PAI GOW DOMINOS - Tips to Play like a Pro

PAI GOW. Now here is a game that has confused even the most avid of gamers for centuries and it really isn't very hard to play.

The ancient Chinese game of Pai Gow, which roughly translated means "to make nine", is played with a set of 32 dominoes or what some call tiles. It has been played throughout Asia for centuries and can now be found in most major casinos around the world. Arguably, Pai Gow is one of the best games to play in casinos because the odds are nearly even between the player and the banker.

So let's learn how to play. This article will teach you the game and make you a skillful player. Before long, you will be able to play with confidence...

So what is Pai Gow? The translation, "to make nine", should give you a hint. You want to form 2 pairs of dominoes giving you totals as close to nine as possible. Sounds easy enough, almost like Blackjack. The object is simple as well; beat the Banker with the dominoes you are given. You'll be dealt your dominoes and in order to win, your hand must beat that of the dealer's. Nothing new so far! Here's the main difference; your dominoes are broken into two hands, high and low. Both of these must beat the banker's, or be higher than the banker's to win.

Determining Payoffs - WIN? TIE? LOSS? A player WINS when the players HIGH hand is higher than the banker's HIGH hand, and when the player's LOW hand is higher then the banker's LOW hand. So you can restate the object of the game as beating the banker by forming both hands higher than his own.

A player TIES or receives even money when only one hand is higher than the banker's.

A player LOSES when both of the banker's hands are higher than those of the player.

Now the BIG question on your mind should be WHAT COMBINATION OF DOMINOES SHOULD I USE? This is a very good question and one we will try to answer in the section below. The best way to do this is to first understand the individual hand rankings. There are 4 major hand types and hands are scored as follows:

1. GEE JOON - This is the supreme pair or highest possible pair and it consists of the following two dominoes: 4-2 and 2-1

2. BO - Under the Gee Joon come the pairs (Bo) of matched or unmatched dominoes. The pairs ranking order is as follows:

Pair Name
6-6 & 6-6 Heaven
1-1 & 1-1 Earth
4-4 & 4-4 Man
3-1 & 3-1 Goose
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
6-3 & 5-4 Jaap Gow - mixed nine
6-2 & 5-3 Jaap Bart - mixed eight
5-2 & 4-3 Jaap Chut - mixed seven
4-1 & 3-2 Jaap Ng - mixed five
3. WONGS - This level represents the next value in hand rankings. They are a nine paired with a double 6 or a double 1. Here are the hand rankings:
6-6 & 6-3
6-6 & 5-4
1-1 & 6-3
1-1 & 5-4

4. GONGS - Similar to the WONGS, only these are an eight paired with a double 6 or double 1. Here are the hand rankings:
6-6 & 5-3
6-6 & 4-4
1-1 & 5-3
1-1 & 4-4

Using these combinations, you want to create the best HIGH and LOW hands to beat the banker. If you don't have any of these combinations, you count your dominoes score by adding up all the dots on them. If your score adds up to 10 or higher, you count the last digit of the total as your score - Just like Baccarat! And that's how you score your hands...

With some online versions of Pai Gow, you have the option to have your hands AUTOMATICALLY set for you. This allows the beginner or long-time player to play in confidence knowing the best possible hand combination has been selected for them. This is a great tool for NEW players since they can play and learn the hand combinations at the same time.

Did you enjoy the Pai Gow strategy and tips? If you have any tips or tricks of your own that you'd like to share with your fellow gamblers, we'd love to hear from you. Send your comments to feedback@galaxine.com.