Most Popular Asian Gambling Games: Top 5 Picks To Try

A trend of visiting Asia to gamble has grown popular during the last decade. Casinos in Macau and Hong Kong can now compete with Vegas by its splendor and expensiveness. But what do Asians like to play, besides welcoming gaming tourists? Here are the five most popular Asian gambling games which are in huge demand among locals.

Asia is one of the biggest gambling markets, though many kinds of it are forbidden in most countries. Local authorities usually allow maintaining land-based casinos to attract tourists and raise the economy, but launching online casinos is still problematic. There are few local Asian online casino sites, but its residents can freely access international platforms like in South Korea.

Accessibility of foreign-based online casinos plays for both Asians and websites. The first can gamble freely and win, while the other can analyze their preferences and give them what they want to play. So, what 5 casino games are in favor of Asian people?

Popular Asian gambling games: Sic Bo

When speaking about the most popular casino games in Asian countries, Sic Bo always comes first. It has a reason as SicBo is a traditional Chinese game with very ancient roots. What also makes this game special is being one of only two casino games played with dice.

Sic Bo is a game of chance played with 3 dice. It provides a very wide range of betting options, allowing players to choose from 50 variants. The basic rule of Sic Bo is to guess the winning outcome of three dice. A detailed guide on how to play Sic Bo is available, while the game itself can be found at every second online casino site. It is probably the most popular gambling game with Asian roots.

Baccarat is in favor among locals

This classic casino game of chance basically doesn’t need an introduction. Baccarat is widely known among all players as it is not only among popular Asian gambling games but also a worldwide hit. It is probably the only game from our list that is present in every gambling room. Local gamblers can easily find this card game at land-based casinos and online casino sites in China.

If you are familiar with gambling, you should know the rules of baccarat. The player places a bet, then the dealer gives out two cards for the player and leaves two for himself/herself. They open cards and decide whose hand is better. There are just three outcomes: the player wins, the dealer wins, or there is a tie. The game of baccarat has many variations, so obviously rules can slightly change, but the basic principles stay the same.

Gamblers from Asian countries like Pai Gow

Pai Gow is another Chinese game that is among the most popular Asian gambling games. It is very popular in most Asian countries as well as some casinos in the US, UK, and Commonwealth. Most gamblers know pai gow poker, which is loosely based on this traditional Chinese game.

To play Pai Gow, you need to have a set of 32 Chinese dominoes. It consists of pairs of all numbers from 1 to 6 and 11 tiles duplicated (6-6, 6-5, 6-4, 6-1, 5-5, 5-1, 4-4, 3-3, 3-1, 2-2, 1-1). The rules of the game are the following: each player gets four tiles and divides them into 2 pairs. So does the dealer. Then they open up their tiles and see if the player’s both pairs beat the dealer’s pairs. If yes, the player wins. If not, he or she loses. In the case, when just one pair outranks the dealer’s pair, there is a tie.

Keno is among popular Asian gambling games

Keno is believed to originate from China, that is why it is so popular in Asian countries. It is a lotto-like game played in casinos, but you can also meet Keno in some local lotteries too. Such popularity and accessibility of Keno in spite of some gambling restrictions in Asian countries is truly amazing.

Playing Keno requires knowledge of basic rules like every other gambling game. Here you bet on numbers from 1 to 80. Once everyone places his bet, the dealer opens up random 20 winning numbers. The one who guessed them is the winner. Numbers can be revealed in two ways, either with a random generator or using a special ball machine. Pay attention that the number of betting and/or winning numbers may vary from country to country and from casino to casino.

Dragon Tiger is a popular choice

The Dragon Tiger game is a simplified version of classic baccarat that is extremely popular in Asian countries. It differs from its predecessor by the number of playing cards and easier rules. Basically, all you need to know is that Dragon Tiger players use just one card to beat the dealer. As in baccarat, there is a wager on the card that will be higher. That’s it. Gamblers from Asia often play this simple game of chance and you can play Dragon Tiger and other games at King Billy Casino too.

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