1. Dragon Quest XI - Poker Strategy Guys, I've been spending way too much time in the casino lately and wanted to share my method. Granted, I'm not a multimillion token holder, but this method is working pretty decently so far.
  2. 5e D&D Poker - Based on standard 5-card Draw poker rules. Establish Ante, which forms the basis of betting increments and Bluff penalties. This means that a 1gp ante bet increments in 1gp multiples, a 5gp ante bets increments in 5gp multiples, etc.
  3. Rules for Chinese Poker can also be found at the Asian Games Site vinagames.com, where it is possible to play Chinese Poker on line. Playing Chinese Poker Online With Phong Le's Chinese Poker Analyser you can compare the power of alternative divisions of 13 cards into three hands, and play Chinese Poker (Xap Xam) against one, two or three.
Conditional modifiers are why Dragon Poker is the purview of the brilliant, the skilled and the mad. The concept of conditional modifiers is deceptively simple. It is a modification based on the.
At long last, we come to the oft-referenced conditional modifiers.Conditional modifiers are what separates Dragon Poker from regularStud Poker. Conditional modifiers are why Dragon Poker is the purviewof the brilliant, the skilled and the mad.

The concept of conditional modifiers is deceptively simple. It is amodification based on the condition. That is, the rules of the gamechange depending on outside forces. These can be practically anythingfrom the phases of the moon, to details about the room the game isplayed in, to how many hands have been played, etc.

What makes the conditional modifiers so daunting is three-fold.

First, the modifiers for the most part stack and there is no limit tonumber of modifiers that may in play. For example, several modifierschange the order of the cards. If the order is reversed because it'sthe fifth hand (Conditional Modifier #5) and player tears their sock,dictating the card order inverts from the center (ConditionalModifier #162), the reversed order will be the one that is inverted.

Second, several of the modifiers are vague and very little in therules details how to clarify them, only that the players mustdetermine them, as they must do for the modifiers that come inconflict1.As one or two of rules makes absolutely no sense, most scholars agreethat this was deliberate on the part of the game inventors to make iteven more confusing.

Third, there are are well over two hundred conditional modifiers.What follows is the full list of known conditional modifiers,compiled with the oldest at the top of the list and the youngerfollowing. We recommend that anyone who still wishes to playfamiliarize themselves with all modifiers before they begin, becauseplayers are under no obligation to inform their opponents ofmodifications that benefit them.

It should be noted that every modifier must be played as declared.That is, if the rule is misremembered and played incorrectly, aplayed cannot void the previous hands (and winnings) played underthat rule. However once a mistake is found, the game should continueunder the correct rule.


