Pai gow, which means "make nine," is played with a set of 32 Chinese dominoes. This is the game from which baccarat was developed. These dominoes are a little bit larger and a little bit thicker than their American domino counterparts.

Additionally, the incised dots or "pips" for the number "one" and the number "four" are colored red. All other pips are colored white. This does not have any significance to the game of pai gow, however. It is done to follow the tradition of Chinese dice, in which the "one" and "four" pips are also colored red.

Game Play

Pai gow play starts with a "woodpile," a group of dominoes four tiles high and eight tiles long. As in baccarat, the house begins the games as the bank, but can pass the banking duties to one of the players. Each player starts with four tiles out of the woodpile; three dice are rolled to determine who will play the first hand.

The object of pai gow is to group the four tiles into two pairs. If the player's pairs have a greater value than those of the bank, the player wins the bet; if the pairs held by the bank have a higher rank, the player loses the bet. If only one of the player's hands is greater than that of the bank, the player's money is returned.

Higher numbers do not count when ranking the hand; it is mostly a matter of symbolism.

Ruin of Many Families

The actor Jackie Chan notes in his biography "My Story" that pai gow has been the ruin of many families and fortunes, his own included. This may be attributed to the fact that the banker changes from round to round, with each of the players taking on a turn. The player who assumed the role of the banker for a round offers up a certain amount of money as a bet.

Then, all the other players may offer up the same amount of money. If the banker comes out on top, he has the opportunity to collect a great deal of money, but if he does not win, he must pay out to everyone who bet against him. Thus, the losses in the game can be extremely high.