Pai gow - wikipedia Pai gow Not to be confused with Pai gow poker. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( June 2011 ) A set of Chinese dominoes. The top double - row of tiles lists the eleven matching pairs, in descending value from left to right. Below them are five non-matching pairs, worth less than the matching pairs, and also in descending value from left to right. The Gee Joon tiles, lower right, are the highest pair of all. Pai gow ( Chinese : 牌九 ; pinyin : pái jiǔ ; Jyutping : paai4 gau2 ) is a Chinese gambling game, played with a set of 32 Chinese dominoes. It is played in major casinos in China ( including Macau ) ; the United States ( including Las Vegas, Nevada ; Reno, Nevada ; Connecticut ; Atlantic City, New Jersey ; Pennsylvania ; and cardrooms in California ) ; Canada ( including Edmonton, Alberta and Calgary, Alberta ) ; Australia ; and, New Zealand. It dates back to at least the Song dynasty. The name `` pai gow '' is sometimes used to refer to a card game called pai gow poker ( or `` double - hand poker '' ), which is loosely based on pai gow. Contents 1 Rules 1.1 Starting 1.2 Basic scoring 1.3 Gongs and Wongs 1.4 Gee Joon tiles 1.5 Pairs 1.6 Ties 2 Strategy 3 See also 4 External links Rules Starting Tiles are shuffled on the table and are arranged into eight face - down stacks of four tiles each in an assembly known as the woodpile. Individual stacks or tiles may then be moved in specific ways to rearrange the woodpile, after which the players place their bets. Next, each player ( including the dealer ) is given one stack of tiles and must use them to form two hands of two tiles each. The hand with the lower value is called the front hand, and the hand with the higher value is called the rear hand. If a player 's front hand beats the dealer 's front hand, and the player 's rear hand beats the dealer 's rear hand, then that player wins the bet. If a player 's front and rear hands both lose to the dealer 's respective hands, the player loses the bet. If one hand wins and the other loses, the player is said to push, and gets back only the money he or she bet. Generally seven players will play, and each player 's hands are compared only against the dealer 's hands. There are 35,960 possible ways to select 4 of the 32 tiles when the 32 tiles are considered distinguishable. However, there are 3620 distinct sets of 4 tiles when the tiles of a pair are considered indistinguishable. There are 496 ways to select 2 of the 32 tiles when the 32 tiles are considered distinguishable. There are 136 distinct hands ( pairs of tiles ) when the tiles of a pair are considered indistinguishable. Evaluations of three basic hands Basic scoring The name `` pai gow '' is loosely translated as `` make nine '' or `` card nine ''. This reflects the fact that, with a few high - scoring exceptions, the maximum score for a hand is nine. The value of a hand is determined by adding up the total number of pips on its two tiles and dropping the tens digit. Examples : 1 - 3 with 2 - 3 : value 9 ( nine pips altogether ) 2 - 3 with 5 - 6 : value 6 ( 16 pips ; drop the 10 ) 5 - 5 with 4 - 6 : value 0 ( 20 pips ; ones digit is zero ) A Day tile ( left ) and a Teen tile ( right ) Gongs and wongs There are special ways in which a hand can score more than nine points. The double - one tiles and double - six tiles are known as the Day and Teen tiles, respectively. The combination of a Day or Teen with an eight results in a Gong, worth 10 points, while putting either of them with a nine creates a Wong, worth 11. However, when a Day or Teen is paired with any other tile, the standard scoring rules apply. Gee Joon tiles The 1 - 2 and the 2 - 4 tiles are called Gee Joon tiles and act as limited wild cards. When used as part of a hand, these tiles may be scored as either 3 or 6, whichever results in a higher hand value. For example, a hand of 1 - 2 and 5 - 6 scores as seven rather than four. Pairs The matching pair of eights ( left ) is worth more than the non-matching pair of eights ( right ). If a hand contained one of the tiles on the left and one of the tiles on the right, these would not form a pair at all, since the tiles that make pairs are defined by tradition. The 32 tiles in a Chinese dominoes set can be arranged into 16 