Tiến lên


Tiến lên, also known as Vietnamese cards, Thirteen, Poison, Killer 13, "'Bomb"', is a Vietnamese shedding-type card game devised in Southern China and Vietnam. It is similar to Zheng Shangyou, which uses a specially printed deck of cards, Big Two, and other "climbing" card games popular in many parts of Asia. Tien len, considered the national card game of Vietnam, is a game intended and best for four players.

Rules

Note: From here on out, this article has no official sources or references to back up anything that has been written. This game has evolved a lot and so many house rules have been added to the game throughout many generations, that it might no longer be the original. If you have conflicting rules with another player, chances are it might not be an official rule. Please use your own logic to determine.

Cards

A standard deck of fifty-two playing cards is used. The ranking of the cards from highest to lowest is:2 A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3. You can use straights accordingly 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K OR 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K
The cards are also ranked based on their suits. The ranking from highest to lowest is: Hearts ♥, Diamonds ♦, Clubs ♣, Spades ♠.
Therefore, the 2♥ is the highest single card in the game, because the 2 is the highest-ranking card and hearts is the highest-ranking suit. Similarly, the 3♠ is the lowest single card in the game.
The card number takes precedence over the suit, so the 10♠ is higher than the 9♥.
The objective of the game is to be the first to get rid of all of your cards by playing various combinations.

Dealing

A standard deck of 52 playing cards is used, is dealt perfectly evenly between four players. When playing with 2 to 3 players, deal 13 cards to each player. The remaining cards will be unused.

Standard combinations

A sequence can only be beaten by a higher sequence. In order to defeat a sequence, the higher sequence can be a mix of any suits, as long as rank of the highest card is higher. If, a person plays 6♥ 7♥ 8♠, that straight can only be defeated by any 3 card straight like 6♠ 7♦ 8♣, or higher. If a person extends the sequence, it must be defeated by matching the number of cards played, only in a higher sequence.

Discussion of Twos and Bombs

If 2s are played in combinations, beginning with a single pair, the double sequence or four-of-a-kind must be extended or enhanced to be able to defeat those quantity of 2s: Playing pairs of a card makes that card and the combination more powerful. By adding on more 2s to the pile, the play has gotten more powerful. As a result, a regular double sequence is too weak to defeat it, like any single 2. It can be defeated by a regular double sequence such as 10♠ 10♣ J♠ J♣ Q♠ Q♣ or a regular four-of-a-kind such as 3♥ 3♠ 3♦ 3♣. However, if two 2s are played, then a regular double sequence is not strong enough to beat it. This is because the power of a 2 has been doubled. The sequence must be extended or enhanced in order to defeat more than a single 2. You can play instant 2 killers out of turn.
Notice that an extended double sequence has at minimum 4 doubles in consecutive order, rather than a maximum of 3 like a regular sequence. By extending the double sequence, the play has therefore gotten more powerful than a regular double sequence, and as a result is now able to defeat two 2s. The same concept applies to more than two 2s. The more 2s, the more extension needs to be done on a double sequence.
Four-of-a-kinds are almost impossible to extend. Having all four of three numbers in sequential order will just about never happen without the use of trading. However, just in case a player gets extremely lucky, extended four-of-a-kinds have a different property than the extended double sequence. An extended four-of-a-kind such as 8♥ 8♦ 8♠ 8♣ : 9♣ 9♥ 9♦ 9♠ ||3♥ 3♠ 3♦ 3♣ : 4♠ 4♥ 4♣ 4♦ : 5♦ 5♣ 5♥ 5♠ in some versions of the game can defeat as many as four 2s in just one extension. However, the four-of-a-kind extension is so rare, there has never been a rule to extend it. Therefore, only the players can decide just what are the guidelines to it, and how many 2s can be defeated by extending it.
There are dealt hand combinations that can guarantee a player a very rare instant win:
Important to note: Instant wins are granted because if your hand of cards are played out, you have an extremely high chance of winning regardless. For example: Having Four 2s and continually playing singles almost guarantees 4 free shots.
Important to note: Instant wins are granted because if your hand of cards are played out, you have an extremely high chance of winning regardless. For example: Having 12 or 13 cards of the same color, does not give you a better chance of victory if it was played out. In fact having 13 black cards is disadvantageous, so you could make a new house rule called Auto Lose.
As explained earlier in the article, four 2s are simply all the twos together. This is the most powerful set of cards to have. As a result, the player will be too powerful to continue playing. Therefore, they have the choice of gaining an instant win. Six pairs is as it sounds: having six doubles. This means that if a player holds 13 cards, 12 of those cards must form doubles in order to gain an instant win. The last instant win occasion, ultimate dragon, is the most difficult to attain. The ultimate dragon must contain two things in order for the player to receive an automatic victory: the 3♠, and the A♥. These two cards are essential in an ultimate dragon, because the three of spades commences the game, and the player can run the sequence straight to the ace of hearts. This makes the entire dragon completely unstoppable, therefore leaving the player with one remaining card, resulting in a victory.
In most games, only "Four 2s" is played as an instant win. And in a variation of it, the player with that four 2s will no long be a winner. He would like to tell another players and they will have the game restarted.

