What is Big 2? How To Master the Rules of This Amazing Card Game

In a Big 2 card game, your objective is to get rid of all of your cards before any other players. A standard game of Big 2 is played between 4 participants. Each round the player has a hand of 13 cards, and – as you may have guessed – the highest-ranking card value is the humble 2.

The Essentials

• The aim of the Big 2 card game is to get rid of all your cards as fast as possible. Popular across Asia, this easy-to-learn card game uses common poker hands and is similar to other card-shedding games like President or Crazy Eights.
• The game is called Big 2 because the 2 is the highest ranked card, taking the place of the Ace in most poker hands. The Chinese name (Choh Dai Di) translates directly as ‘Big Old Two‘.
• Big 2 game turns start of the lead player laying a single card or a poker hand. The other players take turns ‘shedding’ higher ranking variations of that hand until no more cards can be shed. The player who played the highest hand then plays the first hand of the round.
• The game ends when one player has no cards and scores a perfect zero. The other players lose points based on how many cards they have in their hands. The aim of the game is to keep your score as low as possible.

How to Play The Big 2 Card Game: The Basics

The Big 2 card game is a complex game that has multiple options and gameplay elements. You can learn how to play Big 2 by following the standard round gameplay below:

• Shedding: Players can choose to “shed” cards. This is the main point of Big 2, as the goal is to shed all your cards before other players. You can shed cards based on hand rankings, but only one time per turn. This is why it is important that you know the hand rankings you can shed when you learn how to play Big 2 (see the next section in this guide).
• Leading: The “Lead” is essentially the player who sheds first. All cards that are shed will go into a communal pile. When no more players can shed, the pile is removed, and a new pile starts. This time, the last player to shed will become the Lead.
• Climbing: When shedding to the pile, players must improve the ranking of the previous shed. This is known as the “Climb”, as the next cards on the pile will always rank higher than the previous cards. For example, you could play a Pair (6♦ 6♠) on a lower pair (4♦ 4♠). Players cannot go over a leading combination. So, if the previous shed was a single, you can only “Climb” by adding a higher-ranking single.

Gameplay now continues with players shedding cards or passing when they cannot shed. This will happen until the first player sheds all their cards and wins the round. If the players continue in subsequent rounds, the remaining three players will have penalty points for the cards they have left in their hands.

When learning how to play Big 2, the first step is understanding the value of cards. The game jumbles traditional hand values you know when then you learn the poker rules.

After the 2, the next highest ranking cards are A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3. However, Big 2 also ranks suits, with Spades being the most valuable, followed by Hearts, Clubs, and Diamonds (♣>♥>♠>♦).

How to Set up a Big 2 Game

Each Big 2 card game starts with the deal. This is also the most complex part of the game, but luckily, a Big 2 online poker game will handle the deal automatically. In online live dealer games will be the house, and in casual games offline, the dealer is chosen at random. Cards are dealt counter-clockwise to all players.

Once all cards from a standard 52-card deck (13 to each player) have been dealt, the round will begin. Big 2 card game rules state that the player who first receives their cards will take the first turn and have the chance to shed cards. Some Big 2 card game variants may start the gameplay with the player with the lowest card ranking.

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Big 2 Card Combinations: What is a Winning Hand?

Card combinations in Big 2 allow you to shed cards more quickly. Known as melds, the combinations can be put onto the pile if they are leading the previous shed. The highest value suit of any combination will dictate the overall suit.

Below are the most common combinations:

• Singles: This is a single card according to its rank and suit.
• Pairs/Doubles: A pair of cards of the same value. Doubles can be different suits, with the highest ranking suit covering the meld.
• Three-Kinds/Triples: A combination of three cards with the same rank.
• Straights/Snakes: Like the classic five-card poker hand made of card values in ascending order.
• Flushes/Flowers: Five cards of the same suit but any rank.
• Full House/Gourd: A five-card combination comprising a Pair and Triple.
• Four-Kind/Bomb: Four cards of the same rank, with a fifth “kicker” card included as a single.
• Straight Flush: As the best possible shedding meld, this is when five cards of the same suit are in ascending order of value.

Big 2 Scoring: Hand Ranking and How to Win

Importantly, in most situations, the Big 2 card game is played over multiple rounds in a points-based system. Whether the set score or time limit is met, the player with the best score will win the game. This is a losing points game, as there is no way to gain points, and 0 is a winning total.

If a player sheds all their cards, the remaining players are fined one penalty point for each remaining card they have.

There are also additional penalties. If you still have 10 to 12 cards in your hand, your penalty total will be doubled. 13 cards remaining means you could not shed one card throughout the round, and you will receive a tripled 39 penalty points.

Image credit: Ramosh Artworks/Shutterstock

The Big 2 Edge: Strategies to Outplay Your Opponents

Before you start playing Big 2, our experts have outlined a few of their top tips to help enhance your gameplay and potentially improve your chances of winning.

• If you lead the pile, always discard/shed your highest-ranking combination first. It may be tempting to wait, but it is always best to shed your cards as soon as you can.
• Leading the pile means you will control the combination for the whole game. If you play the highest possible first-shedding round, you could make it hard for other players to shed.
• When you are not leading, try to gauge what your opponents have in their hands by looking closely at what cards they are shedding.

Advanced Big 2 Card Game Techniques

If you want to take your Big 2 gameplay to the next level, you may want to explore more advanced strategies. Because only one deck of cards is used, Big 2 is a game where it is reasonably possible to count cards. You’ll need a great memory, but you already know the cards you have, which means there are 41 other cards to track.

As gameplay progresses, you can see which cards your opponents are shedding. If you can track these cards, you will have a better idea of which cards are left. While knowing the cards left in play will not directly lead to you winning, it can help you make more informed decisions about when to shed or pass.

How to Gamble When Playing A Big 2 Card Game

As with any game that with a defined winner that plays in round, Big 2 can be gambled on. Gambling when playing Big 2 is common and very popular across Asia. Since the Chinese invented playing cards, its not surprising that they’ve got a long history of inventing amazing games and way to gamble on them.

Some of the different way in which you can gamble when playing Big 2 include:

• Betting on who has the highest ranked poker hand in any round
• Betting on the round winner
• Betting on the overall winner
• The losing player forfeiting money to the winning player based on how many cards they have left in their hand at the end of the game.

The Big 2 card game is available online but is admittedly not as common as other games. Even so, you can find online casino sites and other online platforms that allow you to play real money Big 2 from the comfort of your couch. This gives you the ability to play directly against another player in live dealer variants or virtually against a computer.

Big 2 Conquest: Triumphing with Skill and Strategy

Despite it seeming like a basic shedding game, the reason that Big 2 is so popular in Asia is because its simple to learn, but challenging to master. Once you have a good grasp of poker hands, you can employ advanced techniques like card counting to win.

However, while it makes for a perfect alterative to poker on gambling night, its just as fun as a relaxing card game with friends!

Title Image credit: Ramosh Artworks/Shutterstock