Hand Poker) is played by six individuals, plus the dealer, with a regular deck of cards and a Joker.