13 Card Poker Rules
In Chinese Poker, also known as 13 Card Poker, after shuffling, the dealer gives out the whole deck into 4 hands (13 cards each). If there are four players, each one gets a hand. If there are three players, the extra hand is discarded. In a two-player game, each player gets one hand and saves another for the next round. This means the dealer doesn’t have to deal again. Players can only look at their own hands. In a two-player game, they can only see the hand they are currently playing. For the best online poker experience in India, check out BLITZPOKER, the nation’s top choice for online poker.
13 Card Poker Rules | Chinese Poker Rules
Chinese Poker, or 13 Card Poker, follows standard poker hand rankings, with the royal flush being the top hand. The basics are straightforward, but learning to score points and calculate them takes a bit of practice.
Here is a quick guide to 13 Card Poker Rules:
- The game is played with 2 to 4 players.
- Before starting, players agree on the point value.
- Each player is dealt 13 cards.
- Arrange the cards into three hands: two 5-card hands and one 3-card hand.
- The 3-card “top hand” is placed at the top row and must be the weakest hand.
- The middle hand is placed in the middle row and must be stronger than the top hand.
- The bottom hand is placed in the bottom row and must be stronger than the middle hand.
- Once your hands are set, place them face down on the table.
- During the showdown, compare hands and calculate the points gained or lost.
These are the simplified rules of 13 Card Poker (Chinese Poker). Keep reading to learn more about this exciting card game.
13 Cards Poker Scoring Rules
A Chinese poker game has different ways to score. One common way gives one point for each hand where yours is better than your opponent’s. For example, in a two-player game, you get one point if your back hand beats your opponent’s back hand. The same goes for the middle hand and the front hand.
If you win all three hands, you get a three-point bonus, called scooping. In games with 3-4 players, you score against each opponent individually, then add the points for your total score for that round.
Imagine you’re in a two-player game with 13 cards arranged into three Chinese poker hands. You and your rival will show your cards:
For the back hand, you have three nines and two tens. Your opponent has an ace, queen, ten, nine, and three, all diamonds. Your back hand is stronger, so you win this hand and get one point.
For the middle hand, you hold three twos and two fives. Your opponent has a seven, six, five, four, and three of mixed suits. Again, your hand wins, earning you another point.
For the front hand, you have a queen, jack, and eight of mixed suits. Your opponent has a queen and two eights. This time, your opponent’s hand is better, so you lose this hand and get minus one point.
Overall, you win both the back & middle hands but happen to lose the front hand, which gives you a total of one point for the round. Could you have arranged your cards differently to score more points? Yes, and here’s the optimal way:
In the back hand, you arrange your cards to have three twos and two fives. Your opponent’s hand stays the same. You win the back hand again and get one point.
For the middle hand, you now have a queen, jack, ten, nine, and eight. Your opponent still has a seven, six, five, four, and three. Your middle hand wins, giving you another point.
In the front hand, you place a ten and two nines. Your opponent still has a queen and two eights. This time, your hand is stronger, so you win the front hand and get one more point.
By winning all three hands, you not only get three points but also earn a three-point bonus for a total of six points. This optimal arrangement allows you to scoop the round, maximising your score.
13 Card Poker Bonus (Royalty) Rules
Certain hands in a 13-card game get points. These bonuses are called “naturals.”
Naturals might include:
- Dragon (36 points): Drawing a straight from ace to 2.
- 12 Royalties (32 points): Drawing all cards jack or higher.
- Three Straight Flushes (24 points): If you are able to draw two 5-card straight flushes & a three-card straight flush. Royal flushes count as straight flushes.
- Three Quads (20 points): Drawing three four-of-a-kind hands with one extra card.
- All Low 2/Highs 1 (12 points): Drawing a hand where all cards are eight or lower, or all are eight or higher.
- Full-Coloured (10 points): Drawing a hand where all cards are red (hearts and diamonds) or all are black (spades and clubs).
- Four Triples (8 points): Drawing four three-of-a-kind hands with one extra card.
- Six-and-a-Half Pairs (6 points): Drawing six pairs and one extra card. Four of a kind counts as two pairs.
- Three Straights (4 points): Drawing two five-card straights and one three-card straight.
- Three Flushes (3 points): Drawing two five-card flushes and one three-card flush. An 8-card flush would count as 2 flushes.
13 Card Poker Variations
Open Face Chinese Poker
In traditional Chinese poker, all players get their 13 cards face down and then reveal them after arranging their three hands.
Open Face Chinese Poker (OFC) changes this by dealing each player five of their 13 cards to start. Players use these five cards to begin building their three hands, keeping all cards face up.
Once a card is placed into one of the three hands, it can’t be moved. After the first round, players take turns drawing one card at a time and placing it into one of their hands.
The goal of Open Face is the same as traditional Chinese poker: to score better back, middle, and front hands than your opponent.
Royalties are often higher in Open Face because it’s harder to make strong hands without knowing which cards will come next. Mis-sets are also more frequent.
Fantasy Land Bonus in OFC
If a player makes a pair of queens or better in their front hand, they enter Fantasy Land in the next round.
In Fantasy Land, players get all 13 cards at once and they do not have to arrange them until the other players have set their hands. You can stay in Fantasy Land even for the next round if you are able to meet these criteria:
- Make trips in the front hand
- Make a full house hand or better as the middle hand
- Make quads (four-of-a-kind) or better as the back hand
Pineapple
Pineapple is similar to Open Face Chinese Poker but differs in card dealing. Each player starts with five cards and begins setting them into their hands like in OFC.
After the first round, players draw three cards, place two into their hands, and discard one. Only the player who drew the card sees the discards, which can be used strategically to deny opponents high-scoring cards.