Chinese Poker Scoring Chart
This page is based partly on information from Ka Lun, Anthony Horsley Sr, Don Smolen, Richard Dewhirst, Alan Ho, Brandon Bahti and several anonymous correspondents.
- I am thinking about poker hand (5 cards) evaluation in Java.Now I am looking for simplicity and clarity rather than performance and efficiency. I probably can write a 'naive' algorithm but it requires a lot of code.
- In Open Face Chinese Poker, each player is dealt only 5 cards 'in the hole'. They set these 5 cards and then are dealt one card at a time until each player has received 13 total cards. The same row strength and fouling rules apply. SCORING Players' front, middle and back rows are compared, and each row won is worth 1 point.
- 2-4 scoring is used in Chinese Poker tournaments and is popular with the Poker tournament crowd. In most cases these simple rules apply: A player who wins 2 out of 3 hands wins 2 points. A player who wins all 3 hands wins 4 points (a sweep). These scoring rules are shortcuts derived from the general method of scoring.
Introduction
This Chinese gambling game is popular in Hong Kong and parts of Southeast Asia and is also played to some extent in the USA. It is known by several different names.
- In Cantonese it is called Sap Sam Cheung (十三張), which means 13 cards, and in Vietnamese it is known by the similar name Xập Xám Chướng.
- In Chinese, it is also sometimes called Luosong Pai Jiu (羅宋牌九), which I think means Russian Pai Gow. The game is indeed distantly related to Pai Gow.
- In the USA it is often known as Chinese Poker or sometimes Russian Poker, but note that some people also use the name Chinese Poker to refer to the climbing game Big Two. In Hawaii it is called Pepito.
- In the Phillipines it is known as Pusoy, again not to be confused with Pusoy Dos, which is Big Two. Another name sometimes used is Good, Better, Best, referring to the three hands of a player.
The aim is to arrange your 13 cards into three poker hands - two of five cards and one of three cards - which will beat the corresponding poker hands made by the other players.
A recent development is Open Face Chinese Poker, in which after the first five cards, hands are built face up one card at a time.
Learn the 10 basic 5-card hands in traditional poker. Pai Gow Poker is a variation of poker that uses the traditional 5-card hand. However, instead of playing against the other players at the table, everyone is playing against the dealer's hand. Before you play Pai Gow Poker, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic 5-card poker hands. Find out about the main rules of Chinese poker game and learn a detailed scoring table. In Chinese poker, from two to four players can play simultaneously but most often the game is between three opponents. The players must place 13 cards into three rows (boxes) from the strongest at the bottom to the weakest on the top.
Players, Cards, Stakes and Deal
There are four players, each playing for themselves. A standard 52 card pack is used.
Before playing it is necessary to agree on a stake. Below I will describe the payments in terms of units; one unit can be worth whatever the players agree in advance - $1, $10, $100, etc.
The cards are shuffled, cut and dealt out singly: 13 cards to each player.
Arrangement of cards
Each player must divide their 13 cards into a 'back' hand of 5 cards, a 'middle' hand of 5 cards and a 'front' hand of 3 cards. Considered as poker hands, the back hand must be better than the middle hand, and the middle hand must be better than the front hand. The standard poker ranking is used - so the hand types from high to low are: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pairs, one pair, high card (see the page on ranking of poker hands). There are no wild cards.
Since the front hand has only 3 cards, only three hand types are possible: three of a kind; one pair; high card. There is no value in having a front hand with three consecutive cards or three cards of the same suit: 'straights' or 'flushes' in the front hand do not count.
Players place their three hands face down in front of them, the front hand nearest the centre of the table and the back hand nearest themselves.
Showdown and Scoring
When everyone is ready, all the players expose their three hands and each pair of players compares the corresponding hands. In the simplest system of payments, you win one unit for each corresponding hand of another player that you beat and lose one for unit each hand that beats you. When the hands are equal you neither win nor lose. Here is an example:
The result would be as follows:
| Players | front winner | middle winner | back winner | North | East | South | West |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North v East | North | North | North | +3 | -3 | ||
| North v South | South | South | North | -1 | +1 | ||
| North v West | North | North | West | +1 | -1 | ||
| East v South | South | South | East | -1 | +1 | ||
| East v West | East | West | West | -1 | +1 | ||
| South v West | South | South | West | +1 | -1 | ||
| Total | +3 | -5 | +3 | -1 |
Notice that although West's back hand is the overall best hand (aces full), West loses on balance because of the weaker middle and front hands. East could have done slightly less badly by putting the sevens in the middle hand, which would then have beaten West. Notice also that it is not legal for East to put the jacks in the front hand, because it would then not be possible to make a middle hand that was better and a back hand that was better still from the remaining ten cards.
Special Hands
It is possible to play using just the payments described above. However, many players add two further features to the stakes: increased payments for certain hands, and some special 13-card hands that win automatically. If you are playing with these it is important to agree in advance exactly which ones are allowed and how much each is worth.
