Quick answer
Pai Gow Tiles uses 32 Chinese dominoes and you set four tiles into two hands of two. Gee Joon is not a separate game: it is the name of the supreme pair in Pai Gow Tiles. Pai Gow Poker uses cards and you set seven cards into a two-card and a five-card hand.
Compare
Side by side
| Pai Gow Tiles | Gee Joon | Pai Gow Poker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment | 32 Chinese dominoes (tiles) | Not a separate game: the name of the 1–2 and 2–4 pair | 52-card deck plus a joker: 53 cards in the Royal Pai Gow Poker rules we cite |
| Each player gets | Four tiles | — | Seven cards |
| Hands to set | A low hand and a high hand, two tiles each | — | A two-card hand and a five-card hand |
| Which hand must be stronger | The high hand | — | The five-card hand |
| Best hand | Gee Joon pair | It is the best hand in Pai Gow Tiles | Five aces (four aces plus the joker); a pair of aces is the best two-card hand |
| Exact ties (copies) | The banker or player-dealer wins copies under the rules we cite | — | The player wins copy hands in the Royal Pai Gow Poker rules we cite |
| Win both / win one | Win both to win; split them to push | — | Same idea: win both to win, one to push |
| Our source | Fallsview, Parkwest and Star’s rules | Fallsview, Parkwest and Star’s rules | Royal Pai Gow Poker rules in the Parkwest Casino 580 document (BGC GEGA-003805) |
The domino game
Pai Gow Tiles in brief
Each player gets four tiles and splits them into a low hand and a high hand. Both must beat the banker’s matching hands to win; win one and lose one and the bet pushes. Hands rank pairs first, then Wongs, Gongs and High Nines, then points. Start with how to play.
The pair
Gee Joon is a pair, not a game
Gee Joon is the 1–2 tile together with the 2–4 tile. The two tiles look different, yet together they make the highest pair in the game. Split up, each one counts as three or six. Read the full Gee Joon entry.
The card game
Pai Gow Poker in brief
In the Royal Pai Gow Poker rules included in the Parkwest Casino 580 document, the game uses 52 cards plus a fully wild joker. Each player sets seven cards into a two-card hand and a five-card hand, and the five-card hand must rank higher. Winning both hands pays 1 to 1 under those rules, and unlike the tile games we cite, the player wins copy hands. Card games and tile games use different rankings, so nothing on our tile charts carries over.
At the casino
Which one is in front of you?
If the table has dominoes and dice, it is Pai Gow Tiles. If it has cards, it is Pai Gow Poker. In both games, the posted table rules set the payouts, fees and house way.