Casinos and gambling are a huge part of Asian culture and have been for centuries. In fact, Vegas is no longer considered the gambling capital of the world. That title has been taken over by the tiny nation of Macau, which is off the coast of China.
You’ll notice many good luck charms in Chinese restaurants or even just spending some time watching other Asian television programming. That’s because luck, chance, and fortune are tied into the culture.
The casinos in Macau cater largely to Asians, so paying attention to which games are available there can be helpful if you want to know which Asian casino games are worth trying.
In this post, I list some of the most popular Asian casino games along with notes about how to excel at each of them.
The five-reel, 20-payline slot features wild and scatter symbols, bonus spins and a bonus round. NetEnt releases Fruit Shop Megaways During every spin in the main game and bonus round the number of symbols landing on each reel is randomly chosen, resulting in a varying number of megaways up to 117,649. Asian Casino Card Games – How to steal money from slot machines Why are online live casino games so popular? What happened to my pretty corners, good casinos make sure to provide a solid selection including player favourites and jackpot options. One of the most popular Asian slots, Thai Flower, is an online gaming machine with 5 drums and 10 lines of payments that can easily provide big prizes. Its exotic subject gives the slot special charm, and a Wild symbol (a pink flower of a lotus) that is also a Scatter symbol helps to win combinations and to activate the main function.
This game has 5 reels and 5 paylines. The same provider offers up Asian Beauty, a 5 reel game which has a whopping 243 paylines, so if you are looking for chances to win, this is the game for you. Another great Asian game is Japan-O-Rama by Rival Slots, which touches on a number of classic Asian cultures. This game is a 5 reel and 20 payline game.
1 – Sic Bo
One of the first games I ever played in a casino was called sic bo, which is played with three 6-sided dice.
I was familiar with the probabilities when rolling three dice because I played Dungeons and Dragons as a teenager.
Besides baccarat, sic bo is probably the most popular game in any Asian casino. It’s also popular in Atlantic City, which has a devoted Asian clientele.
Many Las Vegas casinos no longer offer sic bo, although many of them might have a single table available.
The game of sic bo reminds me a little bit of roulette, because you have a table full of betting options. The payoffs for all the bets are always at a rate lower than the odds of winning.
Unlike roulette, though, sic bo doesn’t offer a host of bets that all have the same house edge. The casino’s edge varies based on which bet you take in sic bo. The best thing to do, mathematically, is to always take the bet with the lowest house edge.
Betting on small (or betting on big) is your best bet. The house edge is 2.78% for either of those bets. A bet on small wins if the total of the three dice is less than 11, but you lose if there’s a 3. A bet on big wins if the total of the three dice is more than 10, but you lose if it’s a total of 18. In fact, on either of these bets, if you get three of a kind, you lose.
Most of the other bets at sic bo have a house edge greater than 10%. Those bets just aren’t worth making, although you’ll see people placing those bets all the time.
2 – Baccarat
Baccarat isn’t specifically an Asian game, but it’s the most popular game in Macau. In American casinos, slot machines dominate the gambling floor. In Asian casinos, baccarat tables do.
Baccarat seems complex, but that’s mostly because the rules are complicated. There’s no strategy to winning at baccarat, and the odds are almost as good as betting on a coin toss with your buddy, which is close to a 50/50 proposition.
Always bet on the banker, as that’s the bet with the lowest house edge (1.06%). You CAN bet on the player, but you face a slightly higher house edge (1.24%).
But never, under any circumstances, bet on a tie. The house edge for that bet is 14.36%.
Those percentages vary slightly based on how many decks and which other rules conditions are in effect at your table, but they’re not too far afield at all.
3 – Fan Tan
Fan tan uses a cup and a wand along with a stack of white buttons to play. You play on a large table, and the middle of that table is covered with a plastic dome. The edges of the table are where the players make their bets.
The game begins when the dealer puts the cup over a random number of buttons. You can then choose from any of the bets on the table. After that, the dealer uses the wand to count how many buttons he had in the cup.
These buttons are counted off in groups of four, and the outcome is determined by the last set of buttons, which always consists of one, two, three, or four buttons.
The payout odds for all of the bets are the same as the odds of winning, but the casino takes a 5% commission. This makes the house edge in fan tan 5%, regardless of which bet you place.
4 – Pachinko
Pachinko reminds me of a pinball machine, only instead of being oriented horizontally, it’s oriented vertically. It’s basically the Japanese answer to slot machines.
