Big Two is originally a Chinese card game. It's also called Dai Di, which I think is Chinese for "Big Two." Big Two is very addictive and games can last late into the night, long after you've run out of cigarettes and the wine bottles are all empty! After long games, you can expect to win about 20-30 dollars or lose 5-10 dollars. Though there are several variants on the game, here are the rules we use.
Players: 4 players preferable, 3 players acceptable
Deck: Normal Western 52-card poker deck with jokers removed
Lowest card
Highest card
Card Order: The name Big Two derives from the fact that 2s have the highest face value. Other card values remain the same: 3s are lowest, Aces are just behind the 2s as highest.
All face values in order from lowest (on left) to highest (on right): 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A, 2
Suit Order: Ties between face values are determined by suit.
* Spades are the higest
* Hearts are higher than Clubs
* Clubs are higher than Diamonds
* Diamonds are lowest
For example, the 2 of Spades is higher than the 2 of Hearts.
Suits in order from lowest (on left) to highest (on right): D, C, H, S
Who Deals: Each player draws a card from a shuffled deck. The player with the highest card deals the first round. Other rounds are dealt by the winner of the previous round.
The Deal:
* Four Players: Deal 13 cards in turn to each of four players.
* Three Players: There are a couple of options for three players. Players should agree on one method for the whole game before commencing play.
o Deal 13 cards in turn to each of three players (and a dead hand), do not use or reveal remaining 13 cards in the dead hand.
o Deal 17 cards in turn to each of three players, do not use or reveal remaining one card
Who Starts Play:
* Four Players: Player holding the 3 of Diamonds (the lowest card in the deck) starts.
* Three Players: Player holding the lowest card dealt starts. This is determined by the dealer asking if anyone has 3 of Diamonds, if nobody has it, dealer asks for 3 of Clubs, and on until the player holding the lowest card dealt starts.
Lengh of Game: A Game of Big Two consists of any number of rounds. Players can decide the length of a game by playing for a certain number of hours, until any player passes a certain total number of points, or until everyone's tired. When players agree to stop from exhaustion, one more hand per player is played, rotating the deal to the next player regardless of who wins each remaining round. This prevents a winning player from suddenly declaring they want to stop play immediately and leave with the winnings without giving someone else a change to improve their point standing.
Play:
* New Game: The player who cut the higest card deals the first round.
* Subsequent Rounds: The player who won the previous round (by getting rid of all their cards first) deals.
* Opening Hand: The first hand played in each round must include the lowest card dealt (the 3 of Diamonds for four-player games). The opening hand can consist of 1, 2, 3, or 5 cards. The player lays their hand face up in the center of the table.
* Legal Hands:
o One card: Any card higher (by face value or suit) than the card on the table
The opening one-card hand
o Two cards: Any Pair higher than the Pair on the table (by face value or suit). When the face value of two pairs are equal, the pair with the spades card wins.
An opening Pair
o Three cards: Any Three of a Kind higher than the three of a kind on the table
An opening Three of a Kind
o Four cards: Illegal.
o Five cards: Any Poker hand (except two pair and three of a kind) higher (by poker rank, face value, or suit) than the Poker hand on the table.
An opening Poker hand (Flush, Queen of Diamonds high)
* Poker Hands: Five card hands consist of legal Poker hands except for two pair and three of a kind. Ties between Poker hands of the same type are broken by highest face value, then highest suit. Remember: 2s have the highest face value.
o Run (or Straight): Five cards in consecutive face value, regardless of suit. High card face value determines the winner. When the high card face values match, the suit determines the winner. Note that a 2 or Ace cannot be played as a low card in a straight.
The lowest Poker hand (any Run with 7 of Diamonds high)
o Two Pair (with a fifth card): Illegal.
o Three of a kind (with two other cards): Illegal.
o Flush: Five cards of the same suit, regardless of face value. Higher than a Run. High card face value determines the winner. When the high card face values match, the suit determines the winner.
A random Flush (King of Hearts high)
o Full House: Three of a Kind and a Pair. Face value of the three of a kind determines Full House value, regardless of suit or face value of the Pair. Higher than a Flush.
A random Full House (6s high)
o Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same face value, plus any fifth card. Five cards must be played. Higher than a Full House.
A random Four of a Kind (5s high)
o Straight Flush: Five cards of the same suit in consecutive face value. Higher than Four of a Kind. High card face value determines the winner. When the high card face values match, the suit determines the winner.
