Chinese Poker rules are quite different from those of other poker games, like Texas Hold ‘em.  This card game has been popular in parts of Asia, especially Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. It's also becoming popular with those who play poker online and is available for play at Bet365.

 

Some Basics

The Basic Chinese Poker rules are as follows:

 

• Players are competing for a specified unit of money that is agreed to prior to the start of the game.
• There are four players per table.
• A standard 52-card deck is used.
• Each player receives 13 cards, which means for each round all of the cards are dealt.
• Cards are all dealt at once.
• Players arrange their cards into three hands-two hands of five cards and one hand of three.
• The back hand (five cards) must be the strongest hand, the middle hand (five cards) the next strongest and the front hand (three cards) the weakest.

How it's Played

According to Chinese Poker rules, here is how the game is played.

 

• The unit bet is agreed to. There is no betting, raising or calling as in Texas Hold'em.
• All cards are dealt.
• Players arrange them into the three hands.
• The cards are then revealed.
• The back hands are compared, followed by the middle and front hands.
• The winner of each hand receives one unit from the losers of those hands.
• Hands that are tied are considered a draw, which means neither wins or loses. But players with these hands do collect from the others who have lost.

 

As you can see, there is no calling, seeing and raising in this game. The unit bets and their values are indicated in Chinese Poker rules. Because of this, the card game requires a different sort of strategy. In Chinese Poker, no one folds like the do in Texas Hold ‘em only to discover they could have won the pot. And, of course, there are no bluffs. However, it does take some smarts to arrange your hands properly.

 

Clean Sweep Hands

There are various hands that simply sweep away the entire table. Here's a list from strongest to weakest:

 

• Dragon: One of every rank.
• 13 Colors: 13 cards of one color.
• 12 Colors: 12 cards of one color.
• 6 pair: Four of a kind can equal two pair.
• 3 straights: Straights in back, middle and front.
• 3 flushes: suited cards in back, middle and front.

 

Here are Chinese Poker rules when it comes to clean sweep hands.

 

• When more than one player holds Clean Sweep Hands, the hand with the higher rank wins the total unit value of the hand.
• If two Clean Sweep Hands are of the same ranking, they tie and no money is exchanged between those two players. They do collect from those players that lost.
• Clean Sweeps must be declared. If they are not declared, they play as a regular hand would.

 

Playing Chinese Poker Online

If you like to play poker online and would like to try something different than Texas Hold ‘em, then try some hands of Chinese Poker. The rules are easy to learn and you can always try the free play mode to test the game out.