Play

If x is the bet:
-Variation rules: Cutting or bombing another cutup results in double the points the other player received for his/her cut up before being cut by yours.

Variations

House rules

There are many variations and house rules that are agreed upon before playing. The names tien len, thirteen, VC, etc., are generally used interchangeably and do not necessarily imply any particular set of rules. Some combinations of rules would by their nature be conflicting, so one or the other must be chosen. Some variations from the above rules are:
In Double Deck 13, two decks are used, one with a red back, one blue. This game requires 8 players, and the same rules are followed as regular thirteen with the following exceptions:
In Hawaii, each player is dealt 13 cards, regardless of the total number of players. Some of the basic rules include:
There are some less common variations as well:
In a version of 13 played by students at Akita International University, the rules for dealing and beginning a game are the same. However some of the basic rules are different:
In this version, played in pubs around Amsterdam, many of the rules are the same, except one big variation exists. Both red 3s are used as ultimate trumps. While the 2s still exist as the highest single cards, the red 3s can be played on any combination. 3♥ cannot be beaten by anything, while 3♦ can only be beaten by 3♥. The only exception to this is a chop that has been played on a single two. Red 3s cannot beat chops, only higher chops can beat chops.
This variation is referred to as Viet Cong.
The winner of the hand determines whether the cards in the next game are cleared after each round or at the end of the game. During the very first game the player with the 3♠ determines the card clearing procedure for that game.

Draw Pile Thirteen (San Jose Style)

Draw Pile Thirteen does not change basic rules of play.
Pro Play Thirteen does not change the dealing or basic rules of play. The variations generally expand the combinations available to play:
Level 4
1Quad 2s
2QQQ, KKK, AAA, 222
Level 3
3TT, JJ, QQ, KK, AA, 22
43 Quads†
5Four-triple straight of triples
6KKK, AAA, 222
7Six-pair straight of pairs
8JJ, QQ, KK, AA, 22
9Five-pair straight of pairs
10QQ, KK, AA, 22
Level 2
11Three-triple straight of triples
122 Quads†
13Four-pair straight of pairs
14KK, AA, 22
Level 1
15Quadruples
16Three-pair straight of pairs

† Note multiple quads can be played as one bomb and do not have to be consecutive, for example: 4444 + 9999 can be played together
Players play for 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th. No extra points for holding 2's or having extra cards unless you didn't get in as stated below in the 'Got to Get In' rule. First place gets 2 points, 2nd gets 1 point, 3rd gets minus 1 point & 4th gets minus 2 points. Variations of the points can be increased as long as it's still a zero-sum game. One extra point is given to someone who bombs someone's two. Points compound using the hierarchy of bombs listed above.
Guaransheeds are a special case in which a player believes he or she can guarantee a first place win. If the Guaransheeding player is successful, the Guaransheeding player will receive an additional point from each player in the game. If unsuccessful, the Guaransheeding player must give 2 point to each player in the game. A Guaransheed must be approved by all players before play begins.
Blind Guaransheeds are similar to Guaransheeds except the Guaransheeding player has not seen his or her hand before guaranteeing the victory. If the Blind Guaransheeding player is successful, that player will receive two additional points from each player in the game. Otherwise the Guaransheeding player must give two points to each player in the game.
Got to Get In: If a player goes out and any of the players has not yet played a card, each player who has not played forfeits two points to the player who is going out.
White - out: If a player does not hit a single card before another player finishes, they are automatically eliminate from the game. For scoring, they will owe x2 the "set amount" for a normal loss.
Cambodian Switcheroo: When a player suggest you pass, insinuating he will go low or hit a card you like, sometimes even by showing you the card. Only to switch it at the last moment for another.

Casual rules

Popular in south-central USA, this rule set aims to be simpler for players just starting. Standard rules apply, as well as: