How to Dominate in Chinese Poker (Big Two - Chaw Dai Di)

If you didn't know this was a card game then you obviously are not Chinese. This is a game familiar to both young and old and may possibly be the most popularly played Chinese card game out there. This game has occasionally and mistakenly been called "Chinese Poker" which is a completely different game that Chinese people refer to as "13 Cards (Sup Saam Jerng)". For those interested in learning how to play or those who know how to play but never really learned the exact rules, here are the basic rules for a four player Big Two game (more detailed rules can be found here):

1) How to Win: Be the first to get rid of all of your cards.

2) Cards and Suit Rules: A regular 52 card deck is used and the order for the suits from high to low is Spades > Hearts > Clubs > Diamonds

3) Playable Combinations: Legal Hands in Big Two

• Single Cards - Two of Spades is the highest and Three of Diamonds is the lowest.

• Pairs - Again Twos are the highest and Threes are the smallest. Among same numbered pairs, the pair containing the spade is the higher pair.

• Triples - Yet Again, Twos are the highest then Aces all the way down to Threes.

• Five Card Hands - If you play regular poker you should have no problems but here are the hands from weakest to strongest:

• Straight - five cards of consecutive numbers with mixed suits. (Ex: KH-QC-JC-10H-9D), usually A-2-3-4-5 is the highest straight but there are variations.
• Flush - any five cards with the same suit. (Ex: 9H-7H-6H-5H-3H). Some people play flushes by suit while others play by the highest card within that suit.
• Full House - Consists of a Triple and a Pair where the higher numbered triple determines the strength of the hand. 8-8-8-5-5 beats 3-3-3-A-A.
• Four of a Kinds (Quads) - Consist of all four cards of a certain number plus one fifth card of any number. Some people allow Quads to be played as is (four of the same number by themselves without the fifth card) but others do not so it is important to find out the custom rules for each game).
• Straight Flush - pretty much a combination of a straight and a flush, which is five cards of consecutive numbers with the same suit (Ex: AS-KS-QS-JS-10S)

• You can only play combinations within the same group. So triples cannot beat pairs and single cards can only beat single cards.

4) Dealing the Cards: At the start, players pick cards to see who deals first. Highest card picked deals first. After the first round, the winner of each round becomes the dealer. The dealer shuffles and the player to the right cuts. After the cut, the dealer randomly shows one card within the deck (card is shown by lifting the top part of the deck and showing the bottom card and then putting the top part back so the order of the cards remain the same) to determine who gets the first card of the deal. This is done by counting the numerical value of the card starting from the dealer and moving counter clockwise until the number is reached (Ex: if the card is 8, then you count 1 dealer, 2 left, 3 across, 4 right, 5 dealer, 6 left, 7 across, 8 right - so the first card is dealt to the person to the dealer's right). Deal and play are usually counterclockwise. A good thing to remember to speed the deal is Ace, 5, 9, and King are all cards where the dealer deals himself/herself first.

5) How to Play: The player holding the three of diamonds will go first and put down a playable combination that includes the diamond three. Then the person to his right plays a card within that combination group that can beat the first combination put down and so on around the table. All cards are placed down face up. If you can't or don't want to beat the current combination, you can pass and the player to your right will go until three of the four players pass. Then the player who put down the "unbeatable" combination will be allowed to put anything he wants. Usually the cards from the previous round is turned over but most people just leave them as is. Everyone is allowed to know how many cards the other players have in their hands at any time so if asked you have to answer honestly. When a player has only one card left, he must announce "last card" and the player right before him must play his highest single card ("Ding Dai") or a non single playable combination (pair, triples, etc). Failure to "ding dai" results in a penalty discussed in the scoring section. The first player to get rid of all the cards win. Usually the game ends here but there are variations that play on until there is only one loser.

6) Points: Usually if you play with only one winner, penalty points are given to all the other players. The penalty is one point per card if you have 8 cards and under, 9-10 cards are double points (18 and 20, respectively), 11-12 are triple points (33 and 36, respectively) and 13 is quadruple points (52). Of course, these breakpoints can be moved around, many people play 1-9 as single point, 10-12 as double point and 13 being triple points. People usually play this game for money. When they do, everyone agrees on a money value per point (Ex: $1 per point). At the end of the entire session, the differences in the score determine the payout. When playing for money, if a player does not "ding dai" (#5), he has to pay the losses for all three players of that round.

