Pusoy is a four-player Filipino card game played with a standard 52-card deck. Each player receives 13 cards and splits them into three hands: a back hand of five cards, a middle hand of five cards, and a front hand of three cards. You win by beating more of your opponents’ corresponding hands than they beat yours.

What Pusoy is, and what it is not

Pusoy is the Philippine name for the 13-card partition game that Pagat documents as Chinese Poker. Four players play for themselves with one standard deck and no jokers. There is no betting round and no shared board; each player works only with their own 13 cards.

The name is often confused with Pusoy Dos, which is Big Two, a climbing game where players take turns beating the previous play. Pusoy is a different game: everyone sets three hands at the same time, then all three hands are compared.

The deal

Shuffle and deal the whole deck, one card at a time, so each of the four players has 13 cards. There is no turn order and no betting round: each player picks up their cards and sets them in private.

Setting the three hands

Divide the 13 cards into a back hand of five, a middle hand of five, and a front hand of three.

The back hand must rank strictly higher than the middle hand, and the middle hand strictly higher than the front hand. A set that breaks this order is a foul: it cannot be played as set. This is the rule beginners miss most often, because a strong five-card hand placed in the middle forces the back hand to be even stronger.

Ranking is standard poker ranking, from 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.

The front hand has only three cards, so only three hand types count there: three of a kind, one pair, or high card. A three-card straight or a three-card flush has no value in Pusoy and does not beat high card.

Comparing hands: a worked example

At showdown every player exposes all three hands. Each pair of players compares front with front, middle with middle, and back with back.

Ana sets her 13 cards like this:

  • Back: A♠ A♥ A♦ K♣ K♦, aces full of kings.
  • Middle: 9♠ 9♥ 9♦ 5♣ 4♣, three nines.
  • Front: J♠ J♥ 3♦, a pair of jacks.

Ben sets his 13 cards like this:

  • Back: Q♣ Q♦ Q♥ J♣ J♦, queens full of jacks.
  • Middle: 8♠ 8♥ 8♦ A♣ 2♣, three eights.
  • Front: 7♠ 7♥ 4♦, a pair of sevens.

Neither player repeats a card. Ana wins the back comparison because aces full beat queens full. She wins the middle because three nines beat three eights. She wins the front because a pair of jacks beats a pair of sevens. Against Ben, Ana wins all three comparisons.

How the deal is scored

Use one unit per hand. Against each opponent, you win 1 unit for every corresponding hand you beat and lose 1 unit for every hand that beats you. A tie pays nothing. Each player compares with the other three players, then adds the results.

In the example, Ana beats Ben on all three hands, so Ana wins 3 units from Ben and Ben loses 3. The player with the highest net total after all comparisons wins the deal.

Some groups agree extra payments for strong hands or special 13-card hands before the deal. Those extras change the score, so agree on them first; this page uses only the simple unit payment above.

Three common mistakes

  1. Setting hands out of order. The back hand must beat the middle, and the middle must beat the front.
  2. Counting a three-card straight or flush in the front hand. Only three of a kind, a pair, or high card count there.
  3. Assuming the single best hand wins the deal. Payment is per corresponding hand against every opponent, so one huge hand can still lose the deal if the other two hands lose.

FAQ

Is Pusoy the same as Pusoy Dos?

No. Pusoy Dos is Big Two, a climbing game. Pusoy is the 13-card game where each player sets a back hand, a middle hand, and a front hand.

Can a straight or flush go in the front hand?

A three-card straight or flush has no value in the front hand. Only three of a kind, a pair, or high card count.

What happens if my three hands are out of order?

The set is a foul and cannot be played as set. The back hand must rank strictly higher than the middle hand, and the middle strictly higher than the front.

How do I know who wins?

Compare each corresponding hand against every opponent. Add 1 unit for each win, subtract 1 for each loss, and ignore ties. The highest net total wins the deal.

Pusoy borrows the standard five-card ranking; our poker hand rankings page lists the ten hands and explains how Hold’em picks the best five of seven.

Sources

Educational content. 18+ only.