0. Any omission of the conditionalmodifiers must be determined at the beginning of the session. Playersmay determine this in any way they choose.
1. Unicorns are wild on Tuesdays
2. In months with the letter “M”.Ogres are at half value.
3. Red Dragons are wild oneven-numbered hands.
4. Once a night, a player can changethe suit of one their “up” cards.
5. Every five hands, the sequence ofthe cards is reversed, so the low cards are high and vice-versus.
6. Once a Four of a Kind is played,that card value is dead and blank for the rest of the session.
7. If a Four of a Kind is played withall wild cards, it ceases to be wild and can be played normally.
8. If there is a 10 showing in thefirst two face-up cards in any hand, then 7s will be dead.
9. If another 10 appears, rule 8 willbe canceled out.
10. If the first card turned up in around is an Ogre, the round will be played with an extra hole card(four up and five down).
11. On Tuesdays, the dealing reversesevery seven hands.
12. When all players are of the samegender, the Corps-a-Corps hand is invalid.
13. Once a night, a south facing playermay withdraw their bet at no penalty.
14. When played with spectators, 3swill be dead and considered blank.
15. If there are an odd number ofplayers, hands totaling an even number beat hands totaling an oddnumber of the same rank. The reverse is also true.
16. In every hand after theforty-second, the player facing north can discard one of anotherplayer's face card at anytime.
17. If the sun is out, Hearts becomeSpades and Diamonds become Clubs for Elves only.
18. If there is at least one female atthe table, Ogres and Unicorns may switch names.
19. In played indoors, the declarationof a new wild cards renders the previous wild card tame.
20. If the moon is full, no silver orsilver-colored money, chips, etc. may be bet.
21. If a player is caught lying, theymust play their next hand with all cards face up.
22. If any sort of alarm bell rings,the players must switch positions (after the emergency has beenmanaged) and play their new hands until the end of the round.Afterward, they may return to their original seats.
23. If a romance novel tops the NewYork Times Best Seller list, a hand must contain at least one Ogreand one Unicorn.
24. If the game is played on a drinkingholiday, the players must participate. Every round will be followedby the players chugging a glass of their drink of choice. This willcontinue only so long as all players may safely do so. Betting maycontinue as normal, but exorbitant losses will be considered void inthe morning.
25. If a St. George is played, Dragonsare blank for the rest of the hand.
26. On Valentine's Day, couple may showeach other their hands.
27. If a player plays the Dead Man'sHand, they may not play for the rest of the night.
28. If a player leaves the table, theiropponents are allowed- nay, encouraged- to peek at their hole cards.
29. If there is a sports matchoccurring during on the day of the game and the group consists ofsupporters of both teams, the players must divided into two teams(they need not consist of equal numbers) where they will pool cardsand money, chips, etc. for the session. If there is a discrepancybetween the winning sports team of the above and the winning Pokerteam, the winnings are void. If both winning teams are the same, thewinnings are doubled.
30. If the players are in constant andconsistent motion for the duration of a hand, the values of the facecards are reversed.
31. If a session is held on the day ofthe end of the world or imminent death for the group, chips will beworth $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000. (Local currencies apply)
32. If the world doesn't end or thegroup doesn't die within 24 hours, chips will be worth 10¢, 25¢ and50¢. (Local currencies apply)
33. On weekends, which may extend toFriday nights upon agreement of the players, Unicorns are wild.
34. The overall loser of the hand hasthe option to change a rule for the next hand.
35. If, when playing, a Weird Al songbroadcasts on the radio, the value of the hands reverses.
36. If a cat walks by and sneezes, thebetting must cease for the remainder of the hand.
37. During a blizzard, suits reversevalue.
38. In months without an “R”, ondates with two numbers, the card values corresponding to the dateswitch places (e.g. On August 26, 2 become 6s and vice versa).
39. A power outage shall be considereda free-for-all to grab cards from the other players. Good luck.
40. In the event of an election and apolitician wins, cards will be dealt from the bottom of the deck.
41. If a player wears a purple dressshirt, betting will only occur after all cards have been dealt.
42. If male players outnumber femaleplayers, Ogres and Elves switch places. If female players out numbermale players, Ogres and Unicorns switch places.
43. If any of the players' countriesare at war, Elves are high.
44. If a game is played on a player'sbirthday, the card with the value corresponding to the date becomeshigh. If there is no corresponding value, the player chooses the highcard.
45. If there is a mirror in the room,Dragons are low cards.
46. St. Georges are dead and blank onthe Sabbath.
47. If a hand is in play at thechanging of the hour, all hole cards must be gathered up, shuffledand redistributed.
48. In months with two moons there areonly two suits, determined by color.
49. On the fourth of July, the facecards and St. Georges are dead and blank.
50. If a commercial plays with ananimal mascot, any player with that animal as a pet must immediatelyfold and sit out the rest of the hand.
51. If a play has a relative they call“Auntie”, instead of ante-ing they must cry uncle.
52. If the local radio station allowsrequests during the session the loser of a hand must call in “TheGambler” by Kenny Rogers to continue playing.
53. If a table or space has to becleared for play, then the initial ante does not need to be met.
54. If any sort of cooling system is inuse, Red Dragons are demoted to Unicorns.
55. If a player finds themself in debt,they may only use Clubs until such time as they are out of debt.
56. If extra chairs are required, FullHouse becomes the highest valued hand.
57. If four lights are on in the gameroom, 3s are wild.
58. If a player's significant othercalls to ask when they're coming home, all dealing and betting mustcease and the hands shall be played as is.
59. If a player smokes, they may onlymake hands with black cards.
60. The overall loser of a game orsession will be rechristened by their betters and keep their nameuntil the next new moon.
