How To Play Chinese Poker

Each player is dealt 13 cards from a 52 card deck. Each player separates his cards into two 5-card hands and one 3-card hand. The hands are arranged vertically so that the top hand has 3 cards and the middle and bottom hands have 5 cards. The only requirement for allocating the cards among the three hands is that each hand must be stronger (according to standard poker hand ranking) than the hands above it. Both 5-cards hands must be stronger than the 3-card hand and the stronger of the two 5-card hands must be on the bottom.

Scoring

After the players have set their hands, players calculate their score against each opponent individually. Between any two players, the players top hands are compared. The player with the stronger top hand wins a point and the player with the weaker top hand loses a point. The same goes for the middle and bottom hands. Then the player with a positive net score is awarded a bonus point. In the absence of ties, a player who wins three out of three hand match-ups wins a total of (3 + 1) = 4 points from his opponent, and a player winning two out of three wins a total of (2 - 1 + 1) = 2 points. This is called "4-2 scoring."

Hand Rankings

Standard poker hand rankings are used for Chinese poker. Straights and flushes must contain five cards; they do not apply to the 3-card hand.

Lowball in the Middle (Optional)

For a change of pace, Chinese poker can be played for low in the middle hands. With this option selected the weakest middle hand wins a point instead of the strongest. The weakest possible hand, "23457" becomes the best. Straights and flushes count against the middle hand with one exception: "A2345" is the best ace-high hand and not a straight because aces are always high.

The only requirement for setting the hands is that the bottom hand must be stronger than the top hand. Any hand can be played in the middle.

Royalties (Optional)

Chinese poker is often played with royalty points awarded for very strong hands. The standard royalty table awards points as follows:

	Bottom	Middle	Top
Royal Flush	5	5	0
Straight Flush	4	4	0
Four of a Kind	3	3	0
Full House	0	1	0
Three of a Kind	0	0	1

When playing "Lowball in the Middle" the royalties are:

	Bottom	Middle	Top
Royal Flush	3	0	0
Straight Flush	2	0	0
Four of a Kind	1	0	0
23457	0	1	0
888 (or better)	0	0	1

When both players have a hand that qualifies for a royalty in the same position, only the stronger hand is awarded royalty points.

Royalty points are added to a player's net score (and deducted from his opponent's) before determining who wins the bonus point when using 4-2 scoring. This means that a player who wins only one out of three hand match-ups but wins at least three more royalty points than his opponent wins the bonus point.

6-1 Scoring (Optional)

Chinese poker is occasionally played with "6-1 scoring." In this variation three bonus points are awarded to a player who wins all three hands and no bonus point is awarded otherwise. Then, in the absence of ties, a player who wins three out of three hand match-ups wins a total of (3 + 3) = 6 points from his opponent, and a player winning two out of three wins a total of (2 - 1) = 1 point.