Pai Gow Tiles at Hard Rock Atlantic City

How to Play

The game of Pai Gow is a game of Chinese tiles, which is generally believed to have originated in China around the 12th century A.D. The name Pai Gow means “to make nine,” which is the object of the game. There are 32 dominos referred to as “tiles” which are mixed or shuffled by the dealer. On the table, there is a dice cup with three dice inside. The purpose of the dice cup is to determine which position on the table will receive the first hand. The counting always starts from the banker (who is not always the dealer), and proceeds around the table in a counter-clockwise manner. If the dice total 9 or 17, the banker will receive the first stack of tiles. If the total is 10 or 18, the player to the banker’s immediate right will receive the first stack, and so on. Pai Gow is a rotating bank game. Each player has the opportunity to bank the bets against all other players, including the house. The dealer will offer the bank to each player in turn, moving counter-clockwise. The player has the option of either accepting the bank or passing it on to the next player. If no one accepts the bank, it goes back to the dealer. To be the banker, a player must have played the previous hand against the house and must be able to cover all bets. A player may also choose to co-bank with the house, in which case that player must cover half the bets. If a player chooses to co-bank, their hand must be set by the dealer according to the standard “house way.” The dealer places the tiles in eight stacks of four each. A stack is dealt to each position on the table (including any vacant positions). Unlike the American game of dominos, in Pai Gow the individual value of a tile is NOT based on the number of dots on it. Its value is based upon a symbolic Chinese meaning. Each player uses the four tiles to form two separate two tile hands. The best hand is referred to as the “high hand” and the other hand is called the “low hand.” If the player’s two hands are higher than both of the banker’s hands, the player is a winner. If the player’s two hands rank lower than both of the banker’s hands, the player loses. If only one of the player’s hands is higher, and the other is lower, it is a tie or “push” and no money changes hands. If the player and the banker have two hands totaling the same number, the hand with the higher “single ranking” tile is the winner. The banker always wins if the two hands are exactly identical.

Fire and Ice

Players also have the exciting option on designated Pai Gow Tiles tables of placing a Fire & Ice Bonus Wager. This wager is based on the color of your tiles. You want to have either all white dot tiles or all red dot tiles. Your tiles being all red, or all white will result in the pay table below. All Red pays 1000 to 1 All White pays 35 to 1 With any Combination of colors, the bet loses.