61. On the Chinese New Year, allDragons are dead and blank.
62. A player who wins with six Unicornsmust relate the loss of their virginity. Their compatriots areforbidden from questioning the veracity of the story nor detailsrelating to it during or afterward.
63. If a player takes two aspirin, around of drinks will be served, a toast will be called and Dragonsare wild.
64. If a player coughs, 7s and Unicornstrade places.
65. If a snack run becomes necessarymid-session, the Full Belly and Full Dragon hands will be invaliduntil the next session (after the current one) that ends withleftovers.
66. If a lightning strike is visible,table cards are gathered up and replaced.
67. If players are using foldingchairs, the players may not fold for the number of betting roundsequal to the number of players divided by the number of foldingchairs (rounded to the nearest whole). If that number is greater thanthe number of betting rounds, no player may fold until the finalround.
68. If a player who was barred fromfolding wins, they may trade spots with another player.
69. When a person sits down at the headof the table, they may dictate the initial order of dealers, dealingand betting.
70. If an adult shorter than five footplays, all cards under 5 will be considered dead and blank.
71. If there is a ceiling fan in thegame room, the value of all cards shift one to the left.
72. If the game is played in a roomwith hardwood, diamonds and hearts switch value.
73. If the deck is found to be missingcards, St. Georges are the high cards.
74. If the walls in the game room aredeclared to be pink, the value of odd number cards are reversed.
75. If the glasses are made of plastic,the second round of betting is canceled.
76. If there are more book cases thanplayers, 5s are the low card.
77. If a player spills a drink thehands will be gathered and redistributed at random.
78. If a canvasser knocks at the door,half the pot will be removed and equally redistributed.
79. If two players share a name, theymust trade hands after the second round of betting every other hand.
80. If a Four of a Kind of Unicorn isplayed on Christmas, that player wins and Diamonds become high.
81. If anything breaks during a hand,the dealing and betting order reverses.
82. If birds can be heard, the 3s and8s trade spots.
83. If the weather, changes in any way,the new high card will be chosen from the top of the deck.
84. If the heat is commented on morethan twice, the most valuable hand will been invalidated. This willcontinue with each additional comment until no more hands are valid.
85. If the window has blinds, the firstbet must also be blind as a show of solidarity.
86. In a haunted house, Ogres becomethe lowest ranking face card.
87. If one player is a godmother, shemay not use Elves in her hand.
88. If the deck contains cards fromanother deck, that card is the low card.
89. If a player provides high-qualitysnacks, they will be allowed an extra hole card. If a player provideslow-quality snacks, they will be dealt an extra up card.
90. If all players a drinking warmingbeverages, Dragons gain value equal to the number of drinks.
91. In Spring and Fall, Hearts are thehigh suit.
92. If the facilities are underconstruction, the game will begin with only thirteen cards. Thirteenmore cards will be add the next hand and so on until the deck iscomplete.
93. If played in view of a swamp, blackDragons are wild.
94. If played on a border, betting willonly occur on odd-numbered dealing rounds.
95. It the weather is unseasonable thecards will be set out according to current value (e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5,etc.), even numbered cards will be put at the back of the order lineand odds at the front. Once completed, players will have the neworder (e.g. 0, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, E, U, D).
96. A player wearing a jacket at thetable bets after players without jackets.
97. A player wearing a jacket at the table bets after players without jackets.
98. If a romantic couple plays withother, single players, they may not use pairs.
99. If two players arrive wearing thesame clothes, the next hand will be played just between them. Theywill have to share the same cards up cards, but their hole cards willbe there own.
100. If anything comes through thewindow, everyone folds and the pot is held over until the next hand.
101. If a player sits down at the tablewearing a hat, the money, chips, etc. will be pooled into it. The hatwill be passed around and the players will pick one unit out at atime until it's all distributed.
102. If the game room has weapons ondisplay, St. George's replace Elves.
103. Once a Four of a Kind with Dragonsis played, the Full Dragon Hand is invalid.
104. If the day number (by year) isdivisible by a card value that card is high. If the day number isdivisible by more than one card value, the card is low if the numberof divisible card values is even and high if it's odd.
105. If there is a poster of a musicianon the wall, three cards are sufficient to make a straight.
106. If the wind blows to the east,then one set of even number of cards will be gathered, shuffled andflipped over one at a time. The order in which they are revealed, isthe order they are valued.
107. If an infomercial is playing onthe TV at the time of the dealing begins, betting will occur afterevery card is dealt.
Dragon
108. In months where the first day ofthe month is a Wednesday and the last day is a Tuesday, every otherplayer may only use Spades and Hearts. The rest can only use Clubsand Diamonds.
109. Every 19th round (crosssession), up to six left over cards will be used as table cards foreveryone.
110. When only family members areplaying, no hand is valid that doesn't utilize at least two facecards.
111. On the equinox, the number of holeand up cards must also be equal. In the Spring, one extra face cardwill added and in the Fall, one will be excluded.
112. When playing in sight of whitepines, there is only one suit.
113. If you are within seven miles of abody of water, then 4s are promoted to St. Georges.
114. In months where there is a bloodmoon, the values of even numbered card is doubled and the values ofodd numbered cards are halved.
115. If any player saw a foreign flagon the day of the game, there will be no wild cards.
116. If all sides of the table areoccupied, players may discard their hole card in an attempt to builda better hand. However, this may only be done once all other cardshave been dealt.
