Basic Rules:
These are the traditional rules applied to Chinese Poker which means that no bonus hands or Clean Sweeps are in play. To see more advanced forms of scoring the game please see our Bonus Hands and Clean Sweep sections.
Chinese Poker is played with 2-4 players at a table, with each player getting dealt 13 cards out of standard a 52 card deck. Each player then arranges their 13 starting cards into three hands. One hand consisting of 3 cards, and two other hands, each made up of 5 cards. The object of the game is to beat the hands made by other players.
The hands players make are called the “front”, “middle” and “back” hands. The front hand is made up of three cards so therefore only three card poker hands are eligible (i.e. trips or 1 pair no straights or flushes). The middle hand consists of five cards and must be able to beat the front hand. The back hand is also made up of 5 cards and must be able to beat both the front and middle hands…
Once players arrange their hands, they are set face down on the table in specific order. First, the front hand is placed face down on the table, this is followed by the middle hand and then finally the back hand are layed face down. Once all players have set their cards they are then turned face up and the hands are scored.