How to Play Chinese Poker

What is Chinese Poker?

Chinese Poker, often called 13 card poker, is a game for 2 to 4 players with an ordinary 52-card deck. Everyone is dealt 13 cards and splits them into three poker hands: a back hand of 5 cards, a middle hand of 5 cards and a front hand of 3 cards. There is no betting and no drawing: all the skill is in how you set your cards.

The one rule you must not break: the back must be at least as strong as the middle, and the middle at least as strong as the front. Then everyone turns their hands over, and each row is compared with the same row of every other player. Win more rows than an opponent and you collect from them; win all three, a scoop, and you collect a lot more.

The game grew up in Asia and is played under many local names and scoring tables, from Pusoy in the Philippines to 十三張 in Hong Kong. This page gives the international rules played at bs.fyi: 1-6 scoring (or 2-4 if you prefer), royalties for big hands, and naturals that win without a showdown.

Played by its own rules in each region: Pusoy · Mậu Binh · Capsa Susun · 十三張 · 十三支

Chinese Poker rules at a glance

Players

2 to 4, each for themselves; bots fill empty seats

Deck

One 52-card deck, no jokers. 13 cards each; with 2 or 3 players the rest of the deck is not used

Three hands

Back: 5 cards. Middle: 5 cards. Front: 3 cards

Order rule

Back at least as strong as the middle, middle at least as strong as the front. Otherwise the hand is fouled

Front

Only high card, a pair or three of a kind count in 3 cards: no straights or flushes

Straights

A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest straight, 10-J-Q-K-A the highest

Scoring

Each row is compared with the same row of every other player. 1-6: 1 unit a row, a scoop of all three rows pays 6. 2-4: 1 unit a row plus 1 for winning more rows, a scoop pays 4

Royalties

Rows won with big hands pay more: up to 10 units for a straight flush in the middle

Naturals

Dragon 13, six pairs 3, three straights 3, three flushes 3

Game

10 hands (5 in a short game). The highest total wins

How to play Chinese Poker, step by step

1. 1

   Deal

   Each player is dealt 13 cards from a shuffled 52-card deck. With fewer than four players, the cards left over stay out of play for that hand.

2. 2

   Set your three hands

   Everyone arranges their cards at the same time, without seeing anyone else's: 5 cards for the back, 5 for the middle and 3 for the front.

3. 3

   Keep them in order

   Your back must be at least as strong as your middle, and your middle at least as strong as your front. A pair of queens in the front needs a middle of at least a pair of queens. Break this rule and the hand is fouled.

4. 4

   Declare a natural, if you have one

   Some 13-card hands are special: a dragon, six pairs, three straights or three flushes. You may declare one instead of playing your rows, and win its value from every other player.

5. 5

   Turn the hands over

   When everyone is set, the hands are shown row by row: front, then middle, then back. Each of your rows is compared with the same row of each other player in turn.

6. 6

   Score each opponent

   Against each player you win 1 unit for each row you beat and pay 1 unit for each row you lose. Win all three rows and it is a scoop, worth extra. Big hands in a winning row pay royalties.

7. 7

   Play the game out

   A game is 10 hands, or 5 in a short game. Every unit one player wins is paid by another, so totals add up to zero. The highest total wins.

The three hands and the order rule

Your 13 cards make three rows, from strongest to weakest. The back and middle are ordinary five-card poker hands. The front has only three cards, so the only hands it can hold are high card, a pair or three of a kind.

The rows must stay in order: back at least as strong as the middle, middle at least as strong as the front. Equal is allowed. A typical setting looks like this:

Back (5 cards)

A flush: K♥ J♥ 9♥ 6♥ 3♥

Middle (5 cards)

Two pair: Q♠ Q♣ 7♦ 7♠ 2♣

Front (3 cards)

A pair: 10♦ 10♣ A♠

Fouled hands

If your rows are out of order, for example a pair in the front with only high card in the middle, the hand is fouled. A fouled hand loses every row to every player who did not foul, and it counts as a scoop against you. Your opponents still collect their royalties, and a fouled hand earns no royalties of its own.

If two players both foul, they tie with each other and nothing changes hands between them. At bs.fyi each row shows its hand name as you arrange it, and a warning appears if the rows are out of order. You can still set a fouled hand after the warning, just as you could at a real table, but you will almost never want to.

Poker hand rankings

The back and middle use the standard poker hands, from highest to lowest. Aces are high, but an ace can also be low in the straight A-2-3-4-5, which is the lowest straight. 10-J-Q-K-A is the highest.

Straight flush

Five cards in sequence, all one suit. 10-J-Q-K-A of one suit is a royal flush, the best straight flush

Four of a kind

Four cards of the same rank, plus any card

Full house

Three of a kind and a pair. Compared by the three of a kind

Flush

Five cards of one suit. Compared by the highest card, then the next, and so on

Straight

Five cards in sequence, mixed suits. Compared by the top card; A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest

Three of a kind

Three cards of the same rank. The only big hand the front can hold

Two pair

Compared by the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the odd card

One pair

Compared by the pair, then the other cards from the highest down

High card

No combination. Compared by the highest card, then the next, and so on

The front hand and how it compares

Three cards cannot make a straight or a flush in Chinese Poker, so 4-5-6 or three hearts in the front count only as high card. That keeps the front small: a pair there is good, and three of a kind there is rare and pays a royalty.