The highest Poker hand (Straight Flush, 2 of Spades high)
* Subsequent Hands: Play revolves to the left (clockwise). Subesquent hands must have the same number of cards as the first hand, and must be of a higher value (either numerically or by suit). Subsequent hands are played on top of the current hand. If a player can not (or does not wish to) play on the current hand on the table, they pass play to the left by saying "Pass" or rapping once on the table.
Once players pass all the way around to the last player to lay down a hand, the cards on the table are cleared to the side and turned over. Then the last player that played a hand starts anew with any hand of 1, 2, 3, or 5 cards. Play continues in this manner until a player plays all cards in their hand.
If during play, a player only has one card remaining, they must say "One card" when they play the hand that leaves them with one card. A player to the right of a player with only one card must play their higest hand, if they can play anything. Any player who is able to empty their hand by playing more than one card does not declare their number of cards before going out.
* Winning a Round: The first player to play all their cards wins the round.
Scoring:
* Scorekeeper: One trusted player is chosen to record scores for all rounds played, usually on a pad of paper. Player scores for each round are recorded and summed with that player's total score from previous rounds.
* Points: Each player starts the game with zero points. At the end of every round, each player counts up the number of cards remaining in their hand. (The winner will have zero.) Each card held counts as one point, regardless of face value or suit. There are penalties for holding too many points.
o Four Players: Players holding 7-11 cards must double their points (for 14-22 points). Players holding 12-13 cards must triple their points (for 36-39 points).
o Three Players: Players holding 11-15 cards must double their points (for 22-30 points). Players holding 16-17 cards must triple their points (for 48-51 points).
Winning the Game, and Payout: Big Two is a winner-take-all game. The player with the lowest total score at the end of a game is payed by all other players. The lowest score is subtracted from each higher score, then players pay the winner ten cents for each remaining point in their score.
Strategies: I make no claim to have the best (or even good) Big Two strategies, but here are a few basic suggestions.
* Sort your Hand: Depending on your playing style, you may want to sort your hand by face and suit value, or group cards by potential plays.
* Get the Opener: If you are dealt the 3 of Diamonds, you get to open the round. You have the luxury of pre-determining your card play for the almost whole round. Of course, being dealt the 3 of Diamonds is not guaranteed.
* Get Control: If you can win a hand, you get control of the table: you get to choose how many cards are in the hand you start next.
* Big 2: The more 2s you are dealt, the better. If you have the 2 of Spades, you are almost guaranteed to win at least one hand which means you control the number of cards played at the next hand.
* Little 2: The 2 of Diamonds is usually not worth keeping separately. Use it to make a high Flush if you can.
* Count 2s: Keep mental track of which 2s have been played. Your lowly 2 of Diamonds might be the higest 2 left unplayed!
* Dump the Trash: Try to get rid of low value hands first. But play your winning hands first if you're playing Cut Throat strategy.
* Get Under the Threshold: Make sure you don't get caught holding enough cards to double or triple your points for the hand. I call focusing on being consistently under the threshold the Slow and Steady strategy.
* Beware Greed: You may have a great Poker hand, but if you hold it too long and can't get control of the table, nobody may play five cards for you to slam it down on top of...
* Doubles are Death: Your opponents are likely to have lots and lots of doubles. Be wary about staring a doubles match, especially when your opponents still hold many cards.
* Poker Hand Early Bad: Be wary of opening the table to Poker hands early. Most Poker hands are easily beat.
* Poker Hand Late Good: The fewer cards your opponents have left, the less likely they are to have any Poker hand that can beat yours, even if it's a lowly Run. If you play your hands right, you can make new enemies with a five-card Big Ending.
* High and Low: If you have a low hand and a separate high hand that have the same number of cards, start with the low one. By the time it gets back around to you, you usually can still play your high one and win the hand. Do the opposite (start with winning high hands, hold low hand for when you win this hand) if you're trying to play Cut Throat strategy.
* Big Ending: Try to go out by playing a hand with more than one card. Your opponents won't be ready for it yet, and you may catch some with more than seven cards.
* Cut Throat: If you think you can get rid of all your cards and catch someone holding more cards than the point doubling threshold, by all means go for it!
* Get Out of the Way: If you sense an opponent is playing Cut Throat, make sure you're under the doubling threshold, then let them cut throats (or even help them cut throats by playing high hands!) Don't give other opponents an easy way out (by your starting doubles or low Poker hands). If you ultimately win the game but not this particular hand, they just created more money for you from this round.
* Break the Rules: (I don't mean cheat.) Sometimes you have such a great set of cards, you have to ignore most of these strategies to win. Go for it when you think you have that rare chance, but don't try it too often or with mediocre cards.
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Big Two Poker Strategy
25-03-2009, 18:08
