One of the most important things to realize about Chinese Poker is that it can be played with any number of different sets of rules, particularly as regards the scoring of the hands. In this article, we are going to focus on the most commonly played sets of rules, discussing some of the more important scoring variations that you will come across. However, before you sit down to play, you should make certain that all the players are “on the same page” when it comes to exactly what set of rules is being used. With that said, here are the basics of Chinese Poker rules.
Chinese Poker is usually played with between 2-4 players, each of whom is dealt 13 cards face down, one at a time. The task for each of the players is to construct three poker hands from the cards they are dealt, two of which contain five cards, with the other having three cards. The three-card hand is also called the “front” hand, and for ranking this hand, straights, and flushes are not counted. The front hand must be a weaker poker hand than the five-card “middle” hand, which, in turn must be weaker than the five-card “back” hand. With the exception noted above, each hand is ranked by the standard rules of poker, with the only possible hands for the front being three-of-a-kind, a pair or a high card hand.
Once each player has arranged his three hands, the players’ hands are exposed and compared, one by one. The object of the game for each player is to have as many of your hands as possible be higher than the same hands of the other players. The basic scoring is very simple. For each hand you have that is better than one of your opponent’s, you receive one point. In addition, depending on how the particular game is being scored, a player who wins all three hands from an individual opponent may get a bonus point (sometimes, this is awarded simply for winning two out of the three hands). The points are tallied on a sheet of paper, and as in gin rummy, the players agree beforehand how much money each point is worth. A game of Chinese Poker can last a set amount of time, but often will be carried over into multiple sessions lasting weeks, or even months, before the players settle up their debts.
One of the most important and frequently played variations to this basic set of rules is the addition of “special” hands to the game that can greatly increase the number of points a player may receive for winning a hand. These special hands most commonly include three-of-a-kind in the front hand, a full house or better in the middle hand, and four-of-a-kind or higher in the back hand. While there is a wide range of point structures that can be employed with the special hands, typically each hand’s value ranges from 2-5 points, depending on the difficulty of actually making that particular hand (four-of-a-kind in the middle hand, e.g. would be worth more than a full house). The player only receives the points if he actually wins that hand, so if your opponent has a better full house than yours in the middle, he takes the points, not you.
Another scoring variation relates to the make-up of the full 13 cards in the hand. If you are fortunate enough to be dealt one of these, you collect points from any other player who does not possess an even better 13-card hand. In order of rank, from worst to best, these special 13-card hands are: 1) 6 pairs plus one unmatched card, 2) three straights (in this case, the three-card front hand straight is counted), 3) three flushes, 4) a 13-card straight (A through king), and 5) a 13-card flush. In each case, you received multiple points from every player, except for those who have an even better 13-card hand.
Other rules’ variations that may occur usually involve the type of hands each player must construct from his 13 cards. Instead of a high middle hand, you may have to make a deuce-to-7 low hand, for example. Recently, some players have introduced a 17-card variation of the game, which adds a four-card Badugi hand to the mix of either three high or two high and one low hands.
Whatever variation of the game you play, Chinese Poker is a game filled with gambling action, and the series of puzzles it presents to players on each and every hand makes it a favorite of professional players all around the world.