Zha Jin Hua (Allbet): which three-card hand beats which

Zha Jin Hua (炸金花, "fried golden flower") is China's classic three-card game. On Allbet it is turned into a live dealer table: the dealer deals three cards to Dragon (龙) and three to Phoenix (凤), and you bet on which hand is stronger. Nobody bluffs and nobody folds. Everything depends on knowing the ranking.

The ranking line on the felt

Allbet prints it along the bottom edge of the table, left to right, strongest first:

豹子 > 同花顺 > 同花 > 顺子 > 对子 > 散牌

1. 豹子, "leopard": three of a kind, such as three 7s.
2. 同花顺, straight flush: three cards in a row, same suit.
3. 同花, flush: three cards of one suit, not in a row. Called 金花, the "golden flower" of the name, in home games.
4. 顺子, straight: three in a row, mixed suits.
5. 对子, pair: two of the same rank plus one odd card.
6. 散牌, high card: nothing; the highest single card counts.

The trap is rows 3 and 4. Western Three Card Poker puts the straight above the flush; Zha Jin Hua keeps the traditional Chinese order, flush first.

Two rounds from the table

In the first captured round the result panel reads 龙 散牌 8 against 对子 A 凤: Dragon has nothing better than an 8, Phoenix has a pair of aces, and pink text under the panel says 凤赢, Phoenix wins. That is a type win: a pair beats high card, full stop.

The second round is closer. Both sides hold a pair, 对子 10 for Dragon and 对子 A for Phoenix. Same type, so the rank of the pair decides it, and aces are high. Phoenix again.

How the side boxes follow the ranking

The middle of the felt turns the ranking into bets. 豹子 pays 1:120 and 同花顺 1:100, the two rarest hands. 同花 pays 1:8 and 顺子 appears to read 1:7. The long top bar, 对8以上 at 1:2, is a bet that a pair of 8s or better shows up. The two ends of the table are the main bets, Dragon and Phoenix at 1:0.95 each.

Before you bet

The bottom right tally in one shot reads 24 Dragon wins, 26 Phoenix and 13 pair-8-plus results. Treat that as history, not a hint. How to read the rest of the screen is on the Zha Jin Hua betting screen page; the studio's other tables are under Allbet. To sit at the table, ask for an account with Allbet live games.