What Are the Most Popular Playing Card Games in Asia Today?

For many people around the world, their perception of playing cards and card games has decidedly "western" roots. Whether one thinks of James Bond playing a few rounds of blackjack or the characters from the cast of Friends or Roseanne sitting around the kitchen table to play a round of friendly poker.

But, as we know, playing cards have a long and very international history, with many of the oldest and most prominent playing card games that we know and love today have their origins in Asia.

Chinese playing cards, for example, have been in use since at least the 12th century and likely predate the card games played in Europe (Karnöffel, the oldest known European card game, has its first recorded use in 1426). But which Asian card games continue to be popular in the region today? Let's take a closer look and find out.

Dou Dizhu

Dou Dizhu, which translates as "fight the landlord", is one of the most popular playing card games across China and East Asia. This is typically a three-player game, which can be a ton of fun to try out with friends. The game always uses a 54-card deck, which includes the two jokers.

All cards rank from high to low, with the jokers acting as the highest-ranking in the pack (note that the suits of the cards are not relevant here). Players are not dealt the cards, but take them from the pack - this is actually the case with nearly all Chinese card games and is worth keeping in mind if you ever play a game with a local.

Each player takes a turn drawing a card in a circuit until every player has 17 cards, with the remaining three cards staying face-down on the table. One player is the "landlord", who is playing against the other two players, and this is decided via an "auction". Players play a card to make a bid, with the highest bidder being the landlord.

The landlord then picks up the three remaining cards for a hand of 20. From here, everyone takes turns laying down certain combinations of cards (as determined by the rules, which are pretty extensive). The player that can get the highest number with the lowest number of cards in their combination wins each round.

Pai Gow

Traditionally, Pai Gow is playing with domino tiles. However, this ancient game has increasingly been played with playing cards over the decades, since the cards easily offer the exact same numerical functions as the domino tiles in the original.

This is a simple game of strength, in which the player gets four cards and must divide these into two pairs, which are then compared to the dealer's pairs to see who has the higher hand, with the highest one winning. Pai Gow is a great example of how old card games have been adapted in new contexts across Asia.

For example, it is now possible to play Pai Gow digitally as far afield as Thailand. There is a huge number of gambling sites In Thailand that now offer the game in sleek, digital versions, with bonuses available for new players who wish to try online Pai Gow poker for the first time. This is one game that is showing no signs of waning in popularity any time soon.

Gong Zhu

Gong Zhu translates to "chase the pig", and is another very old card game with its origins in China. Gong Zhu is virtually identical to the Western card game "hearts", with a few minor differences. Like hearts, the player who is first to pass a certain low number loses. In Gong Zhu, the number is much lower and is usually -1000.

Cards all have different values and landing a heart incurs a penalty of -200 points. None-heart face cards are usually worth +100. This is largely a game of luck with a bit of trickery thrown in, in which the goal is to get your points to score as high as possible. This game is easy to follow and is a whole lot of fun to play.

Asia has a rich tradition of card games, one that spans many centuries and encompasses some truly fun and inventive ways to experience a standard deck of cards. Wherever you are in the world, make sure to give these games a try for yourself.