My new pai gow tiles!

I'm going to make a go at this. Thanks, Wiz, for talking this up; this is going to be fun. My only problem with playing on the computer is memorizing the top hands, and the tie breakers. So I bought a set of tiles. I figure handling them and placing them in rank, playing mock hands, treating them like flash cards etc will help me learn them.

The strategy itself, that really isn't so hard. In some cases you want to maximize the low, in some cases you want to maximize the high, in a whole lot of cases it's obvious, and there are a few subtle plays. It's memorizing the tiles and knowing the game movements at the table that make the difference, when there's money out there.

I bought them through Amazon, I had a bunch of free points so the whole thing was $0.00.

Getting your own tiles and getting comfortable viewing and handling them is a huge step toward being confident playing in the casino. But beware...

I bought my tiles through Amazon as well. Mine are considerably thicker than the tiles used in the casinos. So I got comfortable handling my tiles, then went to the casino and proceeded to toss their tiles all over the place because they didn't feel the same.

Haha, these are very substantial. I'll probably have the exact same problem.

I forgot to post the photo:

Quote: Mosca

I bought them through Amazon, I had a bunch of free points so the whole thing was $0.00.

Horseshoe Southern Indiana does sell used Tiles sets that would have been used in casinos. I have a set and really enjoy playing with them.

I agree, having your own set of tiles is helpful to learning the game. Plus, there is something about them I find enjoyable to look at and touch.

Last Friday I had lunch with Michael Musante. Turns out we live about three miles from each other. I plan to have him as a guest on my radio show soon. As you know, there is a technique in his book to learning the tile order.

Quote: Wizard

I agree, having your own set of tiles is helpful to learning the game. Plus, there is something about them I find enjoyable to look at and touch.

Last Friday I had lunch with Michael Musante. Turns out we live about three miles from each other. I plan to have him as a guest on my radio show soon. As you know, there is a technique in his book to learning the tile order.

Not quite yet, I don't! I started reading, and Mrs turned on The King's Speech on Showtime, and I had to stop and watch. It's not like we're going to AC tomorrow, I have time. It was good to see that film again, it holds up well.

Tell Mr Musante that I enjoy his book, I enjoy his authorial voice. The words flow naturally. Although it is an instructional book, it nevertheless tells a story as well.

We went up to Mohegan for dinner tonight, and they have tiles. At the one table that was active, there was a younger guy who was very friendly. I asked if he minded if I watched, and he accommodated me; I watched a dozen hands, where he put the tiles out and then asked me how I'd set them, then explained the reasoning on the edgy ones.

THAT was cool, I got a feel for the pace of the game. He said, "You're OK to play when, as soon as the dealer shows, you know whether you won or not." Well, I might take a while to get there, but I'm not far away from giving it a shot.

Quote: Mosca

He said, "You're OK to play when, as soon as the dealer shows, you know whether you won or not." Well, I might take a while to get there, but I'm not far away from giving it a shot.

You can certainly play in a casino long before this. I've been playing for about 5 years, and I usually cannot keep up with the dealer when they expose and set their hand. But I'm getting really close.

If the resemblance between Pai Gow tiles and dominoes coincidental? Every time a see a set of the former I think it's just a fancy name for a set of dominoes.

I think you are okay to play when once they have set their hand, you know if you have won, lost, or pushed.