Jack and game. Casinos and gambling are a huge part of Asian culture and have been for centuries. In fact, Vegas is no longer considered the gambling capital of the world. That title has been taken over by the tiny nation of Macau, which is off the coast of China.
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You’ll notice many good luck charms in Chinese restaurants or even just spending some time watching other Asian television programming. That’s because luck, chance, and fortune are tied into the culture.
The casinos in Macau cater largely to Asians, so paying attention to which games are available there can be helpful if you want to know which Asian casino games are worth trying.
In this post, I list some of the most popular Asian casino games along with notes about how to excel at each of them.
1 – Sic Bo
One of the first games I ever played in a casino was called sic bo, which is played with three 6-sided dice.
“Sic bo” means “dice pair” in Chinese.
I was familiar with the probabilities when rolling three dice because I played Dungeons and Dragons as a teenager.
Besides baccarat, sic bo is probably the most popular game in any Asian casino. It’s also popular in Atlantic City, which has a devoted Asian clientele.
Many Las Vegas casinos no longer offer sic bo, although many of them might have a single table available.
The game of sic bo reminds me a little bit of roulette, because you have a table full of betting options. The payoffs for all the bets are always at a rate lower than the odds of winning.
Unlike roulette, though, sic bo doesn’t offer a host of bets that all have the same house edge. The casino’s edge varies based on which bet you take in sic bo. The best thing to do, mathematically, is to always take the bet with the lowest house edge.
Betting on small (or betting on big) is your best bet. The house edge is 2.78% for either of those bets. A bet on small wins if the total of the three dice is less than 11, but you lose if there’s a 3. A bet on big wins if the total of the three dice is more than 10, but you lose if it’s a total of 18. In fact, on either of these bets, if you get three of a kind, you lose.
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Most of the other bets at sic bo have a house edge greater than 10%. Those bets just aren’t worth making, although you’ll see people placing those bets all the time.
2 – Baccarat
Chinese Casino Games
Baccarat isn’t specifically an Asian game, but it’s the most popular game in Macau. In American casinos, slot machines dominate the gambling floor. In Asian casinos, baccarat tables do.
Baccarat seems complex, but that’s mostly because the rules are complicated. There’s no strategy to winning at baccarat, and the odds are almost as good as betting on a coin toss with your buddy, which is close to a 50/50 proposition.
You can find plenty of descriptions of baccarat, how to play, and its variants, but here’s the essential thing to know about the game.
![Asian Asian](https://borakola.weebly.com/uploads/9/5/9/9/95996594/asia-casino-slot-game_orig.jpg)
Always bet on the banker, as that’s the bet with the lowest house edge (1.06%). You CAN bet on the player, but you face a slightly higher house edge (1.24%).
But never, under any circumstances, bet on a tie. The house edge for that bet is 14.36%.
Those percentages vary slightly based on how many decks and which other rules conditions are in effect at your table, but they’re not too far afield at all.
3 – Fan Tan
Fan tan uses a cup and a wand along with a stack of white buttons to play. You play on a large table, and the middle of that table is covered with a plastic dome. The edges of the table are where the players make their bets.
The game begins when the dealer puts the cup over a random number of buttons. You can then choose from any of the bets on the table. After that, the dealer uses the wand to count how many buttons he had in the cup.
These buttons are counted off in groups of four, and the outcome is determined by the last set of buttons, which always consists of one, two, three, or four buttons.
The payout odds for all of the bets are the same as the odds of winning, but the casino takes a 5% commission. This makes the house edge in fan tan 5%, regardless of which bet you place.
4 – Pachinko
Pachinko reminds me of a pinball machine, only instead of being oriented horizontally, it’s oriented vertically. It’s basically the Japanese answer to slot machines.
In fact, instead of casinos, Japan has pachinko parlors, some of which also offer slot machine games.
It’s illegal to bet real money in Japan, so pachinko is played for balls, which are later exchanged for money or other prizes.
For an end run around legal gambling, the pachinko market is huge. Revenue from pachinko parlors is more than that of gambling in Las Vegas, Macau, and Singapore.
5 – Pai Gow (and Pai Gow Poker)
Pai gow is basically an Asian version of dominoes. The tiles are put into stacks of four. There are eight of these. Then, players make bets.
When the bets are all placed, players each get a stack of tiles and have to use those four tiles to create two hands of two tiles each. One of these is the “front hand,” and the other is the “rear hand.”
The player wins if both his hands beat both of the dealer’s hands. The player loses if both his hands are beaten by both the dealer’s hands.
If one hand wins, and the other hand loses, it’s treated as a push. A push is what happens in casino gambling when there’s a tie. The player doesn’t lose his bet, but he doesn’t get any winnings either.
Pai Gow Poker is an Americanized version of pai gow that’s played with playing cards instead of tiles. Both land based and online Pai Gow Poker use poker hand rankings, but the gameplay is similar.
Pai Gow Poker is a great casino poker game to play, by the way, because it’s relatively slow and results in a push a lot of the time. This results in a lower than usual hourly loss rate when compared with other casino table games.
6 – Niu Niu
You won’t see niu niu in many (or any) American casinos, but visit some of the gambling halls in southeast Asia, and it’s ubiquitous. You can also find versions online in casinos catering to Asian gamblers.
