tien len rules

7/30/2019 Tien Len Rules

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Introduction

Tien Len can be considered the national card game of Vietnam; the name of the game,which should properly be spelledTin Ln, means Go Forward. The main description onthis page is based on information from Jona Baily; Kenneth Lu and Justus Pang have

contributed slightly different versions. Probably as a result of the Vietnam war, Tien Lenhas spread to some parts of the USA, where it is sometimes called Viet Congor just VC;Kelly Aman has contributed one version of this. Chris Hovanic learned another versionfrom Chris Molinaro (also in the USA) and they call itThirteen.

Tien Len is a climbing game (a bit like Zheng Shangyou or President), in which the aimis to get rid of your cards as soon as possible by beating combinations of cards played bythe other players.

Players and Cards

The game is for four players. A standard 52 card deck is used; there are no Jokers and nowild cards. It is possible for two or three to play. It can also be played by more than fourplayers, using two 52 card packs shuffled together.

The game is normally dealt and played clockwise, but can be played anticlockwiseinstead if the players agree in advance to do so.

The ranking of the cards is:Two(highest), Ace, King, Queen, J ack, Ten, Nine, Eight,Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three(lowest).

Within each rank there is also an order of suits: Hearts (highest), Diamonds, Clubs,Spades (lowest).

So the 3 of Spades is the lowest card in the pack, and the 2 of Hearts is the highest. Rankis more important than suit, so for example the 8beats the 7.

The Deal

For the first game, the dealer is chosen at random; subsequently the loser of each gamehas to deal the next. When there are four players, 13 cards are dealt to each player.

If there are fewer than four players, 13 cards are still dealt to each player, and there willbe some cards left undealt - these are not used in the game. An alternative with threeplayers is, by prior agreement, to deal 17 cards each. When there are only two players,only 13 cards each should be dealt - if all the cards were dealt the players would be ableto work out each other's hands, which would spoil the game. When there are more thanfour players, you can agree in advance either to deal 13 cards each from the double deck,or deal as many cards as possible equally to the players.


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The Play

In the first game only, the player with the 3 of Spades begins play. If no one has the 3(in the three or two player game) whoever holds the lowest card begins. The player mustbegin by playing this lowest card, either on its own or as part of a combination.

In subsequent games, the winner of the previous game plays first, and can start with anycombination.

Each player in turn must now either beat the previously played card or combination, byplaying a card or combination that beats it, or pass and not play any cards. The playedcard(s) are placed in a heap face up in the centre of the table. The play goes around thetable as many times as necessary until someone plays a card or combination that no oneelse beats. When this happens, all the played cards are set aside, and the person whoseplay was unbeaten starts again by playing any legal card or combination face up to thecentre of the table.

If you pass you are locked out of the play until someone makes a play that no one beats.Only when the cards are set aside and a new card or combination is led are you entitled toplay again.Example (with three players): the player to your right plays a single three, you hold anace but decide to pass, the player to your left plays a nine and the player to right plays aking. You cannot now beat the king with your ace, because you have already passed. Ifthe third player passes too, and your right hand opponent now leads a queen, you can nowplay your ace if you want to.

The legal plays in the game are as follows:

Single cardThe lowest single card is the 3and the highest is the 2.

PairTwo cards of the same rank - such as 7- 7or Q- Q.

TripleThree cards of the same rank - such as 5- 5- 5

Four of a kindFour cards of the same rank - such as 9- 9- 9- 9.

SequenceThree or more cards of consecutive rank (the suits can be mixed) - such as 4-

5- 6 or J - Q- K - A- 2. Sequences cannot "turn the corner" between twoand three - A-2-3is not a valid sequence because 2 is high and 3 is low.

Double SequenceThree or more pairs of consecutive rank - such as 3-3-4-4-5-5 or6-6-7-7-8-8-9-9.


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In general, a combination can only be beaten by a higher combination of the same typeand same number of cards. So if a single card is led, only single cards can be played; if apair is led only pairs can be played; a three card sequence can only be beaten by a higherthree card sequence; and so on. You cannot for example beat a pair with a triple, or a fourcard sequence with a five card sequence.

To decide which of two combinations of the same type is higher you just look at thehighest card in the combination. For example 7- 7beats 7- 7because the heartbeats the diamond. In the same way 8- 9- 10beats 8- 9- 10because it is thehighest cards (the tens) that are compared.

