Official Chinese Poker (Pusoy) Rules

Last Updated on February 12, 2026 by The Official Game Rules Team

Chinese Poker, also known as Pusoy, is a strategic poker card game where players arrange their 13 cards into three poker hands: a front, middle, and back. This page provides a clear breakdown of the rules, guiding you through hand rankings, setting your hands, and scoring.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see our disclosures here.

How to Play Chinese Poker (Pusoy) – A Complete Guide

Chinese Poker is a strategic card game where players arrange 13 cards into three poker hands. The goal is to outscore opponents by ranking hands in the correct order and winning more comparisons.

---

Objective

Organize your 13 cards into three poker hands (top, middle, bottom) and score points against your opponents.

Players: 2–4

---

Game Setup

1. Use a standard 52-card deck.
2. Shuffle and deal 13 cards to each player.
3. Agree on a point value per hand (e.g., $1 per point).
4. Each player prepares to arrange their cards into three hands: top (3 cards), middle (5 cards), bottom (5 cards).

---

Hand Organization

Rules for arranging hands:

• Top Hand (3 cards) – must be your weakest hand. Only High Card, Pair, or Three of a Kind are allowed.
• Middle Hand (5 cards) – must be stronger than your top hand but weaker than your bottom hand. All standard poker hands apply.
• Bottom Hand (5 cards) – must be your strongest hand. Standard poker hand rankings apply.

Important: Hands must follow the correct strength order (top < middle < bottom). If not, the hand is fouled and opponents automatically scoop.

Example Hand Arrangement:

• Player has 7♥, 7♣, 10♣, 10♦, K♦, K♣, 6♥, 6♣, 9♠, 9♦, 3♠, 3♦, 5♥
• Possible hand organization:
  • Bottom: 5♥, 6♥, 6♣, 7♥, 7♣ (Two Pair, strongest hand)
  • Middle: 10♣, 10♦, K♦, K♣, 9♠ (Two Pair)
  • Top: 3♠, 3♦, 9♦ (Pair, weakest hand)

---

Game Play

1. Reveal hands simultaneously once all players have arranged them.
2. Compare hands:
   • Each hand (top, middle, bottom) is compared against the corresponding hand of every other player.
   • Winning a hand earns 1 point.
   • Winning all three hands against a single player is called a scoop and usually earns a 3-point bonus.

Example:

• Player 1 vs Player 2:
  • Bottom: Full House vs Flush → Player 1 wins 1 point
  • Middle: Two Pair vs Straight → Player 2 wins 1 point
  • Top: Pair vs High Card → Player 1 wins 1 point
• Net result: Player 1 +1, Player 2 0

For multiple players:

• Compare each hand against every other player individually.
• Keep a score sheet to track points and scoops for each comparison.

---

Scoring

Points per hand:

• Top Hand: 1 point per win
• Middle Hand: 1 point per win
• Bottom Hand: 1 point per win
• Scoop (winning all three hands vs one player): +3 bonus points

Handling multiple players example (4 players):

• Compare Player 1’s hands to Player 2, 3, and 4 separately.
• Then compare Player 2’s hands to Player 3 and 4, and Player 3’s to Player 4.
• Each player keeps track of their own total points.

---

Special Rules & Variations

• No Face Cards: 13-card hand with no J, Q, K
• Fouled Hand: If a hand violates the hand-strength order or has an incorrect number of cards, all other players automatically scoop against that hand.
• Scooping Bonus: If a player wins all three hands against another, a scoop bonus is awarded (commonly +3 points).

Open-Face Chinese Poker (optional):

Middle hand can be played as 2–7 Lowball instead of standard poker.

• Royalties/Bonuses: Special hands can earn extra points:
• Bottom Hand: Four-of-a-Kind or better
• Middle Hand: Full House or better
• Top Hand: Three-of-a-Kind
• 13-card hands: Three straights, three flushes, or a straight flush from 2–A

---

Chinese Poker FAQ