Chinese Gambling Games
China is one of those countries to have become fascinated on ancient gambling games like backgammon and Mah Jong. Gambling has become a phenomenon in that country that it outlasted imperial dynasties. By 1912, upon the fall of the last emperor, gamblers kept thriving. Hong Kong, Shanghai and Macao were gambling Meccas, where foreigners traded and gambled. Gamblers here were rough, and at that time, they were also the best. But one thing is for sure, gambling crossed ties between different cultures and eased up trading, since if you can deal with a gambler, it's easier to talk to a trader. Perhaps Mah Jong, Pai Gow, and Sci Bo were the most famous gambling games in China.
Pia Gow
In this game, players need a woodpile to be used as bank. One of the players is entrusted the duty of a banker, while the rest of the players get the four tiles of the woodpile. The objective of the game is to group the tiles into pairs in such a way that it will amount to a greater value than the bank has. Anyone who beats the banks wins the game. Usually, big sums of money are exchanged over the course of the game.
Mah Jong
Mah Jong also means sparrow. This is an ancient game that was said to be invented by a fisherman. To fight sea sickness, one fisherman invented Mah Jong so he wouldn't be aware that he is in the middle of the sea. A Chinese general heard about this game and used it for his soldiers to play it, preventing them to fall asleep during the night. Mah Jong had a variety of names and its rules so plentiful that the game was only standardized in the 90s. In this game, players shuffled tiles numbering to 136 to 144, depending on whether it is a tile with flowers or seasons. Also, Mah Jong is accompanied by dice and by chips, that measures the score of each player. The winning combinations of tiles are called "chow", "pung" and "kong". To complete a hand, a player needs to have four combinations and a pair, which totals to 14 tiles. The first player who achieves this wins.
Sci Bo
Sci Bo is a typical dice games that means "two dice". Players of this game wager on the total face of their dice. Basically, the game is played with three dice. A small bet falls on faces ranging from 4 to 10; while a big bet ranges between 11 to 17. Players shake a cup with dice inside and begin wagering on its value. The player who can guess the would win a large sum of money in this game.