117. If the leaves have begun to fallfrom the trees, the high suit becomes the low suit.
118. If an error is made in dealing,hands will be valued based on the sum of the card values. However,the hands must still be valid Dragon Poker hands.
119. If the dealer owns a car made bythe Big Three, hands must repeat no suits or they will be invalid.
120. If there is a rainbow in the sky,flushes and straight flushes are invalid.
121. When a game is played on the lastor first day of the season, the order of hands must be rearranged forthe session. How this is done is left to the discretion of theplayers, but it must be completely random.
122. If any of the players have facialhair, all hands dependent on the number of cards must be divisible bythe number value of the card (e.g. a pair must be divisible by two).
123. If the players are eating Chinesetake out, 3s are wild and Three of a Kind is the highest hand.
124. If the majority of players haveseen the movie the group is watching, 6s will be considered dead andblank.
125. If two separate rules make a carddead and blank, that card is a zombie card. If it appears in aplayers up cards, it must be removed from the deck. If it's in aplayer's hold cards, their hand is dead (However, the player canstill win by bluffing)
126. If a cover of a classic rock songplays on a commercial 5s, 6s, 7s and 8s are dead and will beconsidered blank.
127. If a child under the age of sevenis in or enters the perimeter, a player may ask one of the otherplayers if they have any of a specific cards and the other playersmust surrender the card.
128. For the entire duration ofFebruary, in lieu of money, player will bring clothes to bet.Gambling will continue until such time as at least one player iscapable of surviving the winter.
129. If there is road work in underwayin the immediate vicinity, 10% of the pot must remain behind when thepot of a hand is won. Any money left over at the end of the sessionwill be held until the next session.
130. When there's a fog or mist, firsttwo rounds of betting must be blind and there shall be seven holecards.
131. For three weeks after Labor Day,no card will be made blank.
132. When DVDs out-number books in thefacilities, the rules are locked down.
133. If the dealer arches the cards inboth directions equally, the value of all cards is doubled.
134. If the facilities are messy, thedealing and betting will proceed in an alternating order.
135. If the home the session is beingheld in is part of a home owner's association, Four of a Kind is thewinning hand.
136. If the game is played above thethird floor, 2s are wilder.
137. If anyone playing is wearing brownshoes, 10s are promoted to face cards.
138. If a card slides off the table,the dealing and betting order reverses immediately.
139. If played outdoors, all face cardsare Elves.
140. If the wind changes direction, theplayer with most betting units must trade hands with the player withthe least betting units and fold.
141. If the game is played with anon-Dragon Poker deck, raising prior to the second round of bettingis forbidden.
142. A player who goes above and beyondthe call of duty to hide the game from disapproving authority figurescan change the rules the next hand.
143. If one player stakes anotherplayer, the staked player plays with one less card.
144. If a card flips facing up in thedeck, it must remain so. If the aforementioned card is dealt as an“up' card, it can be played as normal. If it's dealt as a holecard, it must be flipped over with the rest at the end and the backis the card's value.
145. On Leap Day, all conditionalmodifiers are invalid.
146. If a song repeats on the radio,the players must, on the next hand, bet the exact same way they didon the hand they played the last time the song played.
147. If cloud cover prevents the starsfrom being seen at night, Diamonds are dead and blank.
148. In a month where the 6th is aFriday, players must donate as many betting units to the pot as theircards as their have suit symbols.
149. When an airplane can be heardoverhead, 4s become 7s for the purpose of Three-of-a- Kinds.
150. In the Year of the Dragon, St.Georges are defeated by Dragons.
151. If there's good news on the frontpage of the local paper, half the pot will be given to the winner andthe rest will be divided between any player who had a flush.
152. If a nationally covered trial isunder way, every player is required to tell other players if theyundervalued their hand.
153. If alliteration appears in thegame room, 2s & 3s equal 2.5, 4s & 5s equal 4.5 and 6s and 7sequal 6.5.
154. At Sunrise, the value order of thecards is Hearts and Diamonds. All other cards are blank. At Sunset,the value order of the cards is Spades and Clubs. All other cards areblank.
155. If a player arrives late, thesequence of cards will reverse every seven hands instead of everyfive.
156. If a player claims or isdetermined to be supernatural creature by other players, they arebanned from using face cards.
157. If all players are wearingcostumes, each can change the identity of one of their cards onceduring the session.
158. If the facilities are made ofbrick, one player during a session may be forced to fold once and onemay be barred from folding once.
159. If there is turntable in the room,the players' betting units will rotate at an interval of hands equalto the the number of players until each has their original holdings.
160. If any player is wearing clotheswith a tear in them, the order of cards inverts from the center (e.g.7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 8, D, U, E, 10, 9).
161. A player wearing glasses isforbidden from using 4s or hands that utilize Four-of-a-Kinds.
162. A player with more than 12.5%Irish ancestry can win with clubs over an otherwise equal hand. Otherplayers may rightfully demand proof.
163. If two or more players go for thesame seat at the start of the session, Spades are demoted toDiamonds.
164. If the dealer has an odd number ofteeth, the order in which hole and face cards are dealt is reversed.
165. If the game table is round, thegame must be played on the floor.
166. If the game session is held infacilities that have pillars anywhere on the premises, 9s become 4s.
167. If two or more players makephysical contact, they must play the next hand against each otherwithout any other players.
168. If more than ten buttons arepresent, the value of the cards is based on the number of suitsymbols on the card (e.g. Ogres become 2s, 8s become 10s, etc.).
169. If the players spot a UFO, allface cards are equal.
