Hak Ga Pai
Scoring for Hakka Luk Fu Playing Cards

Hak Ga Luk Fu Pai

Scoring System

Basically the number of winning cards has to be six or more. For six, one point. Seven, two points and so forth. If there are any red cards then this is an added bonus for each red. The table below shows all the possible winning cards types.

Number
of
cards
winning
Score by Number of Red cards
score = number of cards winning + number of bonus reds
012345678
6
luk fu
1234567--
7
tid fu
23456789-
8
bad fu
34567891011
9
giu fu
456789101112
10
sip fu
5678910111213
11
sip yid fu
67891011121314
12
sip ngi fu
789101112131430#
5
ung fu ha san
---6*-----
Special
cases
#All 8 reds possible therefore plus all
12 cards therefore double the score of 15
*Ung Fu Ha San means Five Tigers Descending the Mountain
1 Sip, 1 Gon, 1Sop, 1Ten, Leeten = 3 points
includes 3 reds bonus hence 3+3=6

Special Cases # and *

There is only two special cases that are worthy of discussion here. The case when

Tsuk Mung - Why it pays not to play!

In all the rules so far we have found out that the player at North, who is doing Tsuk Mung ( Tsuk Mung = Holding the Dream ) (literally holding the dream) gets given a card at the dealing stage of the game. When the game is over, North reveals the card that it has been holding. If it matches numerically to any of the winning cards, North gets points according to how many same value cards have won twice over; once each for the two losing players (the losing players have to deduct the value from their total). Eg. If North holds a value 7 card, and there is one value 7 card within the winning hand, then North gets 1 point from each losing player, totaling 2 points. However, if there were three value 7 cards which won, North acquires twice 3 points or 6 points.

Red Cards.
When North holds a red, only cards matching the value of those in the winning hand can have points are awarded. So if North (Tsuk Mung) has a red value nine card, and there are two nines in the winning hand, then he acquires two points. However, if he holds the red 8 Sip card, though this is red, he can only get points for any value 8 cards that match. If North held a red card and there are no numerical value matches, then the Tsuk Mng person will not get any points.

No cards match!
No worries! Nothing to lose!

Why it DOES NOT pay to play!

And what of the players? Out of the three active players (remember North is Tsuk Mung so sits it out serenely) only one can be the winner. The other two players must deduct the amount of winning points from their own totals. Now, if the Tsuk Mung has hold of a match to any of the winning cards, the two loosing players must deduct the appropriate sum from their own total too! No quibbles! Its the rule of the game! Play continues set after set, until all agree on when to stop. At the end of play, the winner is the winner with the most points. Isn' that nearly always the case???

I said Tsoh, but I lost the game...

Bad luck, you end losing double the points while the other loser does not have to fork out. This is called Bao Su (Bao Pai = Enveloped by double point loss when said Tsoh), i.e. if you lost after saying Tsoh, then if the winner had eight winning cards three of which were red, and the Tsuk Mung held a card which matches numerically with one of the winning cards, then you are are liable to pay the winner the due 6 points, plus you have to pay for the other losing player to the winner - another 6 points, and one point is due for the Tsuk Mung from you, and you have to pay the other losing player's point too, to the Tsuk mung - another 1 point, making a heavy loss of 14 points for you. Remember - only say Tsoh if you have a good chance of winning. For the other loser, he will have nothing to pay because you opened up your mouth and said Tsoh!

Money! Money! Money!

When cash is involved, it can be quite an exciting game. When you've all agreed on the unit currency you want to use, each point is equivalent to this unit of currency. Instead of deducting points from the loosing player's score, the player pays the winner the equivalent amount of money to points. Also if the Tsuk Mung player matches a card, the looseing players must pay the Tsuk Mung his due. The winner in this case does not have to pay anyone! Big wins could be achieved, and similarly, losses can be rather heart breaking too. Remember, if you ever become the person who sits it out as the Tsuk Mung, don't fret, you can't lose, in fact, you can only win!

I said Tsoh, but no-one won the game anyway...

It is possible for all the 12 cards having been played, to have no-one with the requires minimal number of 6 winning cards. In this case, the game is assume drawn, called Da Foh ( Played unto a draw ) (meaning played unto a draw), or null. No payments are due by any player, even though they have had cards which have been won during the drawn game. The cards are gathered and dealt by the same dealer of the drawn game, and a brand new game is played. The person who last said Tsoh, may or may not do so again, depending on his newly dealt hand.


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This page was last updated on Friday 25th September 1998,
Last major change: Saturday 15 March 1997.

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