Pok Deng

Thailand’s banking game. Two or three cards, only the last digit counts, and suits and pairs multiply what you win. Eight or nine straight off is Pok. 2–8 players.

Also known as Pok Kao.

Who To Play With

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How to play Pok Deng

  1. 1Thailand’s favorite banking game, played with chips only — never real money. Everyone starts with 1,000 chips.
  2. 2One player holds the bank each hand, and the bank moves one seat on after every hand. Everyone else bets 10–100 chips against the bank, in steps of 10.
  3. 3Everyone gets two cards face down, and only you see yours. Aces count 1, two to nine their number, and tens and court cards nothing. Only the last digit of the total counts, so 7 and 8 make 5. The best is 9.
  4. 4Eight or nine in your first two cards is Pok. If the banker has Pok, everyone shows straight away. If you have Pok, you show it and you're done. Pok 9 beats Pok 8, and Pok beats every other hand.
  5. 5Otherwise, in turn, take one more card face down or stand on two. The banker goes last, seeing how many cards everyone holds, and may take one more card too. Then everyone shows.
  6. 6A few three-card hands beat any total: three of a kind is best, then a straight flush, then a straight (aces low only), then three court cards.
  7. 7Deng multiplies what a hand wins or loses: a pair or two cards of one suit ×2, three cards of one suit ×3, a straight or three court cards ×3, and three of a kind or a straight flush ×5.
  8. 8The higher hand wins the bet times the winner's deng; equal hands are a tie and the bet comes back. The bank pays in turn order for as long as it has chips, and a player who can't cover a loss pays what they have.
  9. 9Everyone holds the bank twice (three times with two or three players). Most chips at the end wins; anyone who can’t cover 10 chips is out.

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