After reading this post, you now know how to "Chaw Dai Di" (play big two). There are a ton of variations to this game of rules #2 to #6. There are differences in straight and flush strengths, direction of deal and play, point systems, game play nuances and much more. The rules listed above are the most common rules that I have encountered but when you do play, make sure you ask if there are any variations.

You can find the Big Two computer game here at Tray Games or here at Netbig2

Remember: Knowing how to play and playing well are two different things. Also, playing for money and playing for fun have very different strategies.

Look out for future posts on Big Two strategies.

Top 5 Advanced Strategies for Winning in Chinese Poker (Big Two - Chaw Dai Di)

For those who are not familiar with the game Big Two, check out Big Two: An Introduction. For all those that already know how to play Big Two, I have compiled a short list of useful strategies that will take your money game to the next level. Directly quoted from a dominant Chaw Dai Di money player that I know, these strategies are sure to aid you in winning some nice spending money from your friends. Although these tips are geared for all those who want to get involved with Big Two for money, their usefulness carries over to friendlier versions of the popular game. So without further delay, I give you:

Useful Tips for Winning in Big Two When Playing for Money

• "Never hit the player before you unless you have a sure win hand" - If there is no possible way for you to win, it is always better to help the person that goes before you to win since they will have the opportunity to go first in the next round (this applies mainly for the variation where the Big Two winner and not the holder of the Diamond Three gets to go first in the next round)

• "Always counter the player going after you if you have higher ranked cards to do so" - This is related to the first tip where the main goal is to not be stuck going last in the first round of play in the next hand. If the player after you wins, you will have to "protect the back door" (Sau Hau Moon), which is one of the worse positions to be in for a money game. Countering the player in front of you with higher cards will decrease his/her chances of winning.

• "When you know you cannot possibly win with the hand that you have, always try to run as soon as possible even when you hold the two of spades to avoid doubling, tripling and quadrupling penalties for cards remaining" - If you can't win, RUN. The difference between being in double penalty territory and triple penalty territory is ONE card, so on hopeless hands, try to get rid of as many cards as you can.

• "Try to keep tabs on the Twos, Aces, Kings and Queens that have already been played. This information will be very crucial towards the end" - When it comes to the endgame, knowing what cards are the highest and that can "take control" (Wah See) can be the difference between winning and losing. Being able to go first in the next round is a huge advantage so winning the current round is a huge goal if you have the cards to do so. Future posts on advanced strategies will discuss certain times when it is more profitable to lose.

• "Be more aggressive and conservative" - When playing for money, it is always better to be on the offensive and try to pressure and "stir-fry" (chow) your opponents into double, triple or quadruple penalty card counts. The more cards they have translates to the more money they owe you.

Many thanks to CDD Grandmaster A for providing such great tips. If you enjoyed this post, help promote the site. There will be more to come on Big Two strategies so check back often. If you would like to provide your own unique tips, leave a comment or send an email to chineseppl@gmail.com.

Learn How to Play Mahjong - A Beginner's Guide from an Expert

An informative article written by Bulldozer, an expert Mahjong player:

Chinese people love to play Mah-Jong. Although everyone can learn to play, in order to win at this game, you need good memory, skills, and of course, what everyone needs when gambling, luck.

Mahjong consists of 144 tiles: 108 of them are suited tiles, 28 are honor tiles (Winds and Dragons) and 8 are bonus tiles or what most people call flower tiles. There are 3 different types of suits: Circles (Dots), Bamboo (Sticks) and Chinese Characters (Ten Thousands - "Maan"). Each suit consists of numbers 1 through 9 repeated FOUR times (so 3 suits x 9 numbers x 4 tiles = 108 suited tiles). For the circles and bamboos, the number is determined simply by counting the number of dots or sticks that are on the tile. For the Chinese characters, it is necessary to learn and memorize the Chinese numbers from 1 through 9, although some "Americanized" Mahjong sets have the numbers written in the corner.

The honor tiles consist of dragons and different wind tiles:

• There are 3 types of dragons, four tiles each: Red, Green, and White. The red dragon is actually the Chinese character for middle ("joong" in Cantonese) and the green dragon is the Chinese character for good fortune ("faat" in Cantonese). The white dragon is just a clear rectangle (you can't miss it). If you don't want to memorize these characters, you can just go by color. If you get three of the same dragon it counts as 1 point.