A typical scale of increased payments is as follows:
- If you win the front hand with three of a kind, you receive 3 units instead of 1 for that hand.
- If you win the middle hand with a full house, you receive 2 units instead of 1 for that hand.
- If you win the back (or middle) hand with 4 of a kind, you receive 4 units instead of 1.
- If you win the back (or middle) hand with a royal flush or straight flush you win 5 units instead of 1.
These bonuses only count for you for hands that you win. For example if A and B each have a 3 of a kind in front, but B's is higher, A will pay B 3 units for it. A's 3 of a kind will still count against the other players if it wins.
Example:A has 6-6-6, 4-4-4-9-9, K-K-K-8-8 and B has Q-Q-7, J-J-J-2-2, 5-5-5-5-A. A wins 3 for the front hand, but B wins 2 for the middle and 4 for the back, so altogether A pays 3 units to B.
When special hands are allowed, the following 13-card hands win automatically against any ordinary hand, if declared before the hands are exposed. When two special hands come up against each other, the higher wins the full specified amount and the lower loses its value (though it can still win against the other players). After the special hands have been dealt with, the remaining players expose their cards and settle up among themselves in the normal way. A typical schedule of special hands, in ascending order, is:
- Six pairs: a hand with six pairs and one odd card. When two players have six pair hands, compare the highest pair; if the highest pairs are equal compare the second highest pair, and so on. Win 3 units.
- Three straights: the back and middle hands are five card straights and the front hand is a three card straight (i.e. three cards of consecutive rank). If two players have three straights, compare the highest (back) straights first, then if these are equal the middle straights, and finally, if all else is equal, the front straight. Win 3 units.
- Three flushes: the back and middle hands are flushes, and the front hand is a three-card flush (three cards of one suit). If two players have this, the player with the better back hand wins; if tied the better middle hand; if those are also tied, the better front hand. Win 3 units.
- Complete straight: the hand has one card of each rank: A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K. Suits can be mixed. If two players have this, they are tied. Win 13 units.
A player who has a special hand can choose not to declare it, but instead to set three hands of 5, 5 and 3 cards in the normal way. This loses the right to an automatic win, but it may occasionally be possible to win more units in the normal settlement, when extra payments can be won.
Variations
There seem to be numerous variations in the way the payments are organised. Here are the ones I have so far discovered.
- Three of a kind in the front hand: 2 extra units
- Full house in the middle hand: 1 extra unit
- Four of a kind in the back or middle hand: 3 extra units
- Straight or royal flush in the back or middle hand: 4 extra units
This variation is often combined with the overall point variation above.
- Three of a kind in the front hand: 2 extra units
- Full house in the middle hand: 2 extra units
- Four of a kind in the back hand: 4 extra units
- Four of a kind in the middle hand: 6 extra units
- Straight or royal flush in the back hand: 6 extra units
- Straight or royal flush in the middle hand: 8 extra units
The special hands, in ascending order, are:
- Three flushes: 3 units
- Three straights: 4 units
- Six and a half pairs: 4 units
- Five pairs and one three of a kind: 5 units
- Four threes of a kind and an odd card: 6 units
- All cards are the same colour: 10 points
- Small: all cards are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8: 10 points
- Big: all cards are 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A: 10 points
- Three fours of a kind and one odd card: 16 units
- Three straight flushes: 18 units
- All 12 picture cards plus any 13th card: 18 units
- All thirteen cards of one suit: 26 units
A special hand, if declared before the cards are exposed, beats any normal hand and wins the number of units specified in the table (a player wins from the bank, or the bank wins from all players). If the bank and a player both have special hands, the holder of the higher scoring hand wins the difference between their values.
- Three of a kind in front: 3 units instead of 1
- Full house in the middle: 2 units instead of 1
- Four of a kind at the back: 4 units; in the middle: 8 units
- Straight flush at the back: 5 units; in the middle: 10 units
- Three straights: 3 units
- Three flushes: 3 units
- Six pairs: 3 units
- Five pairs and one triplet: 6 units
- Complete straight A to K with mixed suits: 13 units; if all 13 cards are of one suit: 26 units.
- Three of a kind in front: 3 units instead of 1
- Full house in the middle: 2 units instead of 1
- Four of a kind at the back: 4 units; in the middle: 8 units
- Straight flush at the back 7 units; in the middle: 14 units
- Three straights: 4 units
- Three flushes: 4 units
- 12 red cards and 1 black or 12 black and 1 red: 4 units
- All black or all red: 6 units
- Six pairs: 4 units
- Complete straight A to K with mixed suits: 13 units
- All 13 cards of one suit: 39 units
Chinese Poker Scoring Chart 2019
A player wins two out of three hands against an opponent receives 1 unit from that opponent. For winning all three hands the payment is 6 units. A player who wins all three hands against every other player is paid 9 units (instead of 6) by each. For winning with particular hands in particular positions there are additional payments as follows:
- Straight flush: 5 units at the back; 10 units in the middle
- Four of a kind: 4 units at the back; 8 units in the middle
- Full house: 2 units in the middle
- Three of a kind: 3 units at the front
A player who surrenders pays 3 units to each opponent.
