How to Play Pusoy Poker (Chinese Poker): Rules, Scoring, and Simple Winning Strategy

Pusoy (also called Chinese Poker) is one of the most addicting “poker-adjacent” card games because it’s fast, social, and heavily skill-based. Instead of betting round by round like Texas Hold’em, you’re dealt 13 cards and your job is to build three poker hands that must be arranged in the correct strength order. Then everyone compares hands and the scoring happens automatically.

Below is a clear, practical guide to the rules you shared, game flow, hand ranking, fouled hands, Naturals, scoring/royalties, scoops, and service fees, plus a simple strategy framework so you don’t torch points by mis-setting your hand.

What Is Pusoy (Chinese Poker)?

Pusoy is typically played with 2 to 4 players using a standard 52-card deck (no jokers). Each player is dealt 13 cards. From those 13 cards, you must set:

• Front hand (3 cards)
• Middle hand (5 cards)
• Back hand (5 cards)

The Strength Rule (Most Important Rule)

Your hands must be set so that:

Back hand ≥ Middle hand ≥ Front hand

If you break that rule, you make a Fouled Hand (also called “Crack”) and you automatically lose the round against all valid hands.

Basic Game Setup

• Players: 2–4
• Deck: 52 cards, no jokers
• Deal: Each player gets 13 cards
• Goal: Arrange the best three-hand layout without fouling

Gameplay Flow: Deal → Set → Ready → Fight (Showdown)

A standard Pusoy round has four phases:

1) Dealing (Start)

The system deals 13 cards to each seated player at the same time. A countdown begins for hand setting.

2) Setting Hands (Set Card)

You must arrange your 13 cards into:

• Front (3)
• Middle (5)
• Back (5)

Every move is recorded, and your final arrangement at the end of the countdown is locked.

3) Waiting (Ready & Wait)

After setting, players hit Ready. If someone doesn’t, the game proceeds when the timer ends.

4) Showdown & Scoring (Fight)

The game checks for Naturals first (special instant-win patterns). If no Naturals override the round, players compare:

• Back hand vs Back hand
• Middle vs Middle
• Front vs Front

…and scoring is calculated.

Hand Rankings (Same as Texas Hold’em)

Pusoy uses standard poker hand rankings (high to low):

Royal Flush > Straight Flush > Four of a Kind > Full House > Flush > Straight > Three of a Kind > Two Pair > One Pair > High Card

Important practical note: Your Front hand has only 3 cards, so in most situations it will realistically be:

• High Card
• One Pair
• Three of a Kind (Trips)

(You can’t make a full 5-card style straight/flush with only 3 cards.)

Fouled Hands (Crack): What It Is and How You Lose

A Fouled Hand happens when your final layout violates:

Back ≥ Middle ≥ Front

If you foul:

• You lose the round completely
• You do not participate in normal showdown comparisons
• You must pay the corresponding score to every player who did not foul

Fouled Hand Examples

• Front: Pair of Aces
  Middle: Smaller pair
  ✅ That’s a foul because Front > Middle
• Front: K-high (A K x)
  Middle: Q-high (A Q J T x type high-card structure)
  ✅ That’s a foul because K-high > Q-high

This is why Pusoy rewards disciplined setting more than “trying to get cute.”

Special Hands (Naturals): Big Bonuses Before Regular Scoring

“Naturals” are rare 13-card patterns that trigger automatic bonus scoring before normal hand comparisons.

Natural Hands & Bonuses

• Dragon: 13 consecutive cards A–K (not same suit required) → +13 bonus
• Three Flushes: Front, Middle, Back are all flushes → +3 bonus
• Three Straights: Front, Middle, Back are all straights → +3 bonus
• Six Pairs: Your 13 cards contain six pairs → +3 bonus

Natural Priority (Strongest to Weakest)

Dragon > Three Flushes > Three Straights > Six Pairs

Natural vs Natural Tiebreaks

• Dragon: Treated as a tie (no rank difference)
• Three Flushes / Three Straights: Compare Back first, then Middle, then Front
• Six Pairs: Compare pairs from highest to lowest
• Exact tie: Scores cancel between the tied players

Scoring: How Points Are Won (And How You Get Crushed)

Pusoy scoring is layered:

1) Standard Scoring (Per Opponent, Per Hand)

You compare hands against each opponent independently:

• Win a set (Front/Middle/Back) vs a player = +1 point
• Lose a set = -1 point
• Your result is the sum of all three sets versus each opponent

So in a 4-player game, you’re scoring three hands × three opponents every round.