In fact, instead of casinos, Japan has pachinko parlors, some of which also offer slot machine games.
It’s illegal to bet real money in Japan, so pachinko is played for balls, which are later exchanged for money or other prizes.
For an end run around legal gambling, the pachinko market is huge. Revenue from pachinko parlors is more than that of gambling in Las Vegas, Macau, and Singapore.
5 – Pai Gow (and Pai Gow Poker)
Asian Slot Games Fu Babies
Pai gow is basically an Asian version of dominoes. The tiles are put into stacks of four. There are eight of these. Then, players make bets.
When the bets are all placed, players each get a stack of tiles and have to use those four tiles to create two hands of two tiles each. One of these is the “front hand,” and the other is the “rear hand.”
If one hand wins, and the other hand loses, it’s treated as a push. A push is what happens in casino gambling when there’s a tie. The player doesn’t lose his bet, but he doesn’t get any winnings either.
Pai Gow Poker is an Americanized version of pai gow that’s played with playing cards instead of tiles. Both land based and online Pai Gow Poker use poker hand rankings, but the gameplay is similar.
Pai Gow Poker is a great casino poker game to play, by the way, because it’s relatively slow and results in a push a lot of the time. This results in a lower than usual hourly loss rate when compared with other casino table games.
6 – Niu Niu
You won’t see niu niu in many (or any) American casinos, but visit some of the gambling halls in southeast Asia, and it’s ubiquitous. You can also find versions online in casinos catering to Asian gamblers.
Niu niu is a card game where the playing cards have the same values they would have in baccarat:
- Aces are worth one point.
- Numbered cards are worth their ranking (e.g. the two card is worth two points).
- The jack, queen, and king are worth zero points.
Any time the total becomes 10 or greater, the number is converted to a single digit. A total of 11 becomes a one, a total of 13 becomes a three, etc. The 10 is just dropped.
You can bet on either or both of the following:
- Double
- Equal
Each player gets five cards, and so does the dealer. The cards get sorted into whichever hand would be best. Here are the possible hands, from best to worst.
- A niu niu is a three-card hand worth zero points and a two-card hand worth zero points.
- A three-card hand worth zero points combined with a two-card hand worth more than zero points is the second best hand. The higher the number of points in the two-card hand, the better the hand is.
- Any hand where you can’t make a three-card hand with zero points.
If there’s a tie, you compare the highest ranked card in each hand to determine the winner. Aces always count low for this purpose.
If there’s still a tie, the suit of the highest ranked card breaks the tie. See the suits from high to low.
- Spades
- Hearts
- Clubs
- Diamonds
If you placed an “equal” bet, you win even money if you chose the winning side. But you have to pay a 5% commission.
If you placed a “Double” bet, you win a prize based on a pay table, but you still pay a 5% commission.
7 – Yee Hah Hi
If you ever wanted to play sic bo but without all the counting, you could try Yee Hah Hi. The game is a variation of sic bo. But instead of numbered pips on the dice, each side has a picture on it.
Yee Hah Hi dice have six different symbols in three different colors.
- The Coin
- The Crab
- The Fish
- The Gourd
- The Rooster
- The Scorpion
The symbols come in the following colors.
- Blue
- Green
- Red
You can bet on things like “all are the same color” or “two of the dice are the same color.” The house edge for this game is actually surprisingly good at just 1.11%.
Conclusion
That’s my list of seven Asian gambling games worth trying. But it’s not even close to a comprehensive list. You probably have some favorite casino games that are also popular in Asia.
Which games would you add to this list?
Table Of Contents
- Asian Slots are among the top games of the gambling industry
Asian Slots have become very popular among gamblers this decade as Asian-themed Slots can introduce you to the worlds of China, Korea, Japan and other wonderful countries in the Far East.
If you’re looking for Asian Casino games and lots of Chinese Slot machines, we’ve got you covered. The following games are all free Asian Slots that are available on your PC and any mobile device.
Hong Bao
Let’s start this list with one of the most traditional-looking Chinese Slots, Hong Bao.
This title by Kalamba Games comes with one interesting feature you won’t likely find on many other games - you can buy a bonus.
Spirits of Zen
Spirits of Zen is an Anime-themed Asian Slot with well-crafted visuals.
The game features 243 ways to win, a Scatter that can give you up to 30 free spins, and a Wild Hopper symbol that turns other symbols Wild.
Year of the Dog
Even though Year of the Dog video Slot looks traditional, it feels fresh.