Niu niu is a card game where the playing cards have the same values they would have in baccarat:
- Aces are worth one point.
- Numbered cards are worth their ranking (e.g. the two card is worth two points).
- The jack, queen, and king are worth zero points.
Any time the total becomes 10 or greater, the number is converted to a single digit. A total of 11 becomes a one, a total of 13 becomes a three, etc. The 10 is just dropped.
You can bet on either or both of the following:
- Double
- Equal
Each player gets five cards, and so does the dealer. The cards get sorted into whichever hand would be best. Here are the possible hands, from best to worst.
- A niu niu is a three-card hand worth zero points and a two-card hand worth zero points.
- A three-card hand worth zero points combined with a two-card hand worth more than zero points is the second best hand. The higher the number of points in the two-card hand, the better the hand is.
- Any hand where you can’t make a three-card hand with zero points.
If there’s a tie, you compare the highest ranked card in each hand to determine the winner. Aces always count low for this purpose.
If there’s still a tie, the suit of the highest ranked card breaks the tie. See the suits from high to low.
- Spades
- Hearts
- Clubs
- Diamonds
If you placed an “equal” bet, you win even money if you chose the winning side. But you have to pay a 5% commission.
If you placed a “Double” bet, you win a prize based on a pay table, but you still pay a 5% commission.
7 – Yee Hah Hi
If you ever wanted to play sic bo but without all the counting, you could try Yee Hah Hi. The game is a variation of sic bo. But instead of numbered pips on the dice, each side has a picture on it.
Yee Hah Hi dice have six different symbols in three different colors.
- The Coin
- The Crab
- The Fish
- The Gourd
- The Rooster
- The Scorpion
The symbols come in the following colors.
- Blue
- Green
- Red
You can bet on things like “all are the same color” or “two of the dice are the same color.” The house edge for this game is actually surprisingly good at just 1.11%.
Conclusion
That’s my list of seven Asian gambling games worth trying. But it’s not even close to a comprehensive list. You probably have some favorite casino games that are also popular in Asia.
Which games would you add to this list?
It’s not only K-Pop, sushi, and Asian beauty products that Westerners continue to rush to get their hands on, but there are also plenty of gambling lovers that favor games originally from Asia – even if they don’t actually know it!
The majority of Asian casino games that Westerners love originally came from China, which has a rich history of strategic gaming and gambling. Variations of most of these games have been produced by Western countries, too, as they seek to make the game more exciting – or sometimes simply easier.
While there are plenty of Chinese visitors to gambling meccas like Macau, you’ll also see Western gamblers heading over to enjoy all the facilities that some of the world’s best casinos offer.
Let’s have a look at some of the more popular casino games out of Asia that Westerners can’t seem to get enough of, beginning with one that you probably had no idea was of Asian origin…
Keno
Believe it or not, the worldwide sensation game Keno is originally from China. Keno is similar to a lottery, except that it’s played in near real-time in casinos and online all over the world. Players choose 20 numbers from a list of 80 (in regular Keno), with wins based on matches of the numbers to the numbers of the random numbers drawn.
Keno can be a fun game to sit down with friends at the casino between rounds at the tables and have a leisurely game or two for a break.
Pai Gow
As you may surmise by the name, Pai Gow is another Chinese gambling game that’s often played in casinos and looks like you are playing dominoes – except the game is played all in rows. Pai Gow isn’t just popular to play in the streets, it’s also popular in casinos around the world, as well as online, too.
There is even a version of Pai Gow called Pai Gow Poker that is played with a card deck instead of the traditional dominoes – although this version originated in the US.
Sic Bo
One game that’s slowly gaining traction among Westerners is the casino game of Sic Bo. Unlike some other games, Sic Bo is a pure chance-based game and it is played using 3 dice. If you really like pure chance-based games, then Sic Bo could be a winner. Again, there are Westernized variants of the game, these being Grand Hazard and Chuck-a-Luck.
You can find casinos around the world playing this game, as well as games online where you can play with a live dealer to get in on the action.
Mahjong
While not traditionally played in casinos, Mahjong is a world-famous game with origins in China that is usually played among friendly groups. However, that’s not to say that some casinos don’t get in on the Mahjong action, too.
Made popular by its many appearances in film and tv
If you feel like playing a game of Mahjong then you are more than likely to find a meetup group than a table at the casino – but it’s worth a chance!
Asian-themed slots
While not would you would typically call an “Asian casino game,” Westerners do seem to have an affinity for Asian-themed slot games at casinos and online. Games like 100 Pandas, Triple Fortune Dragon, Lady of the Moon, Tokyo Nights Extreme, and China Shores all see plenty of traffic from Westerners looking to get a taste of Asian culture without having to leave their country.
It is possible to try out these slots for yourself. You can take full advantage of the free spins bonuses available at a range of online casinos.
Conclusion
Westerners love Asian casino games just as much as they love casino (and regular) games themselves. While some seek out higher-strategy games, others enjoy those that you can play just with good luck and fortune. In any casino floor in the world, if you seek out one of these mentioned games, you’ll likely find Westerners mixed among Asian patrons, with just as good a chance at winning as any.
Asian Gambling Machines
With ancient Chinese games a staple in casinos and online gambling establishments around the world, it’s safe to say that these ancient games will be around for a very long time to come – even if it’s through Westernized variants.