How to Play Pusoy: Rules & Hand Rankings

The setup

Up to four players each receive 13 cards. You secretly arrange them into three hands:

• Back (bottom): 5 cards — must be your strongest.
• Middle: 5 cards.
• Front (top): 3 cards — must be your weakest.

If your back isn't stronger than your middle, or your middle isn't stronger than your front, your hand is fouled and loses automatically.

Hand rankings (high to low)

1. Straight flush
2. Four of a kind
3. Full house
4. Flush
5. Straight
6. Three of a kind
7. Two pair
8. One pair
9. High card

The 3-card front hand can only make three of a kind, a pair, or high card.

Scoring

Each player's back, middle, and front are compared to every other player's matching hand. Win a hand = +1, lose = −1. Many tables add bonuses for sweeping all three hands or for special hands. Rules vary by platform, so read the table info first.

Beginner tips

• Build your back hand first, then the middle, then the front.
• Never risk a foul to make a fancy front hand.
• A balanced arrangement often beats one monster hand plus two weak ones.

FAQ

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