There are just four exceptions to the rule that a combination can only be beaten by acombination of the same type:

1. A four of a kind can beat any single two (but not any other single card, such as anace or king). A four of a kind can be beaten by a higher four of a kind.

2.

A sequence of three pairs (such as 7-7-8-8-9-9) can beat any single two (but notany other single card). A sequence of three pairs can be beaten by a highersequence of three pairs.

3. A sequence of four pairs (such as 5-5-6-6-7-7-8-8) can beat a pair of twos (but notany other pair). A sequence of four pairs can be beaten by a higher sequence offour pairs.

4. A sequence of five pairs (such as 8-8-9-9-10-10-J -J -Q-Q) can beat a set of threetwos (but not any other three of a kind). A sequence of five pairs can be beaten bya higher sequence of five pairs.

Note that these exceptions only apply to beating twos, not other cards. For example, if

someone plays an ace you cannot beat it with your four of a kind, but if the ace has beenbeaten by a two, then your four of a kind can be used to beat the two.

End of the Play and Payments

As players run out of cards they drop out of the play. If the player whose turn it is to playhas no cards left, the turn passes to the next player in rotation. The play ends when onlyone player has cards left. That player is the loser, and must pay a fixed stake to each ofthe other players.

This game is often played for money, and sometimes for high stakes. Among serious

players, typically the loser of a game would have to pay $2000 to each of the others. In asession of play, a person might easily lose (or win) a total of $50000 or more.


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Customs and Ethics

Some types of behaviour which in many other card games would be regarded as cheatingare generally considered acceptable in Tien Len. For example among some players it OKto peek at other players' cards, or to play out of turn if you can get away with it.

Variations

In the version contributed by Justus Pang:

In the first deal, the holder of the 3may pass rather than playing that card. Thiscould be advantageous if the 3 is part of a bomb.

Twos cannot be used in sequences - they may run only from 3 up to ace.

A bomb may be played by a player who has previously passed. When all but one players have passed, the person who played the last unbeaten

combination can continue to play successively higher combinations of the sametype. This is known as "stacking". Since the other players have passed, they arenot allowed to beat the stacked combinations unless able to play a bomb.

Variant. In San Jose the game is sometimes played with "trading". In this variant,as in many versions of President and some other climbing games, the loser of theprevious deal must give his or her two highest cards to the winner, and the playerwho came second to last must give his or her highest card to the second placedplayer. Simultaneously, the first and second placed players from the previous dealpass two unwanted cards and one unwanted card respectively to the last and

second last players.

The version of Tien Len contributed by Kenneth Lu has the following differences:

1. If there are only three players, 17 cards are dealt to each; the person who starts theplay takes the final card. For the first deal this is the person who has the 3 (orthe 3 if the 3was the undealt card). If there are only two players they are justdealt 17 cards each.

2. Although in the first game the holder of the 3 leads, the lead does not have toinclude the 3. The first player may lead anything.

3. The exceptional cases of combinations beating other types of combination aresomewhat different:

o A four of a kind can beat any single card or pair.o A sequence of three pairs can beat a single two (but not any other single

card).o A sequence of four (or more) pairs has no special power.

4. As soon as someone runs out of cards the play ends and the other players pay thewinner one stake for each card they have left in their hands at this time.


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The rules ofViet Cong (VC) as reported by Kelly Aman have the following features:

1. If anyone has four twos, they automatically win.2. The person with the 3must begin with a combination that includes that card.3. Twos cannot be included in single sequences (straights). Straights run from three

up to ace only.4. The special combinations that beat twos are called slams. The rules for these are:o A sequence ofthreeconsecutive pairs or a four of a kind can beat a single

two (but not any other single card).o A sequence offiveconsecutive pairs ortwoconsecutive fours of a kind

can beat a pair of twos (but not any other pair).o A sequence ofseven consecutive pairs orthreeconsecutive fours of a

kind can beat threetwos (but not any other triple).

As in other versions, a slam can be beaten by a higher slam of the same type.

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Some people play the game with trading. After the cards are dealt, but before thefirst lead, any player can trade one or more cards with another player for an equalnumber of cards. Trading only takes place by mutual agreement; if the twoplayers cannot agree on the cards to trade, the trade does not take place. If youplay with trading, four twos do not automatically win the game.

tien len rules

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