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The name "Pai Gow" is sometimes used to refer to a card game called Pai Gow Poker (or Double Hand Poker ), also popular in Nevada and California, and which is loosely based on the Chinese game.

The name "Pai Gow" is loosely translated as "Make Nine", as the object of the game is to make two hands(of two tiles each) where each hand totals as close as possible to nine points. However, a pair of matching tiles(same number on each tile) ranks higher than any two un-matched tiles that total nine or less.

In game play, each player is dealt four tiles per round and must make two hands, of two tiles each. One hand is called the "High Hand" and the other is called the "Low Hand". The high hand always has a higher score than the low. To win a round, the player must have a high hand that beats the dealer's high hand and a low hand that beats the dealer's low hand. If only one of the two hands wins, it is a push. In the case of a tie(i.e. the player and dealer both have a low hand scoring four), the low hand with the higher ranking tile would win.

A basic strategy is to make your high hand and your low hand as strong as possible. This could mean spitting a matching pair of tiles(which would be your high hand) to better the score of your low hand. Since you must win both hands to win the round, you don't want to play a weak low hand(scoring 0 to 3 for example).

See also: Tien Gow, Gwat Pai, Che DengChe Deng literally means diagonal nails in Cantonese. It is the name of a Chinese game that plays with the Chinese dominoes set. Che refers to the diagonal pattern of the "three" pip on the tile. Deng refers to the "one" pip on the tile. See also: Tien Go