• There are 4 different types of wind tiles: East, South, West, and North (each consisting of four tiles). Each person is assigned a wind depending on the number decided by the dice throw and each round is also assigned a wind. If you get 3 of a kind of your assigned wind or the wind of the round, 1 point is awarded. It is possible that both your assign wind and the wind of the round is the same in which case, 3 of a kind of that wind will count as 2 points.

When the game starts, everyone receives 13 tiles, unless you’re the dealer who starts with 14 tiles because the dealer has to discard one tile to get the game started. Out of these 13 tiles you have to make combinations of either 3 of a kind (Pung) or a 3 tile straight (Chow). In Mahjong, you can either make these combinations by drawing or by taking from others (you need to have at least 2 tiles of a combination to take from others). In order to make a straight combination, you can only take from the person going directly before you. For making 3 of a kind combination, you are free to take from anyone on the table. In order to take another player's discarded tile, you must declare Chow or Pung at the moment the tile is discarded or else no one can take the card. Those who Pung have priority over those who Chow. Also if you make four of a kind (Kong), you need to pick up an extra tile in order to preserve 13 tiles in your hand. Kong is when you already have 3 of a kind and you need it to make 4 of a kind. Mah-Jong is very similar to Gin Rummy, you can not make a combination if the suits are different. For example: 1 circle, 2 circle, and 3 sticks is not a legal combination. In order to win, one can either draw the winning tile from someone else ("serng" in Cantonese) or by themselves ("ji maw" in Cantonese). Each player has 13 tiles but in order to win, you need 14 tiles. So most winning hands consists of 4 combinations and a pair (also known as the eyes - "ahn" in Cantonese). When the winning tile is drawn, those Cantonese ("serng" or "ji maw") sayings must be declared. False declarations of winning lead to automatic loss and heavy penalties. Points mentioned throughout this article are only awarded if a person declares a win. Those who do not win, do not get points, regardless of their hand. One final note on winning- each winning hand must also have two matching tiles (the eyes). For example, if you have four sets of three of a kind, there will be one tile left over (your 13th tile). In order to win, you must either self pick a matching tile to complete your eye or if that is the only tile you need to declare a win, you can take from any one else that discards it.

The bonus tiles consist of pictures of flowers with Chinese and Arabic characters counting from 1 through 4 in two different colors, usually red and blue. Similar to wind tiles, each player is assigned a certain number flower. If you get your assigned flower, 1 point is awarded. If you do not get any flowers, some people also reward that with one point. If you get all the flowers (1 through 4) of the same color, it is 2 points. When you have seven flowers it’s usually an automatic win or 3 points depending on the house rules. If you can get all eight flowers it is usually awarded the maximum number of points you decide to play with.

In addition to winning the "traditional" way there are also special hands that is usually awarded maximum points. Here are some of the hands:

“The 13 Wonders”
A concealed hand with #’s 1 and 9 of each suit. One of each dragon and one of each directional wind. And to win with this hand just match it up with any of the above tiles. So you’re calling on 13 different tiles.

“9 United Sons”

A concealed hand of all one suit in the following formation 1,1,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,9,9 when completed by any tile of the suit, either drawn or discarded. For this hand you’re calling 9 tiles.

“All Kong’s (18 temples?)"

Four sets of four-of-a-kind and a pair of any sort.

“4 Large Blessings”

Sets of either 3 or 4 of a kind of all 4 winds with a pair of any suit or honor.

“3 Great Scholars”

Sets of either 3 or 4 of a kind of all 3 dragons with another any kind of set and a pair.

“Hidden Treasure”

A concealed hand of 4 sets of 3of a kind and to win with any pair. Everything must be drawn from the wall and you need to draw the winning tile yourself also.

“Heavenly Peace”

When East's original fourteen tiles (or after flowers and Kongs have been grounded) form a complete hand. Extremely Rare.

“Earthly Peace”

When a player's other than East, completes his hand with East's first discard (and after flowers and Kongs have been grounded). Extremely Rare.

These rules to Mahjong are very basic and definitely many intricacies have not been mentioned. Also, look for future articles concerning basic and advanced strategies for Mahjong. If you have anything you would like to add, feel free to do so in the comments section below.