Shisan Shui - Chinese Poker Thirteen
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About this game
Shisan Shui โ thirteen waters โ is the compare game Fujian tables play over midnight tea and Southeast Asian parlors play all afternoon: thirteen cards arranged into a three-card front, a five-card middle and a five-card back, back strongest. Each lane is a separate duel against every rival, worth one point apiece, and sweeping a rival on all three lanes doubles the haul. The auto-arranger reads your hand in milliseconds, or tap any two cards to swap them and outsmart the machine: bury a sneaky full house in the back, tuck a lone ace pair up front. Three computer rivals arrange by strength and never leak a lane. Every hand settles in seconds, points stack across four hands, and your best total is saved on your device. Landscape layout, crisp card faces, free with no download.
How to play
Tap any two cards to swap them, or press Auto for the strongest arrangement, then Showdown. Back must beat middle, middle must beat front. Each lane won scores one point per rival; three-for-three doubles.
Tips & Tricks
- Front lane takes a pair or trips: a big pair up front often beats a weaker back.
- Straights and flushes belong in the back lane โ they are hard to beat twice.
- Watch for the sweep: breaking one lane to guarantee two is sometimes the whole game.
- An ace pair in front with trips in the middle and a flush in back is a textbook sweep setup.
Frequently asked questions
What is the hand order?
Five-card lanes rank high card, pair, two pairs, trips, straight, flush, full house, quads, straight flush. The front lane holds three cards: high card, pair or trips. A-2-3-4-5 counts as the lowest straight.
How does scoring work?
Each lane won is one point against that rival, lost lanes minus one. Winning all three lanes against a rival is a sweep and doubles to six points. Your round total is the sum against all three rivals, times ten.
What if my lanes are out of order?
The auto-arranger always keeps back greater than or equal to middle greater than or equal to front. If you swap manually into an invalid order, the hand still plays โ it is just easier to beat.
