PHSWERTE Chinese Poker: Set Three Hands From 13 Cards
Chinese poker deals each player thirteen cards to arrange into a five-card back hand, a five-card middle hand and a three-card front hand.
- PHSWERTE 7 Up 7 Down Dice Game
- 7 up 7 down is a two-dice game with three bets: total below 7, total above 7, or exactly 7.
- PHSWERTE Blackjack Double Down
- Double down on 11 against a dealer 2 through 10, and on 10 against a 2 through 9.
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- Omaha poker deals four hole cards, and your final hand must use exactly two of them plus exactly three of the five board cards.
- PHSWERTE Texas Holdem Rules, Rounds and Hand Rankings
- Texas Hold'em deals each player two private cards, then five shared cards over the flop, turn and river, with a betting round after each stage.
Chinese poker asks a different question from Hold’em: not how to bet, but how to arrange. You receive all your cards at once and split them into three hands. This page shows how the rows work, why an order mistake ruins a set and how the game connects to the Poker tab in the PHSWERTE poker tab.
Chinese Poker Rules: Thirteen Cards, Three Rows
Each player gets thirteen cards. You arrange them into three hands before anyone sees them.
| Row | Cards | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Back | 5 | Your strongest hand |
| Middle | 5 | Must be weaker than the back |
| Front | 3 | Weakest; only pairs, three of a kind and high card exist |
The front hand has only three cards, so straights and flushes do not count there. A three-card hand ranks three of a kind first, then a pair, then high card. Every hand uses the same ranking ladder as five-card poker, which you can review in the Texas Hold’em hand rankings.
13 Card Poker: Set Your Hands in Four Steps
The 13 card poker set-up is a puzzle with one order rule.
- Look at all thirteen cards and find your strongest five-card hand.
- Place it in the back row.
- Build the best remaining five-card hand for the middle, making sure it is weaker than the back.
- Put the last three cards in the front, making sure the front is weaker than the middle.
Say your thirteen cards include A A A K K plus 10 10 9 9 4 and 7 5 2. Back is A A A K K, a full house. Middle is 10 10 9 9 4, two pair. Front is 7 5 2, high card seven.
Why a Foul Costs You the Round
A foul happens when the rows are in the wrong order. Swap the example: put 10 10 9 9 4 in the back and A A A K K in the middle, and the middle now outranks the back.
Your strongest hand ended up in the middle row
Most tables score a foul as a loss of every row, and the exact penalty is set by the table. Read the info screen for the game you sit at before your first set.
How Scoring Works Against Each Opponent
You compare each of your rows with the same row of your opponent. Win the row and you score a point; lose it and you give one up.
| Result across three rows | Typical outcome |
|---|---|
| Win two or three rows | You take points from that opponent |
| Win one row | Usually a loss of one point net |
| Win all three rows | A scoop, which many tables pay extra for |
Bonuses for strong rows, called royalties, differ from table to table, so this page gives no royalty amounts. A table’s info screen lists the bonuses, and you should read it before you play.
Where Pusoy Go Fits on the Poker Tab
Pusoy is the Filipino name for the thirteen-card arranging game. The PHSWERTE lobby lists Pusoy Go from Jili on its Poker tab, which was read on 29 September 2026. Open the game’s info screen to see whether it scores rows, awards bonuses or uses a variation.
Pusoy Dos is a different game, a shedding game where you race to empty your hand, so make sure you know which version a table runs. For a game with betting decisions on every street, move on to Omaha poker or return to the overview of every PHSWERTE poker table.
You must be 21 or older, and a fixed session budget applies to card games as much as slots.
FAQ
How many cards do you get in Chinese poker?
Thirteen, all dealt at once. You split them into rows of five, five and three with no cards left over.
What is a foul in Chinese poker?
A foul is a set where the back hand does not outrank the middle hand, or the middle does not outrank the front. A fouled set usually loses every row, so check the order before you lock in.
Is Pusoy the same as Chinese poker?
Pusoy is the Filipino name for the thirteen-card arranging game. Pusoy Go is listed on the PHSWERTE Poker tab; open its info screen to see its exact scoring.