What is Chinese poker?

Answer 1

Chinese is a game is played with four players but can be played three handed or heads up. Each player is dealt 13 cards from a standard 52-card deck. Players must arrange their cards into three Poker hands: the front (three cards), the middle (five cards), and the back (five cards). Straights and flushes do not count for the front. The back five cards must be the strongest hand of the three, the middle five must be second strongest, and the front three must be the weakest. Another way to play is to have the middle hand be played with a deuce to seven lowball hand (with the best hand being 7, 5, 4, 3, 2). Once arranged, the cards are then placed face down on the table until all players have set their hands. Players turn the cards face up, and the money is awarded in terms of "points".

Points are the stakes at which the game is being played and can be set at any amount. Each player compares their hands to each individual player. The players compare corresponding hands. Players win two points if they win two out of three hands and additional points are often awarded for winning all three hands against your opponents, which is called getting "scooped." When players tie hands there are different ways of scoring. For example if one player wins two hands and ties the third they win 3 points instead of the normal 4 for scooping. Another aspect of the game is royalties, which are automatic rewards for making certain types of hands, such as straight flushes.

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Answer 2

I believe Pai Gow poker is Chinese in origin.