Chiptalk.net Chinese Poker Tournament Rules BASIC RULES:
Chinese Poker is played between four players. Each player is dealt 13 cards, and must arrange their 13 cards into back, middle, and front hands. The back and middle hands are five-card hands, and the front hand is a three-card hand. The hand rankings for the back and middle hands are normal poker rankings. The front hand, because it is a three-card hand, can only have high-card, one pair, and three of a kind. No flushes or straights for the front hand (except for situations noted below).The back hand must be a better hand than the middle hand, and the middle hand must be a better hand than the front hand. For instance, you can't set your hands so you have a flush on the back hand and a full house on the middle hand. If your middle and back hands are both flushes, the higher flush must fill the back hand.
Each player will set their hands and then each player gets to compare their hands to each of the other players. The back hands will be compared, then the middle hands, and then the front hands. Scoring is explained below.
This will be a message board tournament. I will deal the hands through Private Messages (PM). Players may request to receive their hands arranged by rank, or by suit; please indicate your preference after receiving the first hand. In an attempt to utilize the features of Chiptalk.net I will be using the cards that can be found in the Smilies section when creating posts. These Smilies can then be manipulated to create the players hand arrangement in a quoted reply PM back to me with their Front, Middle, and Back hands using the following format provided as part of the original hand PM:
FRONT: [Cards] Hand= (type what your hand set is)
MIDDLE: [Cards] Hand= (type what your hand set is)
BACK: [Cards] Hand= (type what your hand set is)
Example Hand PM from me to player:
******************************************************
Player Name: Hand #1
Dealt:
Arrangement:
Front: [ ] Hand=
Middle: [ ] Hand=
Back: [ ] Hand=
Comments/Questions:
Hand is due on 2/18/08 by 9:00pm EST.
Example Quoted Reply PM from player to me:
*****************************************************
Player Name: Hand #1
Dealt:
Arrangement FRONT: [
] Hand = Ace High
MIDDLE: [
] Hand = Pair of Kings
BACK: [
] Hand= Full House 7’s Full of 8’s
Comments/Questions:
Abby, I will be out of town this weekend, please surrender my hand. Could I also receive my hands arranged by rank next time. Thanks.
*****************************************************
When I receive all of the hands, I will post all hands to the thread, then set up the scoring matrix for that hand and post it to the thread.
Players will have 24 hours to set and return their hands for hands dealt. The date and time that hands are to be returned by will be posted in the hand's thread. If a player fails to return their hands within the specified time period that player has timed out, and will lose all match ups. (In other words, if you don't return your hands on time, you will score a -12 for the hand.) If all players return their hands before the deadline I will score the hand and immediately post when the next hand will be dealt and its deadline. Please be aware that is entirely possible to have 2 hands dealt and scored on the same day. When a hand is dealt early the new hand will have an extended deadline of 36 hours to ensure that all players have the opportunity to set their hand.
In the event that a player fails to return their hand they will have 24 hours to notify me of their intent to continue in the tournament. Failure to do so will result in a replacement player setting their hands. The original player will still be responsible for settling any debts incurred as a result of losing the tournament, and both players will discuss the division, if any, of winnings.
Players may surrender their hands if they are unable to get them in on time. After surrendering they will lose 2 points from each player instead of being swept (-6 instead of -12). Ex: Player A will be out of town for 3 days and 1 hand will be dealt during that time span. They can surrender their hand instead of timing out. Note: This type of surrendering is only allowed with advanced notice. If you do not inform me your hand will be scored as a timed out hand.
The tournament will run until one player reaches 30 points.
In the unfortunate event that a player can no longer maintain their commitment [due to extreme extenuating circumstances, and not just a change of heart] a new player will be chosen from the “Interested Players” list. The replacement player will assume the previous players points/deficit with no changes.
2-4 SCORING:
We will use 2-4 scoring. In most cases these simple rules apply:
A player who wins 2 out of 3 hands wins 2 points.
A player who wins all 3 hands wins 4 points (a sweep).
These scoring rules are shortcuts derived from the general method of scoring:
The player with the higher Front hand gets one point.
The player with the higher Middle hand gets one point.
The player with the higher Back hand gets one point.
Bonus points, if any, are added to each player’s total.
The player with the higher total gets an additional point called the overall point.
The player with the higher total collects the difference between the two scores.
The player with the lower total loses the difference between the two scores.
ROYALTIES:
Royalties, or bonus points, will be paid for the following occurrences:
Full House in Middle Hand: 2 point
Three-of-a-kind in Front Hand: 3 points
Four-of-a-kind in Middle or Back Hand: 3 points
Straight Flush in Middle or Back Hand: 4 points
NATURALS:
Naturals are automatic win hands. Automatic win hands will win 3 points from all players (plus the overall point from each). They include:
The Dragon- This is a special hand of 13 unique rank cards (2-A of any suit). This hand beats all other automatic win hands and is worth an additional 6 points (10 total points).
Three straights- Notice this is the only time that a straight can be counted in the Front hand.
Three Flushes- Notice this is the only time that a flush can be counted in the Front hand.
Six Pairs MIS-SET HAND:
A mis-set hand occurs when a players places a higher valued hand in front of a lower valued hand; Ex: trips in front, two pair in middle. If a player has mis-set their hand they will forfeit all hands and lose 6 points (4 from the scoop and 2 penalty points).
HOW TO SCORE:
We will play with four players. For demonstration purposes, call them A, B, C, and D.
Once all hands are set and returned, the scoring will take place in the following manner:
A vs B
A vs C
A vs D
B vs C
B vs D
C vs D
For each of the matchups, a score will be calculated. At the end, each player's positive and negative points will be tallied and that will be the score. Scores for each hand will be added (or subtracted, for a negative score) to the player's running tally. All players will start at 0 points.
Here's an example: four players named A, B, C, and D have set their hands as shown. We examine each of the six comparisons that take place and calculate the results.
A vs B: Player B wins the Back and Middle hands for two points. Player A wins the Front hand for one point. B wins the overall point, making the final score 3-1, so B collects 2 chips from A. SHORTCUT - the player who wins two of the three hands wins 2 chips.
A vs C: Player A wins all three hands (a sweep). She scores 1 point for each hand plus the overall point, so she collects 4 chips from C. SHORTCUT - a sweep wins 4 chips.
A vs D: Player A wins the Middle and Front hands, while D wins the Back. A collects 2 chips from D.
B vs C: Player B wins the Back and Middle; C wins the Front. B gets 2 chips from C.
B vs D: Player B wins the Middle; D wins the Back; the Front is a tie. B and D break even.
C vs D: Player C wins the Middle and Front; D wins the Back. C gets 2 chips from D.
Final results: A wins 4, B wins 4, C loses 4, and D loses 4.
Notice that in each player's hand, the Back hand is the highest ranking, the Middle hand is next highest, and the Front hand is the lowest ranking. This is required by the rules of the game, as explained above.
Introduction and Rules adapted form MSR Boards Chinese Poker Tournament, and Don Smolen.
Scoring Rules adapted from Don Smolen, then adapted from various other sites. 
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