Domino Qiu Qiu: If Dominoes, Poker, and Sudoku had a baby…
Welcome to Your New Game!
If you are looking for something different in a card game and have a regular set of double six dominoes, situs domino qiu qiu may be for you. The game does involve wagering but if you don’t want to play for money, poker chips can be used, or potato chips, or anything else that you have handy. To make things easier and more fun, from here on out let’s call the game Q Q.
What the Heck is Q Q?
The game is apparently of Cantonese origin and is similar to Pai Gow but comes to us by way of Indonesia. The game is often classed as a card game because the Indonesians play with thick cards that are marked the same as dominoes. For most players, a set of dominoes will be easier to get, but if you can find a set of the cards, they may be better for shuffling and dealing or for travelling.
Basics of Play
Q Q can be played by as little as 2 players or up to 6 players, with 6 being the best option. If you are playing with dominoes, start with a full set, face down and mix well. Cards can be shuffled normally. Every player starts with an agreed upon ante and 3 cards are dealt to each player. First dealer is chosen however you want with the deal passing to the player on the left for later hands. Poker style bets are placed on the three dealt cards then each player that didn’t fold receives a final card. A final round of poker style betting ends when all players call or fold and cards are shown. Pretty basic, right? Now it gets interesting. The four highest ranked hands in descending order are; “Six Gods” four cards with six spots each (3-3, 4-2, 5-1, 6-0); “Four Doubles” just like it sounds; “Pure Large” a hand with at least 39 spots; “Pure Small” a hand with no more than nine spots total. A tie between these special hands is impossible. If no player has one of these, the best ordinary hand wins. Here it gets a little tricky and some strategy is needed to arrange your hand to win. Each player puts their four cards in two sets of two cards. How you pair them up is up to you. Then the total spots on each pair of cards is counted, if the total is a two digit number, only the right hand digit counts. If the two cards have a count of 12, the pair is worth 2. The player with the highest value pair wins, the second pair breaks ties.
