Pai Gow (Tiles)
Officially Pai Gow (Chinese Dominoes)
ANCIENT CHINESE GAMBLING GAME (Song Dynasty ~10th c.) using 32 CHINESE DOMINO TILES (pai gow = 'make nine'). Each player receives 4 TILES + arranges into 2 PAIRS (HIGH pair + LOW pair). Player's PAIRS compared to DEALER'S PAIRS. Casino version uses BANK ROTATION (player can BE THE BANK). Complex tile-ranking (SUPREMES + MATCHED PAIRS + Wongs + Gongs) makes it steep-learning-curve. Played in MACAU + LAS VEGAS + Chinese diaspora casinos worldwide. NOT to confuse with PAI GOW POKER (1985 American card variant based on this).
Quick facts
Category
Casino & Gambling
Type
Individual
Players
2–8
Duration
~3 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇨🇳 China
Estimated origin
Documented since Song Dynasty China (~960-1279 CE); one of oldest gambling games; spread to global Chinese diaspora; formalized casino version popularized in USA + Macau 20th c.; largely displaced in western casinos by simpler PAI GOW POKER card variant (invented 1985 by SAM TORSIAN at Bell Card Club, California).
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
Arrange 4 tiles into 2 pairs (HIGH + LOW) both beating dealer's arrangement.
Rules
Basic rules
SETUP: 32 tiles shuffled + dealt 4 to each player + dealer (8 stacks of 4)
Signature 4-tile-per-player deal.
TILE-RANKING (complex): SUPREME PAIRS (Gee Joon = mixed 3+6 with 2+4) HIGHEST; then MATCHED PAIRS (Teen, Day, High Eight...); then INDIVIDUAL tile ranks (Wong = teen+2, Gong = day+3, etc.); LOW HAND uses SUM MOD 10
Signature complex Chinese tile hierarchy.
SPLIT TILES: player arranges 4 tiles into 2 HANDS: HIGH (front) + LOW (back); HIGH hand must OUTRANK LOW hand or arrangement invalid ('FOUL')
Signature 2-hand split.
COMPARE: player's HIGH vs. dealer's HIGH + player's LOW vs. dealer's LOW
Signature hand-by-hand comparison.
WIN BOTH: win bet; LOSE BOTH: lose bet; SPLIT (win 1 lose 1): PUSH
Signature both-both-split payoff rules.
TIES: dealer wins ties (COPY rule) — significant house edge
Signature copy-rule house edge.
BANK ROTATION (in traditional Chinese games): each player can take BANKER position + pay/collect from all other players; complex commission structure
Signature rotating-bank feature.
COMMISSION: casino takes 5% on winning hands
Signature 5% casino commission.
Scoring
Both-hands win pays 1:1 (minus 5% commission); one-win-one-loss = push; both-lose = lose bet.
Win condition · Win both high + low hands vs. dealer.
Equipment
PAI GOW TILE SET: 32 Chinese-style domino tiles (11 identical pairs + 10 mixed tiles)
Signature Chinese domino tile set.
TILE-SHAKER / DICE: 3 DICE used to determine deal order (from banker)
Signature 3-dice deal-order determination.
PAI GOW TABLE (in casinos, oval with 6-8 seats + banker box)
Signature pai gow table.
CASINO CHIPS
Standard casino chips.
Terminology
- Pai gow
- 'Make nine' — Cantonese.
- Gee Joon
- Supreme pair — highest ranked (3+6, 2+4 mixed suit).
- Wong
- 9-tile with Teen (12) or Day (2).
- Gong
- 8-tile with Teen or Day.
- Foul
- Invalid arrangement where LOW hand outranks HIGH.
- Copy
- Dealer wins ties in each hand comparison.
Where it is played
Governing bodies
Individual casino operators (Macau + Las Vegas jurisdictions)
Various
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — Pai gow— Wikipedia