How to play Chinese Poker

The aim of the game

Up to four players each get 13 cards from a standard 52-card deck. Without showing anyone, you split your cards into three rows. When everyone is ready, the rows are revealed and each row is compared with the same row of every other player. The stronger your three hands across the table, the more points you win.

Setting your three rows

• Front: 3 cards. Only high card, a pair or three of a kind count here; three cards cannot make a straight or a flush.
• Middle: 5 cards.
• Back: 5 cards.

The rows must go up in strength: the Back must be at least as strong as the Middle, and the Middle at least as strong as the Front. A hand that breaks this order is a foul, and it is punished hard.

Poker hands, from lowest to highest

1. High card
2. One pair
3. Two pair
4. Three of a kind
5. Straight: five in sequence. A–2–3–4–5 is the lowest, 10–J–Q–K–A the highest.
6. Flush: five cards of one suit
7. Full house: three of a kind and a pair
8. Four of a kind
9. Straight flush

Within the same type, higher cards win: a pair of kings beats a pair of tens, and when the pairs match, the next-highest card decides. Suits are all equal, so hands that differ only by suit tie.

Scoring

Veltrique uses the common 1-6 method. Against each opponent separately:

• each row is worth 1 point to whoever has the stronger hand there, and tied rows score nothing;
• win all three rows against a player, a scoop, and the 3 points become 6;
• a fouled hand loses 6 points to every valid hand at the table, and two fouled hands score nothing against each other.

Because you are scored against each opponent, one strong hand can collect from three players at once. Other tables add royalties, bonus points for very strong rows such as four of a kind, or use a 2-4 system that adds a point for winning two rows out of three. Veltrique keeps to the 1-6 rules above.

How to set a hand, step by step

1. Find your strongest five-card hand and put it in the Back.
2. From what is left, find the next strongest five-card hand for the Middle.
3. The last three cards go in the Front.
4. Now look for a better balance. If the Middle is far stronger than it needs to be, can a pair move to the Front while the Middle still beats it?
5. Check the order one last time before you reveal. A foul costs 6 points against every player.

In Veltrique, Auto arrange builds a legal split for you, and the label under each row names the hand it makes, so you can start from there and improve it.

Strategy: how to win at Chinese Poker

• Every row is worth the same. A huge Back wins one point, exactly like a small Front. Spread your strength so you can win two rows, rather than overbuilding one.
• The Front decides a lot of hands. Most Fronts are only high card, so a pair up front wins it surprisingly often. An ace-high Front is respectable too.
• Avoid a weak Middle. A Middle of one small pair loses to almost everyone. Two pair or better wins many Middle rows.
• Think about the scoop. Winning all three rows doubles the points. With a strong hand, set it to win all three; with a weak one, make sure at least one row is safe.
• Never foul. No arrangement is worth 6 points against every opponent. When in doubt, choose the safe order.

Play Chinese Poker free

Play Chinese Poker in your browser at the first table in Veltrique, against three computer players. Select cards, tap a row to place them, reveal at the Showdown, then open each opponent’s hand to see how they set it. There is nothing to install and nothing to buy, and every deal is scored in points only. The Veltrique guide covers the controls.

Updated 4 November 2026. Written by JPAM Studio, the makers of Veltrique.