5 Best Asian Gambling Games and How To Play Them

Image source: Antoine Taveneaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Asia has always been one of the major gambling centers in the world. There is a wide range of casino games coming from China and neighboring countries. Why don’t you take a look at the best Asian gambling games to play right now?

Gambling games are an essential part of Asian culture and China in particular. The latter has produced more casino games than most European countries and the US combined. What is more important, these games are played not just at online casinos in Taiwan, but all over the world! Even the fact that Macau is now considered the capital of gambling taking the crown from Las Vegas speaks for itself. To dig deeper into the gambling culture of Asia, we will take a look at the best Asian gambling games.

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5 best Asian gambling games to try today

Throughout their long and rich history, many Asian countries have produced dozens of great gambling games. In this guide, we have covered the five most popular games taking their roots in ancient China and its neighbors. Fans of gambling can play all these games in land-based casinos and at online casino sites like King Billy.

Sic Bo

Sic Bo is probably the most popular gambling game of Asian origin. Also known as Big and Small and Hi-Lo, this game of chance originated centuries ago in ancient China. Sic Bo is so old that it is not even possible to tell the exact date of its “birthday”. All we know about the game’s history is that Chinese immigrants introduced it to Western countries in the early 20th century. It was Sic Bo that influenced the emergence of such popular games as Grand Hazard or Chuck-a-luck.

How do you play Sic Bo? This is a dice game played at a special table similar to a roulette table. Players make bets on sections of a table that are divided into named scoring boxes. When the betting round is over, the dealer rolls three dice. Players win for every outcome they have predicted correctly. 

Pai Gow Tiles

One of the best Asian gambling games is Pai Gow. There are two variations of this classic game of chance: Pai Gow Tiles and Pai Gow Poker. The latter originated in Europe in the 20th century and was based on its older version, Pai Gow Tiles. That’s why we will talk about this version of the game. 

Pai Gow Tiles was known in China since the times of the Song Dynasty. It is played with 32 Chinese dominoes (tiles) and requires at least two players to play. The rules of Pai Gow Tiles are quite simple: players and the dealer receive 8 tiles each and form two hands out of them. One hand should be high, the other one should be low. To win, the player must beat the dealer’s both hands. 

Fan Tan

Fan Tan is not only one of the simplest Asian games, but one of the oldest ones. Its earliest version is believed to have arisen around the 4th century! A more familiar version of Fan Tan originated and got its popularity in the 19th century. 

As we have just mentioned, playing Fan Tan is unbelievably easy and fun. Before the gameplay, players place their bets on any number from 1 to 4. Then, the dealer separates out a random number of beads (or any small objects) from a larger pile. He/she repeatedly removes four objects with a stick until 1, 2, 3, or 4 objects remain on the table. This is how the winner of Fan Tan is determined. 

Keno

Bet you didn’t know that Keno was of Chinese origin! According to various legends, the very first variation of Keno was created to raise money in order to raise the Great Wall of China. In the 19th century, Keno got its modern name and spread to France, Italy, the United States, and other countries.

Keno is one of the best Asian gambling games you can play at online gambling sites in Taiwan. The rules of Keno are pretty similar to the lottery rules. Here players first choose the number of numbers they want to play with (e.g. six). Then, they choose any six numbers on a Keno slip from a 1-80 range. Place a bet and wait to see how many matches are there. Players will get their winnings based on each game’s own payout table. 

Niu Niu

Niu Niu is a card game that is popular in a row of Asian countries: China, Malaysia, Vietnam, and many others. Each country has its own variation of Niu Niu, so we will talk about its general rules and objectives.

So, Niu Niu is typically played between the player and the dealer. If there is no dealer, one of the players takes his responsibilities. Each participant receives a five-card hand. At first, players use three cards to form multiples of 10 and then add points on other cards. If the number of points exceeds 10, then 10 points are deducted, which is the number of points in Niu Niu. All points are determined by the face value of the cards. J, Q, and K are worth 10 points, A is worth 1 point and the value of other cards matches their face value. Then, all players reveal their cards to determine the winner with the best hand.

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