This game is also quite innovative in terms of features, as there are 1,024 ways to win and lots of cool free spins bonuses with different multipliers.
By the way, the RTP is 97.039 percent,.
The Legend of Shangri-la: Cluster Pays
This 6-reel Asian Slot machine lets you form wins through cluster pays, which substitution symbols (Wild symbols) help you get.
The game comes with four bonus features: Random Substitutions feature, Sticky Re-Spins feature, Nudge Reel, and a Free Spins feature that can give you five to nine free spins.
The RTP of 96.59 percent definitely make this Asian Slot machine worth a try.
Sakura Fortune
The five-reel, four-row, 40-payline Sakura Fortune is one of the most interesting Asian Slots.
The Wild symbol is the Sakura Princess that can trigger two bonus features: the Sakura Fortune Re-spin feature and the Mystery Nudge feature.
You also have a Free Spins feature, triggered by Scatter symbols, where you can get five to 10 free spins, during which you can land the Wild that will expand across the reel and stay locked during the feature.
You can win up to 1,087 times your stake on each spin, and there’s an RTP of 95.58 percent.
Koi Princess
This five-reel, 20-payline Slot machine comes with eight bonus features, four of which are Random Bonus features (5-Hit Bonus, Random Wild, Wild Reels, and Bonus Activation) triggered in the base game, while the other four (Sure Win Free Spins, Wild Reels Free Spins, Coin Win, and Bonus Wheel) are triggered when three bonus symbols appear on the first, second, and fifth reel.
You can get up to 1,000 your bet on each spin, and its RTP of 96 percent can be increased to 96.23 percent if you activate the Bonus Bet and double your current bet.
88 Fortunes
This five-reel Chinese Slot machine with 243 ways to win comes with a Free Games feature that can get you up to 10 free spins, and the Fu Bat Jackpot feature where you can win up to four progressive Jackpots: Mini, Minor, Major, and Grand Jackpot.
The RTP of 95.93 percent is not the highest but, despite that, the game is definitely one of the best free Chinese Slots you can play according to our team.
100 Pandas
100 Pandas is a five-reel, 100-payline game, which is one of the simplest Chinese Slot games to play because you only need to watch out for the Yin and Yang bonus symbols to land winning combinations.
The bonus symbols can activate the 100 Pandas bonus game that can get you up to 10 free spins with a 2x multiplier. Additional Yin and Yang symbols during the bonus game can get you 10 extra free spins with a 2x multiplier.
Bruce Lee
This five-reel, 60-payline Slot machine is one of the most action-packed Chinese Slot games online.
It comes with a Free Spins Bonus feature, where you can get up to 14 free spins, and the Enter the Dragon Bonus feature, which is triggered only in the Free Spins mode.
Lights
Lights is a five-reel, nine-payline Asian theme Slots machine with two bonus features: the Floating Wild feature, during which up to four symbols can turn into Wilds to help you get winning combinations, and the Free Spins feature, where up to six symbols can turn into Wilds during each free spin.
The Free Spins bonus is triggered by the Scatter symbols, which can give you 10 to 30 free spins, and you can win up to 1,000x your stake on each free spin.
The RTP in this slot machine game is 96.10 percent.
Geisha Story
Geisha Story is a five-reel, 15-payline Slot machine game that is one of the most popular Asian Slots with an RTP of 95.48 percent.
It comes with a bonus (the Geisha’s Garden Bonus feature), where you can get four to 20 free spins, after which a multiplier will be revealed, increasing your winnings from 2x to 10x.
Red Mansions
Red Mansions is a five-reel Asian Slot machine game with 1,024 ways to win.
It comes with a great Free Spins Bonus feature where you can get 10 to 20 free spins when the jade gem bonus symbols are landed on the third reel.
If you land more bonus symbols during the Free Spins feature, you can get even more free games.
This is one of the few Chinese Slot machines that have beautiful oriental-themed symbols and immersive Chinese-style graphics.
Thai Flower
One of the most popular Asian Slots, Thai Flower is an online Slot machine with five reels and 10 paylines.
Its exotic theme gives it special charm, and its Wild symbol (the pink lotus flower), which is also the Scatter symbol.
Thai Flower comes with an RTP of 95 percent and one Bonus feature, which is the Free Spins feature that can get you 12 free spins.
Zhao Cai Jin Bao
Of all the Chinese Slots, Zhao Cai Jin Bao is the simplest one, as it has neither bonus features nor does it give you free spins.