170. A player with two differentcolored eyes may call a straight a straight flush if every suit isrepresented.
171. A player with facial hair may notuse St. Georges.
172. If the lawn outside needs mowing,Spades are high. If Spades are already the most valued suit, eachSpade is worth double.
173. If the game is held below sealevel, only Diamonds are in play every eight hands.
174. If there is fresh fruit in thefacilities, the deck must be cut by every player.
175. If a phone rings, Hearts are deadand blank for the remainder of the hand.
176. If a player gets cut and stops thebleeding within 60 seconds, they may only use black cards. If aplayer gets cut and fails to stop the bleeding within 60 seconds,they may not use hearts.
177. If the session starts during theday and continues into the night, the rules reset.
178. A floral table cloth means theplayers must play Australian rules Dragon Poker.
179. If any player is wearing pins, thevalue of Full House, Full Belly and Full Dragon hands reverse order.
180. Military personnel can use St.Georges as high cards.
181. If the table has ring stains, 6s,8s, 9s, 10s, Ogres and Dragons are dead and blank every time dealingduties return to the original dealer.
182. During the Witching Hour, everyplayer plays with all hole cards.
183. Every time the light flickers, thedealing and betting order reverses.
184. If there is an aquarium in thegame room, Three Pair is the winning hand.
185. During the high tide, every playermust raise during betting.
186. If a bug walks across the table,every player takes their middle card(s) and gives them to the playerthree spaces down.
187. If the building has old-fashionedlocks, 5s are wild.
188. If the pot exceeds $500,000, theplayer have the option to eliminate half the rules.
189. After a rainstorm, Straights andStraight Flushes are invalid.
190. Fraying carpet means dealing andbetting alternates every other player (starting with the dealer),until everyone is done.
191 If two players share a birthday andthere is a difference in age, they must each draw 6 cards at thebeginning in the session. Whoever has the best hand may veto oneaction of the other player once during the session.
192. On the last day if the month, onlythree players may play at a time.
193. Every twelve hands, the order ofthe suits is the order they appear in the up cards.
194. If there's a maple tree in thefront yard, no one may raise if the first up card is a Spade.
195. If a player's age is equal to orless than the highest value card by number, they may not bet cash.
196. If the first up card of everyplayer is upside down, no one may raise.
197. If the window panes form a cross,the deck shall not be shuffled on the first day of odd number week(by year). Instead, the cards will be gathered up and dealt toplayers in a different order every time until all possible optionsare exhausted.
198. If any player wears a short shirtin winter, the low card and the high card switch places.
199. In the event of flooding, thevalue of the cards of the two lowest suits will increase by one everyhand until either the flooding stops or the players are forced tomoved to higher ground.
200. If there is a genuine filibusterin the senate, the session may not end until the filibuster ends.
201. If two different styles of chairsare used, the odd numbered cards will trade places with the immediatelower even card.
202. If the road outside is not paved,the sequence of the cards shifts three places to the right.
203. If there is glitter on the floor,Diamonds are high.
204. If there is a red sky at night,shuffling will be done by taking the top and bottom cards from thedeck and placed at the bottom of the new deck (This does not need tobe exact).
205. If a player drinks from the wrongglass for the beverage, he or she deals every third hand.
206. If a procession goes by, bettingceases until the road is clear.
207. If a player uses ice in theirdrink, the session must end before it all melts or the winnings arevoid.
208. If the ceiling is slanted is, 6sor 7s are wild, depending on whether Dragons are high or low.
209. The presence of pinstripes meansSpades & Diamonds and Hearts & Clubs are the same suits.
210. During Midterms or Finals Week,the game should be held in a place of study out of respect.
211. During harvest time, players willtake half their bets back from the pot before the winner takes therest.
212. A player who wins seven hands in arow must play the next hand blind.
213. When the Dragon sings, playersmust switch seats by moving to the right every hand until the getback to their original seats.
214. On days when Good Friday falls onFriday the 13th, the card with value equal to number of players shallbe dead and played as blank.
215. If the game is played on theeclipse every other player must play only red cards. The rest mustuse only black cards.
216. On the day of the Buick Open,Clubs are dead and blank.
217. On days with horse races, 3 Ogresor Elves equal a Unicorn.
218. If the Detroit Lions play in theSuperbowl, all face cards are wild. If the Detroit Lions win theSuperbowl, all non-face cards are wild.
219. On alternate Thursdays, Clubs arethe high suit.
220. If a card from another game issuccessfully snuck in after the session has begun and one roundplayed, the card is valid and must be used in the manner intended bythe original game.221. If there is a rainbow in the sky, Flushes andStraight Flushes are invalid.
222. On St. George's Day, St. Georgescan only form pairs with Unicorns.
223. If anyone makes a pun, St. Georgescease to be wild.
Poker
224. If there is a wobbly chair leg,the low card is dead and blank.
225. If played on a even-numberedparallel line, once during the session one player may make the valueof their card numbers equal to that of another.
226. If played in the SouthernHemisphere, the opposite and reverse of every conditional modifierinstruction should be followed.
227. If the backs of the cards are notblue, the dealer plays with two extra hole cards.
228. If the wood paneling is painted,card values with angles reverse order.
229. If there is a surge protector inthe room, the pot must be divisible by the number of players timestwo.
230. If a player has an upturned orhooked nose, they deal third, but bet second.
231. If a baby cries, the cards must bereturn to the deck immediately and all winnings must return to theiroriginal holders. The session begins again.
∞. If a player devises a newconditional modifier, they should bring it before their group. If metwith approval, it shall be added to the list and stand as officialfor all time.


