Poker hand rankings for OFC — including three-card hands
The five-card rankings are the ones you already know. The part that trips people up in Open Face Chinese poker is the top row: three cards, no straights, no flushes, and a ranking table of its own.
Last reviewed 8 September 2026
Five-card hands (middle and bottom rows)
Standard poker order, strongest first. These apply to the middle and bottom rows.
Three-card hands (top row)
The top row holds three cards, and that changes the table completely. Straights and flushes don't exist in a three-card hand — you can't make five of anything with three cards — so there are exactly three possible hands:
A♠ K♠ Q♠ in the top row is ace-high. Not a flush, not a straight, not anything — three high cards. It beats K-Q-J and loses to a pair of deuces.
That's also why the top row is where royalties are strangest: a pair of sixes pays 1 point and a pair of aces pays 9, because the pair's rank is genuinely all the information there is. The full royalty scale by rank is on the royalties page.
How ties are broken
- Same category: compare the ranks that define the hand. Trip nines beat trip fives; kings-up two pair beats queens-up.
- Then kickers, highest first. A-A-K-7-3 beats A-A-K-6-5 because the third card is higher.
- Suits never break a tie. Two identical rows tie, and a tied row scores nothing for either player — it also blocks a scoop, since you need to win all three.
- The wheel is the lowest straight. A-2-3-4-5 is a straight and it loses to 2-3-4-5-6. The ace plays high or low, never both: Q-K-A-2-3 isn't a straight.
Rankings vs royalties: two different tables
Worth being explicit about, because it confuses people. Rankings decide who wins a row. Royalties decide how many bonus points the hand pays. They don't match up.
A flush ranks above a straight in both rows, but on the bottom a flush pays 4 and a straight pays 2, while in the middle the same hands pay 8 and 4. Three of a kind pays 2 in the middle and nothing at all on the bottom, despite being identically strong in both.
So you'll routinely choose a lower-ranked hand because it pays better where you can put it. That tension between "what wins the row" and "what pays" is most of OFC strategy.
Questions people actually ask
How are three-card hands ranked in Chinese poker?
Only three hands exist in a three-card row: three of a kind (highest), one pair, and high card. Straights and flushes do not count in a three-card hand, so three suited cards in sequence are just three high cards.
Does a flush count in the top row of OFC?
No. The top row is three cards and the only recognised hands are trips, a pair and high card. Three cards of the same suit are worth nothing there, which is a mistake beginners make in their first few hands.
Is an ace low in a straight?
It can be. A-2-3-4-5 (the wheel) is a legal straight and it is the lowest one — A-2-3-4-5 loses to 2-3-4-5-6. The ace can play high or low in a straight but not both at once, so Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
Which is higher, a flush or a full house?
A full house beats a flush. The order from the top is: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card.
Do suits break ties in Chinese poker?
No. Suits have no ranking value. If two rows are identical in rank and kickers, the row is a tie and neither player scores the point for it.
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