Hand rankings in Chinese Poker depend largely on which variant of the game is being played. The most common format for Chinese Poker has each player receiving 13 cards, and being required to make three high hands of 3, 5, and 5 cards. When this is the case, the rankings are as follows:
3-card hand- The best hand possible in the 3-card hand is three aces, since straights, flushes, and straight flushes do not count. The 20 best hands are as follows:
| A-A-A |
| K-K-K |
| Q-Q-Q |
| J-J-J |
| 10-10-10 |
| 9-9-9 |
| 8-8-8 |
| 7-7-7 |
| 6-6-6 |
| 5-5-5 |
| 4-4-4 |
| 3-3-3 |
| 2-2-2 |
| A-A-K |
| A-A-Q |
| A-A-J |
| A-A-10 |
| A-A-9 |
| A-A-8 |
| A-A-7 |
As you can see, if two players have the same pair, the kicker (third card in the hand) determines the winner. This can be crucial in saving points in Chinese Poker.
5-card hands- The 5-card hands are ranked by the normal order of poker hands. If the joker is being used, either as a completely wild card or as a partial wild card that can be either an ace or the finishing card of a straight or flush, the best possible hand is five aces. Otherwise, the hands are ranked as follows:
1. Royal flush- A-K-Q-J-10 of the same suit
2. Straight flush- five cards of the same suit lower than the Royal flush, but still in rank order (e.g. 6-7-8-9-10). In the unlikely event that more than one player has a straight flush, the player with the highest rank in his hand wins.
3. Four-of-a-kind- Four cards of the same rank (e.g. 5-5-5-5-A)
4. Full House- Three cards of one rank and a pair of another rank (e.g. 9-9-9-8-8)
5. Flush- Five cards all of the same suit, not in rank order (e.g. 
-
-
-
-
)
6. Straight- Five cards in rank order, not all of the same suit (e.g. 
-
-
--
)
7. Three-of-a-kind- Three cards of the same rank (e.g. 7-7-7-3-2)
8. Two pair- Two cards of the same rank and another two cards of a different rank (e.g. 10-10-8-8-3)
9. One pair- Two cards of the same rank (e.g. K-K-8-7-6)
10. High card- No two cards matching rank, with no straights or flushes. If more than one player has this hand, the highest card wins. If both players have the same high card, the next highest card is compared, and so on, until a winner is determined (e.g. A-K-6-4-3 of different suits)
If bonus hands are being used in the Chinese Poker game, these are also ranked in order to see who the winner is. For individual five card and three card hands, the above rankings still apply, and only the winning hand receives the bonus points. For the 13-card “special hands,” the rankings are as follows, and once again, only the highest hand receives the points:
1) 13-card flush (all 13 cards in the same suit, with each opponent paying 13 points to the player with this hand)
2) 13-card straight (all 13 cards in rank order, with each opponent paying 13 points to the winning player)
3) Three flushes (five cards in each of two suits, and three cards in a suit, with each opponent paying 3 points to the player)
4) Three straights (five, five and three card hands all in rank order, with each opponent paying 3 points)
5) Six pair (with each opponent paying 3 points)
There are also variations of the game where either a low hand (where straights and flushes count against the player) or Badugi hands are used instead, or in addition to, the other hands more usually seen in Chinese Poker. Refer to the articles on hand rankings in Badugi and Deuce-To-Seven elsewhere here at PokerWorks, if you are not certain what the proper rankings are.
Introduction to Chinese Poker Rules
*Introduction to Chinese Poker*
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