How to play Chinese poker

Chinese poker is a variation of the iconic game also known as ‘Chinese Pineapple’. It bears little resemblance to its ‘brethren’, namely Texas Hold’em and Omaha. Moreover, it is more reminiscent of traditional solitaire. Chinese Poker is characterized by its rather complex mechanics, as well as the gameplay, which differs significantly from others. It’s rarely seen in poker rooms, and even less so in world tournaments.

Here’s more info on the game

Chinese poker, or Open Face Chinese, became popular several years ago. What’s more, despite the complexity of the combinations and other features, the game is distinguished by the fact that there are fabulous stakes involved. That said, it has only two similarities to the traditional version of poker. The first is the use of a 52-card deck, and the second is the seniority of the combinations.

Despite the game’s general popularity, it is absent from the most popular poker rooms. It generates the least interest, given the same similarity to standard solitaire. It is also not found in tournaments.

The rules of Chinese poker

For fans of Texas Hold’em or Omaha, Chinese Poker will be rather unfamiliar. The number of players is 2-4. Each one observes 3 fields:

• at 3 cards;
• for 5 cards;
• for 5 cards.

To win, the player must fill all the fields with cards at the end of the draw, with the strongest combinations than his opponents. To achieve the desired victory you must:

• in the first line (3 cards) have the weakest combination;
• in the second line a combination must be higher than in the first line, but lower than in the third one;
• In the third line to beat the highest combination.

Also in Chinese poker there are no blinds (mandatory bets). The point of the game is to accumulate points (jacks). These are awarded by matching a player’s hand against his opponent’s hand. When a winning combination is found, the poker player receives a certain number of points.

Boxes

The start of the game is marked with 5 cards being dealt to each player. It is necessary to distribute them on the playing field. There are no restrictions. After the allocation, the first move takes place.

When the second turn starts, the players already have 3 cards in hand. 2 cards go on the line, 1 is discarded. After the move is made, the opponents observe which cards have been dealt by each participant. This happens 3 times.

A player who has a “dead hand” or fails to comply with the main requirement of Chinese poker – seniority of combinations – is declared a loser, regardless of the hands of his opponents in the given game. There’s also the concept of a fancy, which is an advantage gained by a poker player who gets a hand that includes a pair of queens on the top hand. Then on the next hand she’ll get an offer of 14 cards, with 13 of those cards to be distributed on the lines and one going into the discard. Opponents will observe the lines only after they “go” according to the general rules and their opponent finishes laying out the cards.