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Chinese Poker Game Rules

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Chinese Poker:
Big 2 Poker is a game for 2, 3, or 4 players in which each receives 13 cards. The object is to arrange them into 2 hands of 5 cards and one of 3 cards, beating the other players hands.

The 3 hands consist of a "back" hand of 5 cards, a "middle" hand of 5 cards and a "front" hand of 3 cards. The back hand must beat the middle hand, and the middle hand must beat the front hand. Otherwise, the player pays a penalty to each opponent. Only 3 hand types are possible for the front hand: 3-of-a-Kind, pair, and high card. Straights and flushes typically don't count (see Clean Sweeps below).

Here's an Example:

EXAMPLE:

Say you’re dealt the following cards:

You could arrange them like this:

Front hand

Middle hand

Back hand

The back hand, a straight flush, beats the middle hand, 4-of-a-Kind, which beats the front hand, 3-of-a-Kind.

The game stakes are quoted in dollars per unit. Once the hands are played, each player compares his 3 hands against those of each of the other players. So in a 4-player game, each player makes 3 separate comparisons, one against each other player.

You win 1 unit for each corresponding hand of another player that you beat and lose 1 for each hand that beats you. When the hands match, you neither win nor lose. Here's an example.

Player A
Front Hand	Middle Hand	Back Hand

Player B
Front Hand	Middle Hand	Back Hand

Player C
Front Hand	Middle Hand	Back Hand

Player D
Front Hand	Middle Hand	Back Hand

Don't forget, your back hand goes head-to-head against each of the other players' back hands, middle vs. middle, etc., so:

A vs. B
A wins every hand.
A wins 3 units from B.

A vs. C
A wins the back, C the middle and front.
C wins 1unit from A.

A vs. D
D wins the back, A the middle and front.
A wins 1 unit from D.

B vs. C
C wins every hand.
C wins 3 units from B.

B vs. D
D wins the back and front, B the middle.
D wins 1 unit from B.

C vs. D
D wins the back, C the middle and front.
C wins 1 unit from D.

So tallying everything, A gains 3, B loses 7, C gains 5 and D loses 1

When you select a Chinese Poker table from the Lobby, check the Type column for whether the table you're about to join uses Western or Eastern rules.

In Western Chinese Poker, a player who wins the majority of segments earns an additional point.

So if a player wins 2 of 3 segments against an opponent, he earns 2 units for his winning segments, loses 1, and gains 1 for winning the majority of segments. The player thus nets +2 from that opponent.

Eastern Chinese Poker awards bonuses for certain hands:

	Front	Middle	Back
3-of-a-Kind	3
Full House		2
4-of-a-Kind		8	4
Straight Flush		10	5

We know that if a player wins exactly 2 hands against a particular opponent, he'd earn 2 units for his winning hands and lose 1 for his losing hand for a net +1 from that opponent. When a bonus hand is involved, the winning hand earns only the bonus hand points. So if a player wins all 3 hands with a 4-of-a-Kind in the back, he wins 6 units.

Also, the bonus doubles if the hand is of the same type as the opponent's, but of higher rank. So if Player A's back hand is K

and Player B’s is 9

, Player A earns a bonus of 8 units, not 4.

Clean Sweep Hands
A Clean Sweep is one of several hands with a special ranking that wins automatically. Here they are in descending order.

Dragon	One of every rank	13
13 Colors	13 cards of one color	13
12 Colors	Exactly 12 cards of one color	3
6 Pair	(4-of-a-Kind can count as 2 pair)	3
3 Straights	Straights in front, middle, and back	3
3 Flushes	Suited cards in front, middle, and back	3

If you have a Clean Sweep, click Submit Natural. If multiple players have Clean Sweep hands, the higher ranking hand wins the total unit value for that hand; the value for the lower ranking Clean Sweep hand won't be subtracted. If 2 Clean Sweep hands have the same ranking, they tie. No money is exchanged between these 2 players, but they collect from the others. If you don't declare a Clean Sweep, it plays as a regular hand.

Rake

$/pt.	2 Players	3 Players	4 Players
25¢	5¢	5¢	5¢
50¢	5¢	5¢	5¢
$1	10¢	10¢	10¢
$2	20¢	20¢	20¢
$5	50¢	50¢	50¢
$10	$1	$1	$1

Surrender
A player may surrender his/her hand before the showdown. His/Her hand won't be compared with other players' hands, but the player must pay each opponent 3 units.

More Rules
If a player fails to set front, middle and back hands in the proper ranking order, the hand fouls and the player pays a penalty to each opponent who didn't surrender:

Against a Clean Sweep hand, the value of the Clean Sweep hand.

Against a regular hand, 3 units + any opponent's bonus.

A player fouls if he/she declares a Clean Sweep but can't produce it, unless an opponent has already declared intention to surrender.

Dealer Puck:
Chinese Poker incorporates a dealer puck to initiate payment at the end of each game. The player to the immediate right of the puck is the first to compare his/her hand with the others' , and so on around the table. Any player low on cash is thus prevented from gaining or losing more than what he had available at the start of the game.

Disconnection Policy
If you disconnect, you have the duration of the hand to reconnect and resume the hand. The hand will progress even if you've been disconnected.

It is up to the player to ensure his connection is reliable. Internet Connection status is displayed in the lower left corner; Good, Fair, Poor, or Not Connected. If the connection dips to Fair, either finish your hand and reconnect, or wait for a better time to resume play.