However, this doesn’t mean that it’s not worth a try, as it is perfect for all those who simply enjoy the spinning of the reels.
Of all its higher value symbols, a dragon’s head is the best, as landing five dragon’s heads in one row leads to a win of 5,000 times the stake. The RTP for this Chinese Slot machine is 95.99 percent.
Gong Xi Fa Cai
This is a five-reel, 50-payline Asian Slots machine devoted to the Chinese New Year.
It has two Bonus features: the Free Spins feature, where you start with eight free spins which can be re-triggered, and the Multiplier feature, which can be triggered both in the base game and during the Free Spins. It can multiply your wins two, three, or five times.
The RTP for this Slot ranges from 92.41 to 96.23 percent.
Fei Long Zai Tian
This five-reel, 25-payline Asian Slots machine looks quite good and it comes with an RTP of 96.03 percent.
It has only one bonus feature, the Dragon’s Pearl Free Spins You trigger it with the Scatter symbols, that is, by landing three or more of them anywhere on the reels.
During the feature, you will get eight free spins with a 2x multiplier for all the wins.
Most importantly, free spins can be re-triggered infinitely.
88 Coins
88 Coins is a five-reel, 30-payline Chinese Slot machines game that has an RTP of 97 percent.
It’s not progressive and it doesn’t have a bonus game, but its Wild (the Lotus Flower) and Scatter (the Pierced Coin) symbols more than compensate for the lack of other features.
The Wild doubles your wins, while three or more Scatters activate 10 free spins and a cash prize.
Fu Dao Le
One of the best Asian Slots, Fu Dao Le is a five-reel real money game with 243 ways to win and progressive Jackpots.
It comes with four bonus features: Mystery Stacked Reels, Progressive Jackpots (Red Envelope and Jackpot Bonus) and, of course, free spins, where you get eight spins with a 2x multiplier.
This Slot game differs from others in that it has several Wild symbols: Normal Wild, 2x Wild, and 3x Wild (all of which appear only during the Free Spins feature), Clumped Wild and Wonus (which is both a Wild and the Bonus symbol).
Shangri La
Shangri La is a five-reel, 50-payline Slot game with an incredible number of seven bonus features.
Three of them are triggered in the base game, and those are the Added Wilds feature, the Wild Reels feature, and the Added Scatter feature.
The other four bonus rounds are the Free Games feature (eight free spins that can be re-triggered), the Super Free Games feature (12 free spins that can be re-triggered), the Chest Bonus feature (you keep opening chests until you win all the prizes before the chests close and you can win up to 15 times your stake) and the Trail Bonus feature (you take steps to the prize map and you can win up to 100 times your stake).
Prosperity Twin
Prosperity Twin is a five-reel Asian Slots game with 243 ways to win and an RTP ranging from 95.45 to 96.29 percent.
It allows you to play both ways and all you have to do is look out for the Scatter symbols, as they will trigger the Free Spins feature, where you can get eight to 28 free spins.
Shaolin Spin
Shaolin Spin is also a five-reel Asian Slots machine with 243 ways to win. It has a Scatter symbol that activates the Free Spins feature.
During it, you can get 10 to 20 free spins, during which all your wins will be trebled by a 3x multiplier.
There aren’t any more features, but the existing ones definitely make this Slot worth your time.
Panda Pow
Panda Pow is yet another one of the very popular Asian Slots, mainly because of the lovely panda symbols featured in the game.
It has five reels and 25 paylines, and only one Bonus feature, which is Free Spins. The Panda symbol that acts both as the Wild and the Scatter triggers the Bonus feature and can get you five to 20 free spins.
Additionally, five or more Pandas during the Free Spins feature can get you up to 40 more free spins.
The Great Ming Empire
This five-reel, five-payline Asian Slots game has an RTP of 96.15 percent and it comes with only one Bonus feature – The Treasure Room Bonus.
It’s activated by three or more of the same Scatter symbols (there are three different Scatters) .
Satsumo’s Revenge
Asian Casino Slot Games
Satsumo’s Revenge is an interesting Asian Slots machine game with cartoon-style graphics, five reels, and 25 paylines.
It features two bonus rounds: the Shuriken Wilds feature, where you have a chance of turning up to three reels fully wild and boosting the payouts wins with a 2x or 3x multiplier, and the fun Fighting Free Games feature, where you choose a fighter and play several rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors, getting lots of free spins.