Pusoy Dos is probably the most popular card game among Filipinos. It is known by many names including chikicha and sikitcha. Another tongue-in-cheek name for the game is Filipino poker, though the game is really a shedding game that borrows poker hands.

A familiarity with poker hands really helps with pusoy dos. You will need the standard 52-card, French-suited deck for this game. 

RANK AND SUIT ORDER

Pusoy dos has an unusual rank order with deuces (2s) high. Therefore the ranks run from 3 being the lowest, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, and finally Deuce as the highest. The importance of the Deuce is captured in the name, where dos means two in Spanish. 

Furthermore, pusoy dos also has an order to the suits. From lowest to highest, the suit order is clubs ♣, spades ♠, hearts ♥ and diamonds ♦.

Take note that suits are only considered for comparing cards of equal rank, i.e., a card with a higher rank will always be higher, regardless of the suit.

Taken together, the 3♣ is the lowest card in the deck and the 2♦ is the highest.

BAHAYS

There are four categories of bahays in pusoy dos: one-card, two-card, three-card, and five card bahays. Note that unlike poker, there is no two pair bahay.

Single

A single is a single card, with 3♣ being the lowest card and the 2♦ being the highest.

Pair

A pair consists of two cards with matching ranks. A higher ranked pair will beat out a lower. And in the case of matching ranks, the pair with the diamonds will beat out the other pair. For example, a pair of fours with the 4♣ and 4♦ will beat another pair of fours with the 4♠ and 4♥.

Three-of-a-Kind

A three-of–kind consists of three cards with matching ranks. Similarly, a higher ranked three-of-a-kind beats out a lower.

Five-Card Bahays

The five-card bahays correspond to poker hands, with the same hierarchy. Pair and three-of-a-kind may not be used as five-card bahays.

Straight

A straight is a five-card sequence. Straights are compared with each other based on their high cards. Remember that deuces are high, so J, Q, K, A, 2 is a valid straight, but 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is not.

Flush

A flush is a five-card bahay of the same suit. Compare high cards to determine who beats whom between two flushes.

Full House

A full house is a five-card bahay consisting of a pair and a three-of-a-kind. Full houses are compared with each other based on the rank of the three-of-a-kind.

Four-of-a-kind

A four-of-a-kind is a five-card bahay consisting of four cards of the same rank along with a kicker, which can be any card the player wants to discard (strategically, it should be their lowest ranked, unmelded card).

Straight Flush

A straight flush is a five-card sequence of the same suit. Compare high cards to determine who beats who between straight flushes.

SETUP

The mano is determined randomly. The deal and gameplay are in a counterclockwise direction.

The mano deals 13 cards to each player. In games with two or three players, you can deal 17 cards per player. The rest of the deck is set aside and will not be needed for the rest of the game. 

Players should organize their hands into bahays, and their singles should be organized by rank and suit.

GAMEPLAY

The player with the 3♣ makes the opening play by laying down a valid bahay using the 3♣ in the middle of the table, establishing the discard pile. The next player must lay down a higher bahay with the same number of cards, and gameplay continues to the right.

When a player cannot play a higher bahay, they must pass. If everyone has passed and the turn has returned to the player who laid down the last card, then the game resets and that player may now lay down a bahay of any number. As before, the next player must play a higher bahay of the same number of cards.

For example, you cannot play a three-of-a-kind to beat out a pair. 

But if the player before you puts down a straight, you can play any 5-card bahay as long as it beats their straight.

The game ends when a player has laid down their final card to win the game. You can also keep playing until only one player has cards left.