How to Learn to Play Chinese Poker

To play Chinese poker (or sometimes called Russian poker) you need at least two people, but a standard game is comprised of four. This type of poker is played at casinos and as a corner game at poker competitions. For Chinese poker, a regulation 52-card deck is used but each player splits up his cards into three poker hands. It's a little tricky for a beginner, so brush up on the rules of standard poker first.

Difficulty:

Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Knowledge of poker
• Deck of cards
• Two or more players

Learn How to Play Chinese Poker

1. Learn how to play a hand. Divide your hand into three poker hands (called setting). This consists of a back hand (five cards), a middle hand (five cards) and a front hand (three cards).

2. Determine the rank of your hands. The back hand (or the highest ranking hand) must beat the middle hand, while the middle hand must be better than the front hand (this is your lowest ranking hand).

3. Arrange your 13 cards into three hands that will beat the parallel poker hands held by the others in the game.

4. Place you cards in the proper order in front of you. The back hand gets placed down on the poker table. You then place the middle hand face-down in front of the back hand. Last, the front hand is placed face-down in front of the middle hand.

5. Explore the various hand types you can get. The front can get three of a kind, one pair or a high card. You can get royalty bonuses in a hand for a straight flush, four of a kind or a full house.

6. Visit the Poker Lessons website to learn all the rules and different types of hands you can get in Chinese poker, in addition to helpful tips (see Resources below).

7. Determine the rules for scoring. The 2-4 and the 1-6 scoring methods are used in many casinos. A player gets one unit (stake) from each challenger whose front, middle or back hand is beaten by his hand.

Tips & Warnings

• Agree on the stakes of the game before you start. This is a decided upon amount of money or "units." In this game it usually ranges from $25 to $100 per unit.

• In Chinese poker, know that straights and flushes do not count in a three-card hand.