Belangkai, the King Crab game, on a phone screen

The name comes from belangkas, the Malay word for the king crab, and the crab is still on the board. Belangkai used to be played with a spinning top on a saucer, covered by a bowl, with a cloth split into four pictures: king crab, flower, fish and prawn. Joker123 keeps all four and swaps the top for a black cube on a stick that spins in a wooden dish.

The old page called this "the Belangkai desktop slot". It isn't a slot. There are no reels, just one result per round and a board to bet on.

Reading the board

The table is a teal square. Fish sits at the top edge, prawn on the left, the star-shaped flower on the right and the king crab at the bottom. Each side is marked 3.90, the corners and inner edges 2.90, and the round spots and the bars around the centre 1.95. A column on the right shows the pictures from the last six rounds, newest at the top.

The bet setting in our screenshots is 0.50 to 250.00, and the Unit box at the bottom sets the chip size. Once chips are down, the button in the corner reads Result.

What the numbers mean

This is where it gets a bit confusing. The help screen has a rewards chart with four options: 3.9 to 1, 2.9 to 1, 1.95 to 1 and 1 to 1, plus a diagram showing which areas win when the fish comes up. The old page, on the other hand, listed a single picture at "1 to 2.9" and a pair like king crab or prawn at "1 to 0.95".

The two fit together if the numbers on the board are the total you get back per chip, stake included. 3.90 back on a single picture is 2.90 profit, and 1.95 back on a pair is 0.95 profit. That's our reading, not something the app says in plain words. Put one small chip on one picture and watch the Win box before you trust either version.

The only tip worth keeping

The old article had three tips. Learning the buttons is obvious, and "keeping up with the speed of the game" isn't a strategy. The third one holds up: decide a loss limit and a stopping point before you start, and leave when you hit either. Rounds are quick, so the credit goes quicker than you expect.

Hulu Cock is the six-picture cousin of this game, and Sic Bo uses the same kind of board with numbered dice. More tables are under e-casino. For how the app ends up on a phone at all, read the Android app guide. If you'd like to try the board, the partner page can set you up with an ID.

One thing the old page never said: online gambling is illegal in Malaysia, and this game is for adults (18+) only. Our responsible gaming notes cover limits and where to find help.