A new tile game – with a Twist!
Twist’em is a new casino game played with standard dominoes. Like the Chinese tile game Pai Gow, each player’s goal is to form two hands which respectively outrank the dealer’s hands. The ranking is done as in Baccarat or Pai Gow: by adding the total of each hand and using only the ones digit. Nine is high, zero is low. Unlike Pai Gow, the tiles won’t be physically separated into two hands.
How To Play Twist’em
- Click to select a bet circle, then click on a chip value to bet on that circle. To start, bet $5 on BET, $5 on Lucky Nines, then $1 on the Double Double progressive, and press “Deal”. You will receive three domino tiles in a row. The numbers above the lines form one hand, and the numbers below form the other. The highest is your “high hand”.
- Flip the tiles to set your hands how you want.
- When you’ve set your tiles, the high hand should be underneath. If it’s not, the dealer will flip the hand over — unlike Pai Gow Poker, this does not foul the hand.
- When you’re done, click “Play” to see the dealer’s hand.
- Or click “Show Hands” for a list of the possible ways to set the tiles and click on each set to see it.
You win even money if your top and bottom hands beat the dealer’s top and bottom hands, respectively, or if one wins and one ties. If one hand wins and the other hand loses, the bet is pushed. Otherwise, the dealer wins (including on two exact ties).
Like Pai Gow, Twist’em has a House Way. The House Way for Twist’em is: Always make the highest high hand.
Yes, the House Way really is one line long. With no pages-long set of hand combinations to memorize, even a break-in dealer can learn to deal this game in a matter of minutes.
House Edge
With optimal player strategy for this House Way, the house edge is 1.89%. If the player uses the House Way, the house edge is 3.26%.
(Compare that to Blackjack, where if the player copies the dealer strategy the edge jumps from 0.5% to almost 5.5%.)
Bonus Bets
There are two bonus bet for Twist’em:
The Lucky Nines bet pays if the player and dealer have two or more hands worth 9 points between them.
The Double Double bet pays if the player and dealer have three or more doubles tiles between them, and the top award (6 doubles) is configured as a progressive jackpot.
Double Double can also be configured as a non-progressive bet with a higher bet limit and fixed awards.
Betting Strategy
How much you stake on each bet can change how the game feels. Instead of $5 each on the main bet and Lucky Nines, try the following:
a) $10 main bet, $5 on Lucky Nines
b) $15 main bet, $10 on Lucky Nines
Other Information
Twist’em:
- requires no commission! With no more lammers to slow the game down, Twist’em will be more profitable for your pit.
- has a beginner-friendly ranking scheme, with no complicated hand rankings to memorize. Anyone can learn the game in a matter of minutes and it’s impossible to foul a hand.
- has the easiest house way in the business. Any dealer can staff the game without lengthy training on a complicated house way.
- is described by U.S. Patent No. 7,335,099.
For more information about Twist’em, please contact us.