Chinese Poker Rules

The object of the game is to score units by setting three hands that beat the corresponding hands of opponents, and by earning royalties for strong hands.

The game is played with a standard 52-card deck with no jokers. Five-card hands are ranked according to the standard poker hand rankings. Suits have no rank.

There are no betting rounds. Before play, players agree the value of one unit, the scoring method (Article 4) and the royalty schedule (Articles 5 and 8).

In classic Chinese Poker, each of up to four players is dealt thirteen cards face down at once. With four players, the whole deck is dealt.

Each player divides their thirteen cards into three hands, called rows:

2.1(a) The front (or top): three cards.

2.1(b) The middle: five cards.

2.1(c) The back (or bottom): five cards.

The back shall be at least as strong as the middle, and the middle shall be at least as strong as the front.

The front hand has only three cards, so straights and flushes do not count in it. The only front hands are high card, one pair and three of a kind.

When the front is compared with the middle for the purpose of 2.2, the front is ranked as a three-card hand against the middle's best combination: trips against trips, pair against pair and kickers against kickers, in order.

In classic Chinese Poker, players set their hands face down. When all players have finished, the hands are revealed together. A player who has set and released their hand may not change it.

A hand that breaks rule 2.2, or that is set with the wrong number of cards in any row, is fouled (also misset).

A fouled hand loses all three rows to every opponent whose hand is not fouled, and normally pays the full sweep bonus to each (see 4.3). A fouled hand earns no royalties and still pays the royalties of opponents.

If two players both foul, no units change hands between them.

Each row is compared with the same row of the opponent: front against front, middle against middle, back against back. The player with the stronger hand wins that row.

A row in which both hands are exactly equal is a tie, and no units change hands for it.

Two scoring methods are in common use, and players shall agree which applies:

4.3(a) 1-6 method: one unit for each row won, plus a bonus of three units for winning all three rows (a scoop or sweep), making six in all.

4.3(b) 2-4 method: one unit for each row won, plus one unit for winning two or more rows, so a scoop is worth four in all.

Only the net result between two players is paid. If A wins two rows and B wins one, B pays A the difference.

A royalty is a bonus paid for an especially strong hand in a given row, in addition to the units for winning the row. In classic Chinese Poker, a royalty is usually paid only if the row also wins. Royalty values vary widely between games and shall be agreed before play.

A typical classic schedule pays extra units for three of a kind in the front, a full house in the middle, and four of a kind or a straight flush in the back or middle. Four of a kind and straight flushes are commonly paid more in the middle than in the back, since they are harder to place there.

Some games also recognise naturals, thirteen-card holdings that win automatically without being set, such as six pairs, three flushes, three straights, or a thirteen-card straight (a dragon). Naturals are a house rule and are not used in most Open-Face games.

Some games allow a player to surrender a very poor hand for an agreed fixed loss before hands are revealed. This is also a house rule.

Two to four players take part. A dealer button determines the order of play, and it moves one seat clockwise after each hand. Play begins with the player to the left of the button, and the button acts last.

Each player in turn receives five cards and places all five face up in their rows.

Play then continues in rounds. Each player in turn receives one card and places it face up in any row with space, until every player has thirteen cards set.

A card, once placed, may not be moved. A player shall place their cards before the next player receives theirs.

The completed hands shall satisfy rule 2.2, or they are fouled under Article 3.

Two or three players take part. With three players, 51 of the 52 cards may be dealt.

Each player in turn first receives five cards and places all five, as in 6.2.

There are then four further rounds. In each, every player in turn receives three cards, places two of them face up and discards the third face down. Each player therefore sees seventeen cards and sets thirteen.

Discarded cards remain face down and are not shown to opponents. A player may look at their own discards.

OFC is scored by the 1-6 method in 4.3(a): one unit per row won, and a bonus of three units for a scoop.

Royalties in OFC are paid for the hand made, whether or not the row wins. Between two players, royalties are netted: each pays the other's royalties, and only the difference changes hands.

The schedule below is the one used in most Pineapple OFC games and apps. It is common but not universal, and players shall agree any other schedule before play.

A player who completes a hand without fouling and with a pair of queens or better in the front enters Fantasyland for the next hand.

A player in Fantasyland receives all their cards at once, sets them face down while the other players play normally, and reveals them when everyone has finished.

9.2(a) In standard OFC, the Fantasyland player receives thirteen cards.

9.2(b) In Pineapple OFC, the Fantasyland player receives fourteen cards and discards one. Many games use a progressive scale instead: fourteen cards for queens, fifteen for kings, sixteen for aces and seventeen for three of a kind, discarding down to thirteen.

A player in Fantasyland stays there for a further hand if they complete that hand without fouling and with three of a kind in the front, a full house or better in the middle, or four of a kind or better in the back. Some games use different requirements.

If more than one player is in Fantasyland, each sets their cards independently.