2) Royalties (Bonus Multipliers for Strong Hands)

Royalties award extra points for making premium hands in specific positions.

Front (3 cards)

• Three of a Kind → +3

Middle (5 cards)

• Full House → +2
• Four of a Kind → +8
• Straight Flush → +10
• Royal Flush → +20

Back (5 cards)

• Four of a Kind → +4
• Straight Flush → +5
• Royal Flush → +10

Royalties are added on top of normal +1/-1 scoring.

3) Scoop (Pusoy): Win All Three Hands vs One Player

If your Front, Middle, and Back all beat the same opponent’s corresponding hands, you SCOOP them (also called Pusoy) and gain an additional bonus from that player.

Special rule: Players with Naturals or Fouled Hands do not participate in scoop calculation.

4) Home Run (Winner Takes All)

Only possible in 3- or 4-player games:

• You scoop every other player
• You get an even larger extra bonus

Cannot trigger if any player has a Fouled Hand or a Natural.

Service Fee (FEE) and Settlement

Many apps apply a “service fee” to winners:

• Charged only to winners
• Fee is a % of total winnings (FEE%), capped at a maximum
• If multiple winners exist, fee is split proportionally
• Fee contribution is credited back to losers (per the rules you provided)

Rounding:

• Philippines: rounded to nearest integer
• Other regions: rounded to two decimals

Final Settlement (Important)

• Losers are deducted first
• Winnings are paid out after
• If a loser can’t cover losses, their chips drop to zero, and remaining payout is distributed starting from the highest-scoring win

Beginner Strategy: How to Set Hands Without Donating Points

Most new players lose for two reasons:

1. They foul
2. They build a monster back hand and leave the middle/front too weak (or vice versa)

Here’s a clean framework that works:

1) Build Back Hand First (Your “Anchor”)

Start by identifying your strongest 5-card hand potential:

• Can you make a flush? straight? full house? trips + pair?
• Your back hand should usually be your highest “value” hand

2) Middle Hand Must Still Be Real

Your middle hand is where the game is won. A common leak is:

• Back = very strong
• Middle = trash

…and you lose middle constantly, killing your EV.

As a rule of thumb: don’t sacrifice Middle too hard just to add one extra “tier” of strength to Back.

3) Front Hand Is Damage Control

Front is only 3 cards. Think of it like:

• “Can I make a pair?”
• “Can I avoid leaving my front as absolute garbage if it breaks my middle?”

A weak front is okay as long as you don’t foul and your middle/back do the heavy lifting.

4) Avoid the “Pretty Hand Trap”

New players chase patterns that look nice but score poorly:

• Forcing a straight that breaks a full house possibility
• Over-building back and leaving middle exposed

If you have two competing builds, pick the one that:

• Wins middle more often
• Avoids fouls
• Creates royalty potential without wrecking your structure

5) Always Double-Check: Back ≥ Middle ≥ Front

Before you lock in:

• Compare hand types first (e.g., Flush beats Straight)
• If same type, compare ranks (e.g., pair of Kings > pair of Tens)
• If identical type and rank, it’s still valid (suits don’t break ties here)

Where to Play Pusoy Online: PokerShip App

If you want to play Pusoy (Chinese Poker) on mobile, you can find it on the PokerShip app. You can download PokerShip on:

• Google Play Store
• Apple App Store
• Directly via PokerShip.net

Quick Steps

1. Download PokerShip
2. Create your account
3. Find the Pusoy / Chinese Poker tables or game mode
4. Set your 13-card hands before the timer ends
5. Hit Ready and let the showdown scoring run

FAQ: Quick Answers

Is Pusoy the same as Open-Face Chinese Poker (OFC)?
They’re related. Both use 13 cards and three hands, but OFC has its own dealing mechanics and fantasyland rules. The rules above describe standard Pusoy/Chinese Poker with full 13-card set and compare.

What’s the fastest way to improve?
Play enough volume to stop fouling, then focus on building strong, consistent middle hands (that’s where most long-run edge comes from).

Do Naturals override everything?
Naturals are scored first and can act like an automatic winner versus regular hands, with special priority rules when multiple Naturals appear.

Final Take

Pusoy is simple to learn and hard to master: you’re basically doing hand construction under constraints, and the biggest skill is building the best overall structure, not just one pretty 5-card hand.

If you want the best place to play it online, the best place is on the PokerShip app (Play Store, App Store, or PokerShip.net).