pairs, as shown in the picture at the top of this article. Eleven of these pairs have identical tiles, and five of these pairs are made up of two tiles that score the same, but look different. ( The latter group includes the Gee Joon tiles, which can score the same, whether as three or six. ) If a hand is made up of a pair, it always scores higher than a non-pair, no matter what the value of the pips are. ( Pairs are often thought of as being worth 12 points each. ) When the player and dealer both have a pair, the higher - ranked pair wins. Ranking is determined not by the sum of the tiles ' pips, but rather by aesthetics ; the order must be memorized. The highest pairs are the Gee Joon tiles, the Teens, the Days, and the red eights. The lowest pairs are the mismatched nines, eights, sevens, and fives. Ties When the player and dealer display hands with the same score, the one with the highest - valued tile ( based on the pair rankings described above ) is the winner. For example, a player 's hand of 3 - 4 and 2 - 2 and a dealer 's hand of 5 - 6 and 5 - 5 would each score one point. However, since the dealer 's 5 - 5 outranks the other three tiles, he would win the hand. If the scores are tied, and if the player and dealer each have an identical highest - ranking tile, the hand is ruled a copy and the dealer wins. For example, if the player held 2 - 2 and 1 - 6, and the dealer held 2 - 2 and 3 - 4, the dealer would win since the scores ( 1 each ) and the higher tiles ( 2 - 2 ) are the same. The lower - ranked tile in each hand is never used to break a tie. There are two exceptions to the method described above. First, although the Gee Joon tiles form the highest - ranking pair, they are considered to have no value when evaluating ties. Second, any zero - zero tie is won by the dealer, regardless of the tiles in the two hands. Strategy The key element of pai gow strategy is to present the optimal front and rear hands based on the tiles dealt to the player. There are three ways to arrange four tiles into two hands when no two of them form a pair. However, if there is at least one pair among the tiles, there are only two distinct ways to form two hands. There are three ways to arrange these tiles into two hands. Using the tiles shown at right, the following hands and scores are possible : A and B ( 0 ), C and D ( 0 ) A and C ( 5 ), B and D ( 5 ) A and D ( 3 ), B and C ( 7 ) The player must decide which combination is most likely to give a set of front / rear hands that can beat the dealer, or at least break a tie in the player 's favor. In some cases, a player with weaker tiles may deliberately attempt to attain a push so as to avoid losing the bet outright. Many players rely on superstition or tradition to choose tile pairings. See also China portal Games portal Tien Gow Gwat Pai External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pai Gow. Scoring chart Pai gow lore at Wizard of Odds website ( Michael Shackleford ) Gambling Games Table game Baccarat Mini-Baccarat Blackjack Craps Pai gow Pai gow poker Roulette Big Six wheel Bingo Bola tangkas Faro Keno Lottery Lottery betting Mahjong Medal game Pachinko Poker Rummy Scratchcard Sic bo Slot machines Trente et Quarante Video poker Venues List of casinos Casino Online casino Cardroom Racino Riverboat casino Science Mathematics Gambling mathematics Mathematics of bookmaking Poker probability Strategies Asian handicap Due Column betting Labouchère system Martingale Terminology Crimp Double or nothing Even money Handicapping High roller Natural Progressive jackpot Shill Table limit Advance - deposit wagering Miscellaneous Casino game List of bets Commons Wiktionary WikiProject Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pai_gow&oldid=804454105 '' Categories : Cantonese words and phrases Chinese ancient games Chinese dominoes Gambling games Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from June 2011 All articles needing additional references Articles containing Chinese - language text Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Italiano 日本 語 吴语 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 9 October 2017, at 03 : 04. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: which casino game is played with a set of chinese dominos
Answer: Pai gow