Some play with an extra side bet on the number of aces held. One aces is worth 1, two aces 2, three aces 6, four aces 8. Between two players, the player with fewer aces pays the difference in units, in addition to the payments for the Chinese Poker game.
Payments are made in chips and it is not possible to win or lose more chips than you had in front of you at the start of the deal. Settlement is in clockwise order staring with the dealer. Any 13-card special hands are settled first, followed by all other payments. Specifically, if the players in clockwise order are A (dealer), B, C, D then settlements are made in the order A vs B, A vs C, A vs D, B vs C, B vs D, C vs D. Example: A starts with only 8 chips. A wins all three hands against B and loses all three against C. B pays A 6 chips, but A pays only 2 chips to C, because each chip is either doubled or lost, and A's first 6 chips have already been 'used' to justify the win from B. Therefore A ends up with 8+6-2=12 chips. A neither pays to nor receives from D since the transactions with B and C have already accounted for all A's chips. Players can buy additional chips from the house after the settlement and before the next deal.
The casino takes a fixed rake per hand, and part of this is used to build jackpots that are offered for certain unusual events - for example when a player has a straight flush, three of a kind, and a pair and loses all three hands to another player.
Other Chinese Poker web pages
Further information can be found on Don Smolen's Chinese Poker page. From there you can also order his excellent book on the tactics of this game, and obtain his CPOKER computer program.
Rules for a version of Chinese Poker can also be found under the name Pusoy on this archive copy the Bicycle Cards web site.
Rules for Chinese Poker can also be found at the Asian Games Site vinagames.com, where it is possible to play Chinese Poker on line.
Playing Chinese Poker Online
With Phong Le's Chinese Poker Analyser you can compare the power of alternative divisions of 13 cards into three hands, and play Chinese Poker (Xap Xam) against one, two or three computer players.
OBJECTIVE OF CHINESE POKER: Construct three poker hands which will beat your opponent’s hands.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 players
NUMBER OF CARDS: standard 52-card
RANK OF CARDS: A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
TYPE OF GAME: Casino
AUDIENCE: Adult
Chinese Poker Scoring Chart 2020
INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE POKER
Chinese Poker is a Chinese gambling game that is most popular in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Recently, it has made its way to the United States where it is played, however, much less commonly. Chinese Poker uses a 13 card hand which is arranged into three smaller hands: 2 hands of five cards and 1 hand of three cards. This game spawned the more popular Open Face Chinese Poker, which is an open card poker game after the first five cards have been dealt.
THE DEAL
Prior to starting the game, players must agree on the stakes. For example, what is one unit of a bet? $10, $100, $1000? This should be mutually agreed upon.
The dealer shuffles, cuts, and deals out each player 13 cards, face-down, and one at a time.
ARRANGING THE CARDS
Chinese Poker Scoring Chart Sheet
Players divide their 13 cards into three hands: a backhand of five cards, a middlehand of five cards, and a fronthand of three cards. The backhand must beat the middle hand, and the middle hand must beat the front hand. Standard poker hand rankings are used, which can be found in detail here. Wild cards are not observed.
Due to the fact the front hand has only three cards, there are only three possible hands: three of a kind, pair, or high card. Straights and flushes do not count.
After the hands are organized, players place their hands face-down in front of them.
THE SHOWDOWN AND SCORING
Once all the players are ready, players reveal their hands. Players compare their corresponding hands in pairs. You win a single unit per the corresponding hand that you beat and lose one unit for a hand that beats yours. If the hands are of equal value, neither player loses or wins.
Players assume the titles North, South, East, and West. North and South sit across from each other, and East and West across from each other, following the compass directly.
Hands are compared as follows:
North V. East, North V. South, North V. West, East V. South, East V. West, South V. West
Players lose or earn units of bets per hand and per player.
SPECIAL HANDS
The game can be played simply as described above, or, players could add another two features to increase payouts on certain hands. Some full 13-card hands allow you to automatically take the win. If playing with special hands, this should be agreed upon prior to arranging cards.
- Front hand won with a 3 of a kind, you earn 3 units.
- Middle hand won with a Full House, you earn 2 units.
- Back or Middlehand won with a 4 of a kind, you earn 4 units.
- Back or Middlehand won with a Royal Flush or Straight Flush, you earn 5 units.
Below, these 13 card hands win against any other “ordinary” hand. However, it must be declared prior to showdown.
- Six pairs. 6 pairs + 1 odd card. 3 units.
- Three Straights. 2 five card straights and 1 three card straight. 3 units.
- Three Flushes. Middle and backhands are flushes. Front hand is a three card flush. 3 units.
- Complete Straight. A hand with a single card of each rank (A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K). 13 units.
REFERENCES:
https://www.pagat.com/partition/pusoy.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_poker
http://www.thesmolens.com/chinese/