Playing Hongkong Poker

[Cevineleven]

Introduction

Chinese poker or Hongkong poker, known as “Xito” in Vietnamese, is the Asian version of Poker and is similar to the popular casino game Texas Hold'em. It is a highly skilled game in which the objective is not only to win but to win the most from the opponents.

Playing Hongkong Poker

Hongkong poker is similar to games like Hold'em Poker, and as such, it is fairly straight forward: when it is your turn, you either have to Raise or Call or Fold, depending on what you think is best for you with the current cards you hold. Mastering Hongkong poker however requires much practice.

Hongkong poker uses only 28 cards from 8 to Ace in a standard deck. When a game starts, each player has to contribute an ante, an initial amount of money, to the game pot, the winning prize. Each player is given 2 cards: the first card is shown to only the player and is hidden from all others; the second card is shown to all.

The game proceeds in 4 rounds. At any time, the round contribution is the amount of money each player has to put into the game pot to be alive in the round. The due of a player at any moment is the difference between the current round contribution and the amount the player has previously contributed to the game pot for the round.

When having the turn, a player can either Fold, Check/Call, or Bet/Raise. Here is the meaning of each playing type:

• Fold: to give up. The player does not contribute any more money to the game pot, and the player is considered out of the game.

• Bet/Raise: to raise the round contribution and to pay the new due.

• Check/Call: to leave the current round contribution unchanged and to pay the due.

You can see the due for a Call and Raise on the game window when it is your turn. Simply speaking, these amounts are the amounts you need to contribute to the game pot to make a Raise or a Call play respectively. The game program hides all other details. The round ends when everyone plays Call.

A Hongkong poker game ends after at most 4 rounds. If there are more than 1 player still alive, their hidden cards are revealed, and whoever has the highest Poker hand will get all the game pot. If there is a tie, the game pot is equally divided between the winners.

Note: Vinagames uses limit (instead of no-limit) betting. The server only allows at most 4 raises in each round. The raise amount in the first 2 rounds is one bet, and the raise amount for the last 2 rounds are twice the bet. The first player of each round is selected as the person who has the highest potential poker hand from an observer's point of view (i.e. with no information about the hidden card).

Sets and values

A Hongkong poker set contains from 2 to 5 cards. They belong to one of the following types, in the order of decreasing values. The set is very similar to Chinese Poker or Paigow.

1. Straight Flush: 5 cards of the same suit forming a consecutive sequence

2. Quadruple: set containing 4 cards of the same rank

3. Full House: 3 cards of the same rank, and 2 remaining cards also of the same different rank.

4. Flush: 5 cards of the same suit.

5. Straight: 5 cards forming a consecutive sequence

6. Triple: set containing 3 cards of the same rank

7. Two Pairs: set containing 2 pairs of cards of the same rank

8. Pair: set containing a pair of cards with the same rank

9. High card: all cards have different rank

When comparing 2 cards, and when determining if a set is a consecutive sequence, only the ranks of the cards count. The order of the card rank in increasing order is 8 9 10 J Q K A.

When 2 “Xito” sets are compared, their types are compared first. A set with a better type is better. If the type of the two sets is the same, the cards making up the sets are compared in lexicographic order, first, those determine the set type, then the extra cards.

Edited November 6, 2020 by Cevineleven

[Andrewluis]

Thanks for the post, I would like to try playing Hong Kong poker as I played all my life Texas Holdem poker and never heard of the poker you are talking about but would like to try playing it.

[Vitarion]

Well, I played it a couple of times. It was cool though I still don't understand its rules completely

[RPreston007]

Can explained more detailed all the rules. Please!

[Waniciala]

Thanks for the infromation. I will try to play.

[lawrencemaheryse]

I have been playing at Hongkong Poker for a long time. Always stick to the strategy of the game. Also always count the cards in the deck. If you learn to play it is quite an interesting game.