Big 2 Poker
Poker is my favorite card game to play at youwager.lv. It takes strategy and skill, rather than simply chance or luck. There are many variations of this fantastic game, but my favorite poker variation is called Big 2.
Big 2 poker is part of a family of card games called “climbing games”.
When talking about climbing games, each player must play a higher card (or combination of cards) than the previous player. A player who can’t or doesn’t want to beat the previous play can choose to pass. This goes on for as many rounds as necessary until someone makes a play that’s impossible to beat. That player wins the "trick" and it will lead to another one. Since players can pass, their cards are not used at an equal rate and some players will run out of cards before others.
The object of Big 2 poker is to be the first player to get rid of all of their cards, by playing them to the table. Cards can be played separately or in certain combinations. If you’re not able to be first to play all of your cards, then your objective is to have as few cards as possible when another player finishes.
Big 2 poker is a poker game originated in East Asia, and it is very popular in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau.
It is usually played with 2 and up to 4 players using a standard 52-card deck. Each player is dealt 13 cards and the highest suit is spades, followed by hearts, clubs and diamonds.
As you could probably guess from the name of the game, Big 2 poker indicates, twos rank high. The ranking of the rest of the cards is your usual: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3. The cards are played as singles or in groups of two, three, or five cards, in combinations that resemble your beloved, classic poker hands.
The number of cards to be played is configured by the leading card to a trick; the tricks must contain the same number of cards. The cards are dealt out separately and in a counter-clockwise manner around the table, retaining an equal number of cards for each player. Leftover cards (if there aren’t 4 players present) are given to the player holding the 3 of diamonds (which is the lowest possible card.) If none of the players have the card, the leftover cards are given to the person holding the next lowest card.
Other names for Big 2 poker include Big Two, Big Deuce or Deuces are the names commonly used mainly in the United States and Australia. Da Lao Er (大老二) is Mandarin Chinese and literally means "big old two”. Choh Dai Di or simply Dai Di (鋤大地 or more often as 鋤大D). In Cantonese, "di2" is a slang term for the two in card games. Bu Bu Gao Sheng (步步高升) ("step by step rise higher") is another name used for Big 2 poker game in Taiwan. Pusoy Dos is the usual name used in the Philippines.
Big 2 poker begins when the player holding the lowest ranked card discards a card set that includes the lowest ranked card. They can play it singly or as part of a combination. Then the play proceeds counter-clockwise; each player has to play a higher card or combination set than the one before with the same number of cards, or pass, declaring that they don’t want to play or don’t hold the necessary cards to make a play possible.
This goes on until the rest of the players pass. After that, the remaining player starts a new round with any card set; each pass is independent and does not prevent another player from playing subsequent hands in the same round. The game will move forward until one player finishes discarding all his cards.
Always take into account that the ranks and suits in Big 2 poker are ordered. In descending order, the cards are ranked 2 A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3. The s in descending order, suits go , making 3 of diamonds the lowest card. Card rank supersedes suit.
There are four types of legal play – playable combinations – in Big 2 poker and these are: single cards, pairs, triples and five card groups.
Single cards
These cards rank from two (high) down to three (low), and
between cards of the same rank a higher suit beats a lower suit.
Pairs
A pair of equal ranked cards - twos are highest and threes
are lowest. Any higher ranked pair beats one with lower ranks.
Between equal ranked pairs, the one containing the highest suit is
better.
Triples
Three equal ranked cards - three twos are highest, then aces,
kings, and so on, down to three threes, which is the lowest triple.
Five card groups
These are my persona favorite types of Big 2 poker
combinations. There five types of five-card combinations. In
ascending order they are: straight, flush, full house, four of a
kind, straight flush.
A straight consists of five cards of consecutive rank with mixed suits. A straight with higher ranks beats a lower one, regardless of the suits of the cards. When the ranks are the same, the suit of the top card determines which is higher.
A Ffush consists of any five cards of the same suit. A flush in a higher suit beats a flush in a lower suit, regardless of the ranks of the cards. Between two flushes in the same suit, the one with the higher top card is better.
A Full House consists of three cards of one rank and two of another rank; between two full houses, the one whose triple is of higher rank is better.
Four of a kind (or quads) consist of all four cards of one rank, plus any fifth card. The fifth card must be included, four equal cards by themselves are not a playable combination. Between two fours of a kind, the rank of the four cards determines which is higher.
A straight flush consists of five consecutive cards of the same suit, twos ranking below threes and aces ranking high or low, as in straights. The rank of the highest card determines which of two straight flushes is higher and between two equal ranked straight flushes, the one in the higher suit is better.
When playing Big 2 poker you always want to remember that a combination can only be beaten by a better combination with the same number of cards. This means that a single card can only be beaten by a single card, a pair by a better pair and a triple by a better triple.
For instance, you can’t use a triple to beat a pair or a straight to beat a triple. But, a five card group can be beaten by a five card group of a stronger type (any flush beats any straight, any full house beats any straight or flush, any four of a kind plus an odd card beats any straight, flush or full house and any straight flush beats all of the other type of five card group.)
While Big 2 poker’s playable combinations are very much like poker hands, there are important differences you must take note of:
- There is no "two pair" combination
- Even though a four of a kind requires a fifth card to complete the combination, a triple cannot be accompanied by extra cards (unless of course these make it into quads or a full house).
- When you compare flushes in Big 2 poker, the ranks of the 5 cards are compared one by one. If all 5 ranks are the same, the stronger suit wins.
Let's take a look at a classic Big 2 poker example:
If you holds the three of diamonds you must begin the game and must also play this card, either by itself or as part of a playable combination. The person to your right plays next, and so on round the table. When your turn come again you must either pass (play no cards) or beat the previous play by playing a higher combination of the same number of cards. All plays are made by placing the cards face up in the centre of the table. This goes on for several rounds if necessary, until all but one of the players pass in succession, no one being able or wanting to beat the last play. When this happens, the pile of played cards is set aside face down (or could very well be that all the played cards are set aside face-up in a pile on the table). The player who played highest (all the others players at the table having passed) begins again by playing any card or legal combination of cards.
Keep note that you don’t need to beat a card or set of cards just because you can. That’s one of the things I love about this game. You can always choose to pass and keep your high cards for a better chance. Passing does not keep you from playing when your turn comes round again.
This actually happened to me once: At a late stage in a game, my friend Jack started with a 4, and Julian beat it with a jack, I passed, Robert played an ace, Jack and Julian passed. I suspected that Robert could be able to win by playing all of his remaining cards as a group if I passed, so by then I played my club 2, which I decided to hold back before.
And hey, another important detail is that everyone at the table is allowed to know how many cards the other players have in their hands at any time. So if you’re asked you must answer honestly.
The first player who’s able to play all the cards in their hand comes out as a winner. As soon as this happens, the play ends and the hand is scored.
How does scoring work in Big 2 poker? Let me tell you:
The players other than the winner score penalty points for the cards remaining in their hands. Meaning, you do not get a chance to get rid of cards by beating the final card(s) played by the winner. The penalty is one point per card in your hand if you have 9 cards or fewer, two points per card if you have 10, 11 or 12 cards, and three points per card if you happen to have all 13 of your cards left at the end, because you decided to never play any cards at all. Of course, the winner gets no penalty points for the hand for having no cards.
Of course there are many other Big 2 poker variations, with more or less numbers or cards dealt, scoring variations, order of suits and so on. But if you’re looking to venture into the Big 2 poker world and you haven’t done in the past, I suggest you try your luck by playing at youwager.lv where you’ll find your best odds and a fun and entertaining time all around! May your Big 2 poker adventure begin!