As was stated above, this is the entirety of the known conditionalmodifiers. However, our researcher are ever-hard at work looking forlost modifiers. As they find them, we will share them.


1 To help on this end, many players look at other modifiers for precedent.
This page is based partly on information from Ka Lun, Anthony Horsley Sr, Don Smolen, Richard Dewhirst, Alan Ho, Brandon Bahti and several anonymous correspondents.

Introduction

This Chinese gambling game is popular in Hong Kong and parts of Southeast Asia and is also played to some extent in the USA. It is known by several different names.
The aim is to arrange your 13 cards into three poker hands - two of five cards and one of three cards - which will beat the corresponding poker hands made by the other players.
A recent development is Open Face Chinese Poker, in which after the first five cards, hands are built face up one card at a time.

Players, Cards, Stakes and Deal

There are four players, each playing for themselves. A standard 52 card pack is used.
Before playing it is necessary to agree on a stake. Below I will describe the payments in terms of units; one unit can be worth whatever the players agree in advance - $1, $10, $100, etc.
The cards are shuffled, cut and dealt out singly: 13 cards to each player.

Arrangement of cards

Each player must divide their 13 cards into a 'back' hand of 5 cards, a 'middle' hand of 5 cards and a 'front' hand of 3 cards. Considered as poker hands, the back hand must be better than the middle hand, and the middle hand must be better than the front hand. The standard poker ranking is used - so the hand types from high to low are: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pairs, one pair, high card (see the page on ranking of poker hands). There are no wild cards.
Since the front hand has only 3 cards, only three hand types are possible: three of a kind; one pair; high card. There is no value in having a front hand with three consecutive cards or three cards of the same suit: 'straights' or 'flushes' in the front hand do not count.
Players place their three hands face down in front of them, the front hand nearest the centre of the table and the back hand nearest themselves.

