There are many Chinese gambling games that are worth your attention. Card games, dice games, dominoes – every player can find something to his or her taste. Take a look at the five most popular casino games in China and learn how to play them.
Although gambling is illegal in China, this country has produced a lot of great games during its history. Many popular casino games originated in China, including Keno, Pai Gow, dominoes, and some variations of poker. In this guide, we have listed some of the most popular and greatest gambling games from China every player must try at least once.
5 best Chinese gambling games to play
To find more information about gambling games, check our online casino game guides for beginners. Meanwhile, here are the five best Chinese casino games to play in land-based casinos or on the Internet.
- Pai Gow
- Fan-Tan
- Sic Bo
- Dragon Tiger
- Chinese Poker
Pai Gow
Pai Gow is one of the most popular Chinese gambling games not only in Asia but in the whole world. Pai Gow is widely known among poker players as Pai Gow Poker is based on this game. It is also one of the oldest gambling games that originated in China. So, what is Pai Gow and how to play it?
Pai Gow is played with 32 pieces of Chinese dominoes. Every player receives four tiles and uses them to make two hands, the strongest and the weakest possible. Then, the player’s hands are compared to the dealer’s hands. If the player’s hands beat both dealer’s hands, he/she wins. If one hand wins and the second one loses, the player gets back the original bet. In case of losing with both hands, the player receives nothing.
Fan-Tan
Fan-Tan or Fantan is another gambling game worth your attention. It is very easy to play as it is a game of luck that gives everyone a chance to win. Fan-Tan is a fun game that is available both online and offline.
Fan-Tan is played at a table with a special layout that includes four sides marked 1, 2, 3, and 4. Players place bets on one of these numbers and then it’s time for the dealer to determine the winner. To do so, the dealer puts on the table around 200 small objects (buttons, coins, beans, etc). Using a small cup and a bamboo stick, the dealer repeatedly removes four objects from the surface until only 1, 2, 3, or 4 objects remain, determining the winner.
Sic Bo
It is difficult to find a more famous Chinese gambling game than Sic Bo. It is probably the most popular game from Asia in international casinos. In some of them, Sic Bo is known as Tai Sai, Dai Siu, Big & Small, or Hi-Lo.
We have already explained how to play Sic Bo, so here is just a brief reminder. Sic Bo is a table game that is played with three dice. The aim of the game is to guess the outcome of the dice being rolled. In Sic Bo, players have many betting options to choose from to increase their winning chances.
Dragon Tiger
Although Dragon Tiger originated in Cambodia, it is always present on various lists of the best Chinese gambling games. This is a card game that is played with live dealers at most online gambling sites. Also, the game is extremely popular among gamblers in land-based casinos. How do you play it?
Dragon Tiger is played with up to 8 decks of cards. The game involves just two participants: the dealer and the player. Each is dealt one card face down. Then, the player places a bet on Dragon to win, Tiger to win, or Tie. If he/she guesses it right, the player wins. Besides three standard bets, each Dragon Tiger variation has its own side bets to make.
Chinese Poker
Fans of poker can try their luck in Chinese Poker, an exotic variation of the well-known card game. This is an exciting game that is easy to play even for beginners. All one should know is poker hands ranking.
Chinese Poker starts with a deck of 52 cards. In the beginning, 13 cards are dealt to each player instead of two in Hold’em, so the game involves up to four players. Then, players have an option to fold or play their hands. If they choose to play, they divide their cards into three poker hands and reveal them clockwise. The player with the best hand wins the pot.
