Pai Gow Tiles House Way for New Zealand

Interpretation

In this document, "Harmony 3" refers to the value of a hand consisting of two tiles where:

• The hand as a point count of 3; and
• The higher ranking individual tile in the hand has a ranking of High 4

 

Pairs

• With two ranking pairs, play the two pairs as two hands.
• Never split the following pairs:
  • Fours
  • Fives
  • Sixes
  • Tens
  • Elevens
• Split
   
  • Gee Jun: split with
     
    • 6&6 (non-pairing)
    • 6 and 5
    • 6 and 4
  • Teen or Day: split with
     
    • 9 and 11
    • 9 and 8
    • 9 and 7
    • 9 and 6
    • 9 and 5
    • 9 and 4
       
    • 8 and 8 (non-pairing)
    • 8 and 7
    • 8 and 6
    • 8 and 5
    • 8 and 4
       
    • 7 and 7 (non-pairing)
    • 7 and 6
    • 7 and 5
    • 7 and 4
       
    • 6 and 6 (non-pairing)
    • 6 and 5
    • 6 and 4
  • Nines: split with
     
    • Teen and Day
    • Teen/Day and 10
    • 10 and 10 (non-pairing)
  • Eights: split with
     
    • Teen and Day
    • Teen/Day and 11
    • Teen/Day and 10
    • 11 and 10
    • 11 and 9
    • 10 and 10 (non-pairing)
  • Sevens: split with
     
    • Teen and Day
    • Teen/Day and 11
    • Teen/Day and 10
    • 11 and 10
    • 10 and 10 (non-pairing)

 

Wongs, Gongs, and High Nines

• If no pair is possible, play Wong, Gong, or High Nine.
• Play High Nine, Gong, or Wong in that order, providing Harmony 3 or better is achieved in the low hand.
• Play Wong, Gong, or High Nine in that order if Harmony 3 or better is not achieved in the low hand.

 

General Rules

• Maximize the point count of the low hand providing the low hand achieves Harmony 3 or better.
• If it is not possible to set the low hand at Harmony 3 or better, then maximize the point count of the high hand providing a high and of 8 or better can be achieved.
• If a high hand of 8 or better cannot be achieved, then maximize the point count of the low hand.

 

High Ranking Tiles

• If possible, when the low hand is 7 or less, play the highest ranking tile in the low hand; however if there is a choice, do not play the 2 highest ranking tiles in the same hand.
• If possible, when the low hand is 8 or better, play the highest ranking tile in the high hand; however, if there is a choice, do not play the 2 highest ranking tiles in the same hand.
• However, if the house is seeking to maximize the point count of the high hand, strengthen the high hand by adding the highest ranking tile.
• If there is a Teen in one hand and Day in the other, play the Teen in the high hand unless the two remaining tiles are:
  • 4/5 or
  • 10/11
  
  in which event, play the Teen in the low hand.

 

Exceptions to General Play

• Where the four tiles are 6, 7, 11 and any non-pairing tile, maximize the low hand even if Harmony 3 or better is not achieved in the low hand.
• Where a hand can be played as either 8/8 or 7/9 in the low and high hands (respectively), play it as 7/9 unless one of the tiles is Low 10.

Written by: Michael Shackleford