When the order rule compares the front with the middle, the hands are compared in the usual way: the kind of hand first, then the ranks, card by card. If both are a pair of kings, the kings match, so the front's odd card is compared with the middle's highest odd card. A front of K-K-9 under a middle of K-K-J-5-3 is fine. A front of K-K-A over a middle of K-K-J-5-3 is fouled, because the ace beats the jack.

Comparing and scoring, row by row

Scoring happens between every pair of players separately. Your front is compared with each opponent's front, your middle with each opponent's middle, and your back with each opponent's back. At a table of four you settle up with three opponents, one at a time.

Each row you win is worth 1 unit, unless you won it with a hand that pays a royalty. Each row you lose costs you whatever that row was worth to the winner. Then the scoring option you chose adds its bonus for winning more rows, or for winning all three.

1-6 or 2-4 scoring, with examples

You choose the scoring before the game starts. With 1-6, the default, each row is worth 1 unit and a scoop adds 3 more, so a scoop is worth 6. With 2-4, each row is worth 1 unit and the player who wins more rows gets 1 unit extra, so winning two rows to one pays 2 and a scoop pays 4.

Here is one hand at a table of four, without royalties. You play against Ana, Ben and Cara:

Against Ana

You win the front and middle, lose the back. 1-6: +1. 2-4: +2

Against Ben

You win all three rows, a scoop. 1-6: 3 + 3 = +6. 2-4: +4

Against Cara

You win the back, lose the front and middle. 1-6: −1. 2-4: −2

Your total

1-6: +6 for the hand. 2-4: +4 for the hand

Scoops

A scoop means winning all three rows against one player. Under 1-6 scoring it adds 3 units to the 3 you won for the rows, so it is worth 6 from that player, plus anything extra from royalties. Under 2-4 scoring it pays 4. A scoop is counted against each player separately: you can scoop one opponent and lose to another in the same hand.

A tied row breaks a scoop. If you win two rows and tie the third, you collect for the two rows only. A fouled hand always counts as being scooped by every player who did not foul.

Royalties

Royalties are on by default, and you can switch them off before a game. With royalties, a row won with one of these hands is worth the units below instead of 1. The loser of that row pays the same amount. Royalties are only paid when the row is won: if both players hold four of a kind in the back, the higher one collects 4, and a tied row pays nothing.

Front: three of a kind

3 units

Middle: full house

2 units

Middle: four of a kind

8 units

Middle: straight flush

10 units

Back: four of a kind

4 units

Back: straight flush

5 units

Example

With 1-6 scoring you scoop a player with a full house in the middle: front 1 + middle 2 + back 1 + scoop 3 = 7 units

Naturals

Some deals are so lucky that the whole 13-card hand wins on its own. If your cards make a natural, the game offers to declare it for you. A declared natural is not compared row by row: it wins its value from every other player, whatever they set. It is paid on its own, with no scoop bonus on top.

If another player also declares a natural, the one higher in this list wins its own value from the other, and two equal naturals tie. Naturals, best first:

Dragon

13 cards of 13 different ranks, A to K: 13 units

Six pairs

Six pairs and a single card; four of a kind counts as two pairs: 3 units

Three straights

A straight in every row; the front is a 3-card straight such as 4-5-6, A-2-3 or Q-K-A: 3 units

Three flushes

A flush in every row; the front is 3 cards of one suit: 3 units

Ties

Suits never break ties. If two rows hold exactly equal hands, for example the same straight in different suits, the row is a tie and scores 0 for both players. Two fouled hands tie with each other, and two equal naturals tie.

At the end of the game, players who share the highest total share the win. Totals can be negative: every unit won is a unit lost by someone, so all the totals together always add up to zero.

House rules on bs.fyi

Regional versions

Chinese Poker is played across Asia under its own name and its own scoring in each region. bs.fyi has a separate page for each, with that region's rules and bonus tables:

Pusoy

The Philippines, at /pusoy. Scored 1-6 with royalties; a sweep of all three rows pays 6

Mậu Binh

Vietnam. Winning all three rows doubles the score with that player, and A-2-3-4-5 is the second-best straight

Capsa Susun

Indonesia. Suits break ties, and big hands pay larger bonuses; a sweep doubles the score

十三支 · 十三張 · 十三水

Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Winning all three rows (打槍) doubles the score, with a long list of special hands

Chinese Poker strategy tips

• •Never foul. A fouled hand pays a scoop to everyone at the table. Check the order before you set, or use auto-arrange as a starting point.
• •Build the back first, then check the middle. Find your best five-card hand for the back, then see what is left. But do not pour everything into the back: a monster back with a weak middle often wins one row and loses two.
• •Balance your rows. Each row counts the same, 1 unit, unless a royalty applies. Three decent hands usually score more than one great hand and two poor ones.
• •Put a strong pair in the front when you can. Most fronts are high card or a small pair. A pair of jacks or better in the front wins that row often, but only if the middle can still hold something stronger.
• •Play to avoid being scooped. Under 1-6 scoring, a scoop costs 6 instead of 3. Sometimes it is worth weakening the back slightly to make sure the middle or front can win a row.
• •Think about royalties. A full house in the middle pays 2 and four of a kind there pays 8. If the back can still hold something stronger, moving a big hand down to the middle can be worth it.
• •A small natural is not always the best play. Six pairs, three straights and three flushes pay 3 units a player. If your rows would likely scoop, playing them may pay more than declaring.
• •Count what you can see. Your 13 cards tell you what the others cannot hold. Holding three aces makes an opponent's aces in the front unlikely.

Frequently asked questions