Showdown and Scoring

When everyone is ready, all the players expose their three hands and each pair of players compares the corresponding hands. In the simplest system of payments, you win one unit for each corresponding hand of another player that you beat and lose one for unit each hand that beats you. When the hands are equal you neither win nor lose. Here is an example:
The result would be as follows:
Playersfront
winner		middle
winner		back
winner		NorthEastSouthWest
North v EastNorthNorthNorth+3-3

North v SouthSouthSouthNorth-1
+1
North v WestNorthNorthWest+1

-1
East v SouthSouthSouthEast
-1+1
East v WestEastWestWest
-1
+1
South v WestSouthSouthWest

+1-1
Total


+3-5+3-1
Notice that although West's back hand is the overall best hand (aces full), West loses on balance because of the weaker middle and front hands. East could have done slightly less badly by putting the sevens in the middle hand, which would then have beaten West. Notice also that it is not legal for East to put the jacks in the front hand, because it would then not be possible to make a middle hand that was better and a back hand that was better still from the remaining ten cards.

Special Hands

It is possible to play using just the payments described above. However, many players add two further features to the stakes: increased payments for certain hands, and some special 13-card hands that win automatically. If you are playing with these it is important to agree in advance exactly which ones are allowed and how much each is worth.
A typical scale of increased payments is as follows:
These bonuses only count for you for hands that you win. For example if A and B each have a 3 of a kind in front, but B's is higher, A will pay B 3 units for it. A's 3 of a kind will still count against the other players if it wins.
Example:A has 6-6-6, 4-4-4-9-9, K-K-K-8-8 and B has Q-Q-7, J-J-J-2-2, 5-5-5-5-A. A wins 3 for the front hand, but B wins 2 for the middle and 4 for the back, so altogether A pays 3 units to B.
When special hands are allowed, the following 13-card hands win automatically against any ordinary hand, if declared before the hands are exposed. When two special hands come up against each other, the higher wins the full specified amount and the lower loses its value (though it can still win against the other players). After the special hands have been dealt with, the remaining players expose their cards and settle up among themselves in the normal way. A typical schedule of special hands, in ascending order, is:
A player who has a special hand can choose not to declare it, but instead to set three hands of 5, 5 and 3 cards in the normal way. This loses the right to an automatic win, but it may occasionally be possible to win more units in the normal settlement, when extra payments can be won.

Variations

There seem to be numerous variations in the way the payments are organised. Here are the ones I have so far discovered.
Playing against the house
One player, probably the dealer, is the house (bank, casino). The other players compare their hands with the house, but not with each other, and pay or receive accordingly. When an individual hand is tied, the house wins it.
Extra payment for sweep

Dragon Poker Rules Poker

Some play that a player who wins all three hands against another player is paid an extra 1 unit (or sometimes 3 units) for a sweep.
Higher payment in the middle
Some play that winning with four of a kind or a straight flush in the middle is worth an extra point, so 5 in the middle or 4 at the back for quads and 6 in the middle or 5 at the back for a straight flush.
The overall point
Some play that between each pair of players, the net winner wins one additional unit - the overall point. This makes it more important to try to win two hands out of three whenever possible. If playing with extra payments for straight flush, quads, etc., these are taken into account in deciding who gets the overall point.
Single winner
Anthony Horsley Sr reports a version of Pusoy played in the Philippines in which apparently there is just one winner of each deal. In order to win, you have to beat each of the other players on at least two out of three hands. Presumably if no one achieves this, no one wins.
Extra payments counted for losing hands
Some play that instead of the increased payments for certain types of winning hand, the following extra payments count, irrespective of whether the hand in question wins or loses:

