Chinese Poker

Chinese poker card game: (13-card poker)

Chinese Poker. Game rules, how to play

The House, Casino or the management does not normally participate in the actual play of the game and has no interest in the outcome of play. Players do not play against, or make a wager against the House.

How to play Chinese poker

The game is played at a table with four seats for four players. Each player receives 13 cards. These are split into three hands arranged with 3 cards in front, 5 cards in the middle and 5 cards in back. The back hand has to beat or equal the middle 5 cards in poker ranking and the middle 5 cards have to beat the front 3 cards. Straights and Flushes do not count in the three card hand. An exception to this is in a Automatic Win (see below).

Scores are kept by points. Each part of the hand is assigned 1 point. Each point is given a monetary value for each game.

Hands are then compared with the other players' hands. The player with the higher ranking hand in the front segment wins 1 point. The player with the higher ranking middle hand wins 1 point. The player with the higher ranking back hand wins 1 point.

A hand is dealt to all four seats regardless of the number of players at the table. An A, 2, 3, 4, straight is always the lowest Straight possible.

Scoring rules

If your 3-part hand outranks your opponent's hand 2 out of 3, you win 2 points. In other words, you receive one point for a majority of wins, i.e., out of the three segments of your hand you win two out of the three. You would win two points, minus one point (the one your opponent won) plus one point for a majority of segments thereby, winning two points total.

If your 3-part hand outranks the opponent's 3 out of 3, you get 4 points. You win three points (your net win), one point for each of the segment wins minus zero points (your opponent didn't win any) plus one point for the majority of segments won, totaling four points.

Asian and Mandarin versions with Bonus Hands

Bonus points are used in the Asian and Mandarin versions of this game, which uses a 3-point scoring system.

Bonus points hands in the backhand:

Straight Flush in the back is worth 5 points extra.
Four-of-a-Kind in back is worth 4 points extra.

Bonus points hands in the middle hand:

Straight Flush in the middle is worth 6 points extra.
Four-of-a-Kind in the middle is worth 5 points extra.
Full House in the middle is worth 2 points extra.

Bonus points hands in the front hand:

Trips in the front are worth 3 points extra.
Example: If you beat your opponent 2 out of 3 and you have a Straight Flush in the back, you win 6 points. If you beat your opponent 3 out of 3 and you have a Straight Flush in the back, you win 9 points in the Asian version and 11 points in the Mandarin version.

The Dragon Hand (Ace through King of any suit) is worth 13 points. This hand beats all other Automatic Win hands.

If you win 3 out of 3 without a Bonus Hand, you win 4 points in the Asian version and 6 points in the Mandarin version.

Super Bonus

If your hand outranks the other 3 opponents' hands 3 out of 3 (front, middle and back), you win 7 points in the Asian version and 12 points in the Mandarin version.

When the game is 3-handed, if your hand outranks the other 2 opponents' hands 3 out of 3 (front, middle and back), you win 9 points in the Mandarin version only.

Automatic Win

Automatic Win hands are always in play. The Dragon Hand (Ace through Kind of any suit) is normally worth 4 points. This hand beats all other Automatic Win hands.

Any 13-card hand that has 6 pairs wins 4 points. Note that Four-of-a-Kind can be counted as 2 pairs.
Any 13-card hand that has suited cards in all 3 parts = 4 points.
Any 13-card hand that has Straights in all 3 parts = 4 points.
A Straight flush can be used as a Straight or a Flush for bonus hands.
In the Asian version, a player has the option of not using an Automatic Win hand.
If someone declares an Automatic Win, the payoff starts left from the Dealer's Button.

Any player that has any one of these hands will collect 4 points from each player (except the Dragon Hand in the Asian version which is worth 13 points). If more than one player has one of these hands, it is a 'push' between these two players and they each collect from the other players except a Dragon Hand on the Asian version (Asian version wins 13 points, outranking all other bonus hands).

Automatic Win Hands must be declared before the hands are open otherwise the hands will play the way the player sets.

Note: When having an Automatic Win Hand, the player does not need to set the hands. He just places his stack of cards down on the table. This will indicate the Automatic Win.

Improperly set hands

A hand is set improperly in each of the following situations:

Any part of the three segment hands has the wrong number of cards.
Any part of the three segment hands are set out of ranking order.
Any player that sets his or her hand improperly must pay 4 points to all of the other players.

If one or more players set the hand 'foul', all Bonus hands, if any, will count against the player who set the foul hand including Super Bonus hands.

Misdeals

A misdeal can occur in the following situations:

A dealer has exposed five or more cards of one player's hand.
Any one hand is dealt the wrong number of cards.

Buy-in

The buy-in for any game is 20 times the value of one point in chips.

Pay-offs

In an all-in situation, pay-offs start clockwise from the button. You can only win up to the amount of money in your stack at the start of the hand. Players are responsible for their own pay-offs. The dealers are not responsible for either the pay-offs or the reading of the hands.

Conditional variations

The House, Casino or the management may reserve the right to introduce the clock option at their discretion, and/or to make decisions, which are deemed to be in the best interest of the game. Therefore, under special circumstances, a decision may be rendered that is contrary to the strict and technical interpretation of the rules.

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