Bohemia Bunny

A Card Game Primer: Big 2

July 31st, 2008 by lynnylchan under Leisure

I didn’t learn this game until I was in university. In various Chinese dialects, it’s referred to as “tai di” or some variant thereof. The English translation of this name is Big 2, hence the title.

This is just a picture of all the combos I’ve heard of, in what has been referred to as “Chinese Poker”. Some combinations may look similar, and I’ve used the poker names, but these are for Tai Di, not Poker. I put it together as a visual guide for students who want to join their classmates but don’t know how to play. We play for boasting rights, and it’s a great way to spice up the atmosphere.

I’ve arranged them according to hand values, because I too have a tendency to forget that my flush, while impressive, cannot beat my opponent’s full house.

The Royal Flush cards came from a different deck, because I’d used up the face cards (what we colloquially call “picture” cards) in making the other combos. Royal Flush should be on top, but given its rare appearance, I slotted it at the side instead.