Oct 16 (newsonjapan.com) - As with most continents in the world, people from Japan and the rest of Asia enjoy playing different kinds of casino games.
Online gambling is huge in Japan, China and in many other countries throughout Asia. The legal landscape can at times be very complicated though. Some Asian countries have extremely strict gambling laws while other countries are more relaxed. One thing is for sure though – online gambling is on the rise, and the games spearheading the development of online casinos, are the classic table games.
Baccarat
Many Asian players love to play baccarat, probably due to its simple gameplay. It is a game of chance played with cards, and the rules are quite straightforward. The goal is to bet on which playing position will have the highest value closest to 9. There are two playing positions in baccarat — the banker and the player. One unique thing about the game is that the total value of a particular hand cannot exceed 9. If a particular hand is above 10, the first digit of the value is dropped, and only the second digit is used. For instance, if the value of a hand is 16, the 1 is dropped, and the correct value becomes 6.
Apart from banker or player bet, you can also bet on the outcome being a tie. There are a few betting strategies that some Asian players use to improve their chances of winning in baccarat.
Sic Bo
Sic Bo is a special game invented in China. It is one of the most popular casino games in Japan other parts of Asia. Like baccarat, it is a game of chance played with three dice. The goal is to guess the outcome of the dice when thrown. There are several bets available in Sic Bo such as one number, domino, specific double, specific triple, any triple, and so on. The entire game revolves around the bet placed. To start playing, place your chosen bet based on the betting limit. After that, the dealer will roll the dice. If the outcome correlates with the bet you placed, you win.
Mahjong
Mahjong is a traditional game that can be traced back to 19th Century China. It is a game that is available at many Asian online casino and land-based casinos. The game uses dominoes, and the objective is to form a Mahjong hand consisting of four sets of 3 or 4 tiles and one pair. A set in the game is either a pong (same-suit triplet), chow (same-suit straight) or kong (same-suit quadrupled). To start playing, players have to place their bets, after which the dealer deals 13 tiles to each player out of the entire 136 tiles of the game. After each round, you can place an additional bet to receive more tiles. The first player to form a mahjong hand and shout “Mahjong” wins.
Keno
Another special game that is popular in Japan and other countries in Asia is keno. It is a fun game to play and is similar to a lottery. The goal is to predict the numbers that will be selected during the raffle round. There is a keno card where players can mark their predicted numbers. Depending on the variation of the game, the card may have numbers from 1 to 80. Once the game start, the dealer will pick 20 numbered balls during the raffle draw round. If your predicted number is among those selected, you will receive a payout based on the game's paytable.
Pachinko
Pachinko is a type of slot game that originated in Japan in the 1900s. It could be categorized as a casino game, although most often it is not. Sites such as Internet Casino cover pachinko briefly, but focus more on traditional casino games. Pachinko is similar to a pinball machine and popular among Asian players. The goal is to shoot small balls and make them land in one of the pockets on the board. This will trigger the slot machine embedded in the game, giving you a chance to win different kinds of prizes, including real money. With the advancement in technology, there are now Pachinko versions that come with bonus features.
Pai Gow Poker
Unlike most of the games we've talked about so far, Pai Gow was recently invented in 1985. The game is quite popular in Asia and is similar to the Chinese game of Pai Gow. It is played using poker cards, and the goal is to form two hands (low and high hands) with 7 cards that rank higher than the dealer's hands. The low hand consists of 2 cards, while the high hand has 5 cards. As a rule, the high hand must have a better poker hand ranking than the low hand. Both your hands must rank higher than the dealer's hands for you to win.
