Chinese Poker

None of this.

         Whenever I attempt to explain this game, most people's eyes glaze over. Hopefully from now on I can just redirect them to this blog, and save myself the breath. Before we begin, let me assure you, this game does not involve any ancient Chinese proverbs, poorly translated movies, or bizarre finger traps. In fact, there's not much ethnic about this game at all, besides me learning it from my Asian mom, who learned it from her Asian mom. Just saying, I've managed to integrate this game to my white friends, and I think you'll like it, regardless of race.


                                                                     

The Basics:

• 2 standard decks (with jokers) are recommended
• 2-5 players (though we've broken that rule a few times)
• No poker chips needed.
• Objective: get rid of all of your cards first.
• Knowledge of poker hands is a prerequisite (we've got you covered, though! Five card draw guide here.)
• Aces are high or low, straights can go roundabout

Gameplay:

1. The dealer hands out fifteen cards face-down to each player before the game begins. The remaining cards are discarded.

2. As per Chinese custom (I lied, I'm a filthy liar) the player with the three of hearts goes first. If there are multiple 3-hearts out, we go by Chinese Food Friday custom: an intense game of rock-paper-scissors is played until a winner is determined.


3. The first player decides what poker hand to lay down first -i.e. a pair of 6s. (Note: only the pair is played, no other cards.) Play goes clockwise.


4. The next player, in order to play anything, must lay down a better hand of the same kind* -i.e. a pair of 7s. Otherwise, he passes.


5. When everyone passes, the player who laid down the best hand can decide what to play next. Play goes until someone successfully rids their hand of cards.


*The only exception to this rule is if the hand played is a single card. At any point on a single card, a player may play a full house (this is referred to as "stabbing") or a four of a kind with a kicker (this is loosely referred to as "exploding") on top. After that, better five card hands must be played on top.

What now?

The winner of the round gets his very own trump value (first win- 3, last win- Ace). Everyone plays the next round with the trump value being higher than ace (still lower than joker). The goal of the match is to raise your trump value to ace and then win a final time. However, you can stop whenever.


A bit confusing? An example of a real game can be found here: ____________






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