Chinese poker: rules, description and history of the game

Chinese poker is one of the types of card game that has won fame as one of its most interesting and unusual variations. The main distinguishing features are the absence of trading circles and a much larger number of cards on hand during the process.

In addition, the rules of the OKP require the collection of three winning combinations (two five-and one three-card) instead of one.

History of Chinese Poker

The homeland of this game, oddly enough, Scandinavia. Moreover, earlier Chinese poker bore the name of Russian, while in the casino there was no entertainment with a similar name.

Widely popular this version of the game was in the 90's, when it entered the official program of the World Series of Poker. Today she is one of the favorites in the casino of Las Vegas and is actively promoted in Russia and nearby countries by Sergey Rybachenko.

Despite the simple rules, some professional players consider this type of poker difficult because of the predominant role of the factor of luck in determining the winner. Thanks to this, beginners often break the jackpot, bypassing the most experienced rivals.

"A pineapple"

Chinese poker also has several variations, one of which carries the amusing name "Pineapple". The game got it from a kind of hold'em with two pocket cards instead of three.

The main driving factors in "Pineapple" are luck and speed. Instead of the standard eight rounds, only four are played because of the characteristics of Chinese poker.

Initially, this game had only a closed version, not found popularity, because of which there was an open Chinese poker, which positively influenced the duration of the process and stirred up a wave of interest in certain circles.

Brief description of the game

Due to the dynamism and fascination "Pineapple" is a very relevant card game, rapidly gaining popularity among beginner poker players.

At the beginning of the round, five cards are distributed openly, after which everyone gets another three cards. Of these, the participant must choose two in the hand. The third card is folded closed, due to which the game time is reduced to four rounds, as already mentioned above.

Chinese Poker: Rules

OKP is a card game with incomplete information, in which up to four people can take part. The deck uses the standard (52 cards, without the joker). Purpose of the game: to collect a hand with three maximal combinations of 13 cards, received by the participant during the whole game.

They are divided thus:

• The senior consists of five cards, should be the strongest among the collected combinations.
• Average - the same number of cards, the name corresponds to the hierarchical level.
• Younger - 3 cards, the weakest in comparison with the previous ones.

The resulting combinations are decomposed one under the other in ascending order (junior, middle, senior).

There are no usual trading circles in this type of poker , they are replaced by a system of points and bonuses (royalty), counted at the end. When playing for money, each of them has its own value in dollar currency.

The precedence of combinations is standard. After the completion of their compilation, they are compared with each other, on the basis of which the winner is revealed.

The rules of "Pineapple"

Chinese poker "Pineapple" has rules similar to playing in the OKP. The task is still to collect a hand from 13 cards - 3 combinations, working on the same principle that was described above.

If in the compilation of the resulting series (combinations) the seniority of one of them is violated, the player is considered a loser, and his hand is "dead."

At the beginning of each round, the participants (of which there may be no more than three) receive five cards in the open, and three more closed each subsequent hand. Of these, two are selected, going into the hand, the last - is dumped without opening.

Then everything happens, as in the OKP, except for one nuance - fantasy.

Pleasant bonus

This rule was not previously mandatory, but today it complements the game online and offline. Chinese poker also welcomes this bonus, but in Pineapple it has some differences.

The right to fantasy is obtained by the player who collected his hand with a pair of ladies (or cards of higher denomination) in the lower row. In this case, in the next hand the participant receives 14 cards at once, which serve him as a regular hand.

This gives a noticeable advantage. But in order to save this bonus, the player is required to fulfill one of the specified conditions - to collect combinations not lower: the penalty in the senior series, fullhouse on average or set in the younger one. After collecting the finished hand, the 14th card is discarded.

The additional card slightly increases not only the chances of winning, but also increases the possibility of observing the condition under which the player can use the bonus again.

Scoring

At the end of the hand, points are counted (after comparing the players' hands with each other). Each combination is checked in pairs (the senior with the senior, etc.). "Dead" hands, respectively, receive 0 points.

The task of the game is not only to compose the strongest hand, but also to obtain the maximum number of "royalties", without violating the order of precedence in the lines. After the layout of the cards, poker players compare their combinations alternately in all three rows. For each winning line, the player also receives two additional points. Thus, for the victory in all three combinations, the participant receives six points.

There are two types of scoring:

• Classic - used in Chinese poker (its rules are described in the paragraph above).
• American - used to play in the "Pineapple" and the adoption of the convention "American" in other varieties of OKP.

The rules of the latter method are somewhat different in that only one point is awarded for the winning combination (and it is taken away from the opponent accordingly). However, the fully won hand gives six points at once. Bonuses are calculated in the same way as in classical Chinese poker, with a single nuance: their number for certain combinations increases.

Learning to play in the OKP is not so difficult, but if you have problems, programs on Chinese poker "Pineapple" that can be found on the network, albeit in small numbers, can help.