Complete Chinese Dominoes Rules Compendium
Learn to balance four tiles into two winning hands in under 3 minutes. The official player reference for Pai Gow, Macau House Way rules, and traditional variants.
Pai Gow in 60 Seconds
Pai Gow is played with a 32-tile Chinese domino set. Think of it like a two-handed version of poker: each round you are dealt four tiles, and your goal is to beat the Dealer’s hands.
Four tiles are dealt face down from the woodpile after the bronze dice cup is shaken.
Divide your 4 tiles into a 2-tile Front Hand (Low) and a 2-tile Rear Hand (High).
Your Rear Hand must be equal to or stronger than your Front Hand. Otherwise it’s a Foul!
Front beats Dealer’s Front, Rear beats Dealer’s Rear. Win both to win; split 1-and-1 pushes (no loss).
Hand Ranking Hierarchy
Hands in Pai Gow are ranked from strongest to weakest into distinct tiers:
The [1-2] tile and [2-4] tile paired together. This is the absolute highest hand in the entire game. No other hand can defeat it.
Eleven matched pairs with identical pip counts on both tiles: Double Heaven [6-6]+[6-6], Double Earth [1-1]+[1-1], Double Man [4-4]+[4-4], Harmony [1-3]+[1-3], Plum Flower [5-5]+[5-5], Long Cloth [3-3]+[3-3], Axe [2-2]+[2-2], Red Head [5-6]+[5-6], Long Leg [4-6]+[4-6], Zero Head [1-6]+[1-6], and Copper Hammer [1-5]+[1-5].
Four mixed-pip pairs that sum to the same count: Mixed Nines ([3-6] & [4-5]), Mixed Eights ([2-6] & [3-5]), Mixed Sevens ([2-5] & [3-4]), and Mixed Fives ([1-4] & [2-3]).
Wong (王): Heaven [6-6] or Earth [1-1] paired with any 9. Ranks above all ordinary 9-point hands.
Gong (槓): Heaven [6-6] or Earth [1-1] paired with any 8. Ranks above all ordinary 8-point hands.
When two tiles do not form a Pair, Wong, or Gong, sum the pips of both tiles and drop the tens digit (e.g. 15 pips becomes 5 points; 20 pips becomes 0 points). Ties are broken by the higher individual tile rank in the hand.
The 32 Canonical Domino Tiles
A Chinese domino set consists of 32 tiles made traditionally of water buffalo bone and bamboo backing. The set is strictly divided into two distinct groups:
- The 22 Civil Tiles (文牌): 11 pairs of identical tiles (Double Heaven, Double Earth, Double Man, Harmony, Plum Flower, Long Cloth, Axe, Red Head, Long Leg, Zero Head, Copper Hammer).
- The 10 Military Tiles (武牌): 5 non-identical pairs (Mixed Nines, Mixed Eights, Mixed Sevens, Mixed Fives, and the Supreme Gee Joon pair).
The two Gee Joon tiles ([1-2] and [2-4]) are the ultimate wildcards in Chinese dominoes. Together as a pair, they form the Supreme Pair (至尊寶), the highest hand in the game. Individually, each Gee Joon acts as either a 3 or a 6, dynamically selecting whichever value maximizes your point score.
The Golden Rule & Foul Prevention
The most important rule in setting your hand: Your Rear Hand must mathematically outrank your Front Hand.
If your Front Hand has a higher rank or point total than your Rear Hand, the split is ruled a Foul (烏龍), which automatically forfeits both hands to the Dealer!
Suppose you are dealt [6-6] (Heaven), [1-1] (Earth), [4-5] (Nine), and [2-3] (Five).
- Correct Split: Rear Hand = [6-6] + [4-5] (Heaven Wong), Front Hand = [1-1] + [2-3] (7 points). Rear Hand (Wong) beats Front Hand (7 points). Valid!
- Foul Split: If you accidentally placed the Wong in the Front Hand and the 7-points in the Rear Hand, your Front would beat your Rear, causing an automatic loss.
Banker Showdown & The House Way
Once hands are locked in, your Front Hand is compared to the Banker's Front Hand, and your Rear Hand is compared to the Banker's Rear Hand:
- Player Wins Both Hands: Player wins the round (+1x payout).
- Player Loses Both Hands: Player loses the stake.
- Player Wins One, Loses One: The round is a Push (Standoff / 走水). No coins are lost or won.
- The Copy-Tie Rule: If the Player and Banker share the exact same point score and highest tile dignity, the Banker wins that specific hand.
The House Way (莊家道法): Casino dealers follow a strict, deterministic set of splitting rules called the House Way. In Mulberry Box, every round concludes with a Post-Hand Debrief that compares your split against the Macau House Way, teaching you how master dealers balance hands for push protection without spoiling the live decision-making at the table.
Tien Gow (Heavenly Dominoes)
The grand ancestor of trick-taking games, played with 4 players and all 32 tiles (8 tiles each). Players lead Civil or Military suits, pairs, and 4-tile sets. The objective is to win the decisive 8th trick.
Che Deng (Slanted Gazing)
A fast two-tile banking game historically played on passenger ferries along the Pearl River Delta. Players receive two tiles directly without splitting, and consecutive dealer wins increase table multipliers.
Tau Ngau (Bullfight Five-Tile)
Five tiles are dealt to each player. You must first find three tiles whose pip sum is a multiple of 10 (10, 20, or 30). The remaining two tiles determine your "Bull" points (Bull 1 through Bull 9, or Double Bull).