Chinese Poker

Introduction
Chinese poker is a very popular card game amongst the Asian community and has been played for many, many years. Chinese poker is a fun and social game which is easy to learn. It uses the basics of poker and anyone familiar with the poker hand rankings will be able to pick up Chinese poker in no time.

Set-Up
A standard 52 pack of cards is used in Chinese poker and this deck is shuffled and cut before dealing. The cards are dealt singly with each player receiving 13 cards. The optimal number of players is four, but two players can also play the game.

The objective of Chinese poker is for a player to arrange their thirteen cards in three poker hands and to beat the corresponding hands of their opponents.

Once players have been dealt their 13 cards, they need to arrange them into three hands: Back hand of five cards, middle hand of five cards and a front hand of three cards. The three hands are formed based on the classic poker rankings and the main crux of Chinese poker is that the back hand must be better than the middle hand and the middle hand must be better than the front hand.

Hand Rankings & Stakes
Before the commencement of play, players should agree on the stakes of the game. In order to determine the winning hands, players compare their hands to those of their opponents. In a four-player game, players will compare their front hands with all the other players, their middle hands with all the other players and their back hands with all the other players. Essentially, a player receives points for each hand that they beat, loses points for each hand they lose, and don’t win nor lose points if their hands match.

Scoring Method
Once players have completed arranging their hands, their cards are compared and points are awarded according to hand ranks between the different players. In a four-player game, six comparisons are made:

Player 1 vs. Player 2; Player 1 vs. Player 3; Player 1 vs. Player 4; Player 2 vs. Player 3; Player 2 vs. Player 4; Player 3 vs. Player 4.

There are a number of different scoring options for Chinese poker:

1. 2-4 scoring is the most popular scoring method:
   • The player with the highest back hand gets one point.
   • The player with the highest middle hand gets one point.
   • The player with the highest front hand gets one point.
   • Bonus points are added to each player’s total.
   • The player with the higher total gets an additional point known as the overall point.
   • The player with the highest total gets the difference between the two other scores.
   • Summary: The player wins two out of three hands will get two points and the player that wins all three hands will get four points.
     


2. 1-4 scoring is similar to 2-4 scoring except there is no overall point given for winning two out of the three hands. Bonus and surrenders do apply, however, and they are worth two points.



3. 1-6 scoring is also known as Mandarin scoring and it awards one point to players who win two out of three hands. If a player wins all three hands, six points are awarded, while bonuses and surrenders worth three points are also applied. In theory, a player can win 18 points with this method of scoring – 6 points from each of the other players.

Bonuses
Depending on the gambling institution and even the rules of a particular table, there are various bonuses that could be earned in Chinese poker. Examples of some of these bonuses are as follows:

• Straight flush in the back or middle hand will grant a player 4 points.
• Four of a kind in the back or middle hand will grant a player 3 points.
• Three of a kind in the front hand will grant a player 2 points.
• Full house in the middle hand will grant a player 1 point.

Special Hands
In some games of Chinese poker, special hands are allowed and these 13-card hands automatically win any other ordinary hands. The condition is that these hands have to be declared before the hands are exposed. If more than one player holds a special hand, then the player with the higher hand wins the specified amount, while the player with the lower hand loses its value. Only once the special hands have been declared and paid out, are the rest of the hands exposed. Special hands may include the following:

• Six pairs: When a player holds six pairs and one extra card. If two players hold six pairs, then the player holding the highest pair wins. If the highest pairs are equal then the second highest pair is judged. A six pair hand wins 3 units.

• Three straights: When a player holds five-card straights in their back and middle hands and a three-card straight in their front hand. If more than one player has three straights then the highest straight is compared first; if these are equal then the middle straights are compared etc. A three straight hand wins 3 units.

• Three flushes: When the back and middle hands are flushes and the front hand is a three-card flush. If more than one player holds three flushes, the player with the stronger hand wins; if these are tied then the middle hand is compared etc. Three flushes win 3 units.

• Complete Straight: When the entire 13-card hand is one card of each rank (with mixed suits) from A-K. If two players are dealt this, then they tie and this hand wins 13 units.

Surrender
Surrendering is an alternative scoring option in which a player decides to throw in his hand and pay a set amount (penalty) to the other players. In a 2-4 scoring game, the penalty is 2 points and in a 1-6 scoring game, the penalty paid is 3 points.

Other Variations
There are several variations in Chinese poker that might be part of the game’s repertoire:

• Playing against the house: One player, mainly the dealer, is the banker and the other players compare their hands to the banker’s hands, and not with each other. The players will pay or win accordingly and if an individual hand is tied then the house will win.

• Extra sweep payment: If a player wins all three hands then they are paid extra units for the ‘sweep’. The amount varies between one and three units.

• Winning from a pool: Each player puts three units into the pool before the cards are dealt. In place of comparing cards between pairs of players, the cards are compared between all four players. Whichever player has the best front hand collects four units, whoever has the best middle hand collects four units and whoever has the best back hand collects four units. A variation is that if a player wins all three hands, they collect not only the whole pool, but all the other players have to pay an additional 3 units each.

Chinese Poker & Strategy Tips
Players who are new to Chinese poker might find it slightly confusing at first but after a few rounds of play, they will discover a simple and fun game which uses the basics of poker hand rankings and does not demand too much strategy usually required for other forms of poker.

One of the first suggestions is for players to organize their cards by suit. This will help a player determine if they have a flush or not (5 cards of one suit). Once this is established, players should sort their cards by rank and see if they have any sequences (5 cards in a numerical order), triples, pairs etc. This will also help see whether a player has a full house or not.

If a player discovers that he has a suit with five cards or more, then there are usually more ways than one to arrange their cards. Two different arrangements should be created – one with a flush and one without a flush. It is always good to have more than one option so you can see what hand is strongest against an opponent’s hand and use which is best.

New players should remember the rule that the back hand must be better than the middle hand and the middle hand must be better than the front hand. If hands are not arranged correctly, they will be penalized.

New players should also try and read the rules of the card room very carefully before they start to play, as rules often change from one to another. Players should also take advantage of the free games on offer at most online casinos in order to get as familiar as possible with the game before playing for real money.

Conclusion
Chinese poker is a game that has been gaining popularity lately due to the advent of online casinos. Previously played only in Asia and in Asian communities around the world, Chinse poker was also introduced to some land casinos. However, the main spurge of popularity was achieved in the past decade due to the explosion of the online casino industry.