Dragon Quest Poker Rules

This variation is often combined with the overall point variation above.
Surrender
Some play that a player with a poor hand can surrender before the hands are exposed. If you surrender, you pay each of the other players as though you had lost two out of three hands - one unit each, or two units each if you play the version with the overall point. If playing with a banker, then of course a surrendering player just pays the banker, and a surrendering banker pays each of the players.
Winning from a pool
Some play that each player contributes 3 units to a pool before the deal. Instead of comparing the hands between pairs of players, whichever of the four players has the best front hand collects 4 units, the player with the best middle hand collects 4 units, and the player with the best back hand collects 4 units. Some play that if one player wins all three hands, the collect the whole pool and each of the other players has to pay them an additional 3 units.
No pictures
I have been told that some people regard a hand containing no pictures as a special hand giving an automatic win, but I don't know how many units it is worth or how it ranks with respect to the other special hands.
Malayan Sap Sam Cheung
In his book 'Gambling Games of Malaya', C.T.Dobree describes a version of Sap Sam Cheung in which three players play against the bank. The bank wins ties on individual hands as usual. Extra payments count irrespective of whether the hand wins or loses, as follows:
The special hands, in ascending order, are:
A special hand, if declared before the cards are exposed, beats any normal hand and wins the number of units specified in the table (a player wins from the bank, or the bank wins from all players). If the bank and a player both have special hands, the holder of the higher scoring hand wins the difference between their values.
Vietnamese Version
Phong Le gives the special scores for the Vietnamese game Xập Xám as follows:
Some play that a player who wins all three hands against one opponent is paid double; a player who wins all three hands against all opponents is paid triple.
The scores for special hands are:
I am told that in some places there is the tradition that if anyone is dealt a complete suit of 13 cards, all those present, including both players and non-players who may be watching the game, have to empty their pockets and give all their money to the winner.
Singapore Version
Alan Ho describes a version played in Singapore.
The special 13-card hands are known as Claims. The 13-card straight is known as a Dragon (Yi Tiao Long: 一条龙) and wins 13 units (or according to some players 26 units). Six and a half pairs, three straights, or three flushes each worth 3 units as usual. There is an additional hand called 'small cards', in which all 13 cards must be in the range 2 to 9 (or according to some players 2 to 10): this also wins 3 units from each opponent.
If two of these 3-point special hands come up against each other, neither player pays the other. However a Dragon beats any other hand and is paid the full 13 (or 26) units.
The payments for winning with strong hands in front, middle and back are:
Some play that a player who wins all three hands against all opponents is paid double - that is 6 points each instead of 3, assuming that no special hands are involved.
Some play that if no one is willing to deal, the player who held the Ace of Spades must deal the next hand, and is paid 1 unit compensation by each opponent for this extra work.
Hawaiian Gardens Casino version
Brandon Bahti describes a version played at the Hawaiian Gardens Casino in California. The special 13-card hands are:
If two special hands come up against each other, the holder of the lower valued hand pays the difference (if they are equal there is no payment between these two players).
A player wins two out of three hands against an opponent receives 1 unit from that opponent. For winning all three hands the payment is 6 units. A player who wins all three hands against every other player is paid 9 units (instead of 6) by each. For winning with particular hands in particular positions there are additional payments as follows:
A player who surrenders pays 3 units to each opponent.
Some play with an extra side bet on the number of aces held. One aces is worth 1, two aces 2, three aces 6, four aces 8. Between two players, the player with fewer aces pays the difference in units, in addition to the payments for the Chinese Poker game.
Payments are made in chips and it is not possible to win or lose more chips than you had in front of you at the start of the deal. Settlement is in clockwise order staring with the dealer. Any 13-card special hands are settled first, followed by all other payments. Specifically, if the players in clockwise order are A (dealer), B, C, D then settlements are made in the order A vs B, A vs C, A vs D, B vs C, B vs D, C vs D. Example: A starts with only 8 chips. A wins all three hands against B and loses all three against C. B pays A 6 chips, but A pays only 2 chips to C, because each chip is either doubled or lost, and A's first 6 chips have already been 'used' to justify the win from B. Therefore A ends up with 8+6-2=12 chips. A neither pays to nor receives from D since the transactions with B and C have already accounted for all A's chips. Players can buy additional chips from the house after the settlement and before the next deal.
The casino takes a fixed rake per hand, and part of this is used to build jackpots that are offered for certain unusual events - for example when a player has a straight flush, three of a kind, and a pair and loses all three hands to another player.
Open Face Chinese Poker
This variant, which became popular worldwide in 2012, is now described on a separate page.

Other Chinese Poker web pages

Further information can be found on Don Smolen's Chinese Poker page. From there you can also order his excellent book on the tactics of this game, and obtain his CPOKER computer program.
Rules for a version of Chinese Poker can also be found under the name Pusoy on this archive copy the Bicycle Cards web site.
Rules for Chinese Poker can also be found at the Asian Games Site vinagames.com, where it is possible to play Chinese Poker on line.

Dragon Poker Rules Card Game

Playing Chinese Poker Online

Dragon Poker Rules Board Game

With Phong Le's Chinese Poker Analyser you can compare the power of alternative divisions of 13 cards into three hands, and play Chinese Poker (Xap Xam) against one, two or three computer players.