(I’d start a new thread if I though interest would warrant.)
The Hi-Lo game played in rural Thailand has important differences from the Hi-Lo game played in Asian casinos. (I don’t know which variant is played in the illegal Bangkok casinos that cater to upper class.) The differences start with the printed playing layout itself. As you can see, it seems to have fewer options – but this is somewhat misleading. A banknote placed between two places on the layout might be a bet on both or either; in some cases the distinction is made by whether the banknote is flat or folded.
To start a game you must get permission from the local police (or keep the game very quiet). An exception is made for funeral wakes: neighbors are needed to protect from ghosts and police allow gambling as a means to stay awake.
The same person operates as banker throughout, normally the owner of the dice and other equipment. (I banked once when my brother-in-law needed to rest. That led to great excitement as the game transmuted to “Fool the Foreigner.”) Three dice are placed on a plate, covered with an opaque bowl, and shaken once (surprisingly lightly). Anyone may now place bets; bets are settled when the bowl is lifted to reveal the dice.
I won’t detail the bets and payoffs except to note an important difference from the standard casino game. The most common bets are Hi (three dice total 11 or more) and Lo (three dice total 10 or less). To give the House a vigorish, triplets (three Aces, or Three Deuces, or three Sixes, etc.) do not payoff as either Hi or Lo.
However, in the rural game the vigorish for the Hi and Lo bets is done differently. Triplets do payoff but Eleven total does not. (This may seeem very odd, since it seems to make the Lo bet an even-money proposition with no vigorish. I guess, however, that it is an implicit acknowledgement that rural dice are often loaded and high numbers more likely!)
I haven’t yet mentioned the most amazing aspect of the betting procedure. When you first observe the game you may see a player place a 100-baht note on Hi and someone else (his wife?) then move the banknote to Lo. The first player (husband?) now moves the note back to Hi. At first I assumed that the husband and wife were debating what their wisest bet was and had eventually settled on Hi. Boy was I wrong!
When the woman moved the banknote she performed a ‘Yak’ bet (from ยักย้าย, to divert). The man Yak’ed her back! There is still just the single banknote on the playing surface but 300 baht of bets exist!
When the dice are exposed the banker pays only the bets represented on the layout. Assuming Lo, he would take the man’s 100 baht. But the man is obligated for another 100 baht payable to the woman, whose Lo bet he Yakked! (Had the dice been Hi, banker and woman would each pay the man 100 baht.)
Had the woman moved the banknote to Lo a second time, and the man then moved it back to Hi again, there would be 500 baht of bets represented by that single banknote! Man or woman would have to pay the other 200 baht. Memory becomes important! Banker is only responsible for the bets still visible after all Yakking is complete, but will try to remember Yakking history – he wants the game to remain amicable.
I’ve been personally acquainted with four people who operated Hi-Lo games (though I’ve not even witnessed a game for a few years: my life is increasingly tame; the community increasingly civilized and sober). Another surprise was to learn that some dice, when sixes were on top, would cause a flashdrive-sized device to vibrate. I didn’t even Google to find out where such were for sale or what the price was; I was just amazed to see it in the very low-tech backwater place I live. 
