Pai Gow Tiles

About

In Pai Gow, both the Dealer and the Player will form two hands from four tiles; a High Hand and a Low Hand. The object of the game is for the Player to form a High Hand that beats the Dealer's High Hand and a Low Hand that beats the Dealer's Low Hand.

How To Play

Starting the Game

Play starts when the Player has placed an Ante wager between $5 and $500 and pressed the Deal button. At this time, the Dealer and the Player will each receive the four tiles from which they will form their two hands. Each hand will be comprised of two tiles and the value of the High Hand must exceed the value of the Low Hand.

Each pair of tiles will be valued based on the following criteria:

Pair: Pairs in Pai Gow are referred to as "Bo". There are 16 possible Bos as shown in the tile reference page later in this help file. The possible Bos are listed in order from highest rank to lowest rank.

In cases where two Bos are compared, the higher in the ranking order will win.

Wong: After a Bo, the next highest tile combination is a "Wong". A Wong is a combination of any 9-spot tile with a 2-spot tile or a 12-spot tile. In any case where two Wongs are compared, the hand with the highest tile will win. If both hands have the same high tile, the hands are considered a tie and they Push.

Gong: A "Gong" is very similiar to a Wong except for the fact that it is created by pairing any 8-spot tile with a 2-spot or 12-spot tile. In any case where two Gongs are compared, the hand with the highest tile will win. If both hands have the same high tile, the hands are considered a tie and they Push.

Points (0-9): If a hand does not contain a Bo, a Wong, or a Gong, the points for the hand are calculated by adding the spots from the two tiles in the hand.

The final point value for a hand will always be between 0 and 9. For any hand in which the points add up to more than nine, the first digit of the calculated count is dropped.

For example a 16 would count as 6; a 10 would count as 0. The higher the point count, the better the hand. When two hands are compared, the hand with the highest count wins.

IMPORTANT: The two tiles that make up the highest ranked pair Gee Joon (or "The Supreme Pair") are considered Wild and may be counted as a value of either a 3 or of a 6 in order to calculate the best possible count.

For example, a Gee Joon tile played with a 4-spot tile can be used as a 6 which would result in a 0 count or it can be played as a 3 which would result in a better, higher, score of 7.

Playing the Round

The Player will form his hands by arranging the tiles on the board. To move tiles, tap on a tile and then a space or on a space and then a tile. The tile will be moved to that space. To remove a tile that has been played, tap it twice.

Once the hands have been formed, press the "Play" button to end the round. When the round is ended, the Player hands will be compared to the Dealer hands and a winner will be declared.

In cases where hands tie, the winning hand will be that which contains the highest count tile.

In cases were a tie is 0-0, the Dealer will always be declared the winner regardless of the highest tile.

If, in the case of a tie, the highest tile in both hands is the same value, the Dealer wins the Hand.

Playing the House Way

Optionally, the Player may elect to Play the House Way. When this option is taken by tapping the "Play House Way" button, the Player tiles will be played in the same structured way in which the Dealer would be required to play the same tiles.

The Houseway for Riverboat Gambler is the same as is used at the Foxwoods casino as documented on the invaluable reference site Wizard of Odds.

Determining a Winner

In order to win the round, both hands must win. If the Player hands beat both of the Dealer hands, the Player is the winner and will be paid even money on his Ante wager less a 5% commission.

If the Dealer beats both of the Player hands, the Player's Ante wager is forfeit.

All other hands result in a Push.

Quick Replay

After a round completes, if the Player presses the Deal button, a new hand will be dealt and the same Ante wager amount from the preceding hand will be made. If the Player does not want to repeat the last wager, play will resume after the Player has adjusted the Ante amount and pressed the Deal button.

Pay Table

First Two Cards
(Must pay 5% Commission)
Win Both Hands	1 to 1