A Taiwan Big Two variant guide for climbing over plays, saving control cards, and finishing cleanly.
52
cards · standard deck
13
cards dealt to each player
4
players · empty hand to win
Section 01 · The deck
A standard deck of 52.
Da Lao Er uses one ordinary playing-card deck — no jokers. Four suits of thirteen cards. Hover or tap any card to see what it is.
Filter:
Hover or tap a card
Each rank appears once per suit. The 3♦ kicks off the first round.
Section 02 · Card ranking
Why 2 is the boss.
In Da Lao Er, the rank order is two-high: threes are the weakest card; twos are the strongest.
♠›♥›♣›♦When two cards share a rank, this is the suit order.
Section 03 · The goal
Empty your hand first.
Each player starts with thirteen cards. On your turn, you either play a stronger combination
than the last one on the table, or pass. Three passes in a row clear the table — whoever played last
gets a fresh lead.
①
Whoever holds 3♦ leads first.
Their opening play must include the 3 of diamonds.
②
Beat the table — or pass.
Same-shape combination, higher rank. Passing is fine.
③
Three passes resets the round.
The last player to play leads any new combination.
④
First to zero cards wins.
The others count remaining cards as their score.
Section 04 · Combinations
The four shapes you can play.
Every play is one of these. Once a round starts with a shape, every later play that round
must use the same shape
— singles answer singles, pairs answer pairs, fives answer fives.
Single
1 card
Beat with any single of higher rank (or same rank in a higher suit).
Pair
2 cards · same rank
Beat with a higher-ranked pair. Highest suit breaks ties.
Triple
3 cards · same rank
Beat with a higher-ranked triple. Suits don't tie-break here.
Five-card hand
5 cards · poker shape
Five-card hands have their own ranking — see Section 05.
Section 05
· Five-card hands
Five cards, ranked low to high.
Like poker, but read upward — a Straight is the weakest five-card hand;
a Straight Flush is the king. A higher type beats a lower type, no matter the cards.
①
Straight
Five consecutive ranks, mixed suits.
②
Flush
Five cards of the same suit, any ranks.
③
Full House
A triple plus a pair — compare by the triple's rank.
④
Four of a kind + 1
A "bomb." Beats anything below it, even some hands of other shapes.
⑤
Straight Flush
Five consecutive cards, all the same suit. The top of the table.
Section 06
· Valid vs. invalid
What plays — and what doesn't.
Here are some quick-fire examples of legal plays alongside common mistakes new players make.
Legal plays
Pair of sevens — clean, same rank.
Straight 5–6–7–8–9, mixed suits OK.
Full house: three queens with a pair of fours.
Not allowed
Two cards, different ranks — that's not a pair.
Four cards on their own — there is no "four-card" play.
Straights can't wrap — Q-K-A-2-3 doesn't count.
Section 07 · Try it
Now play a quick round.
A live solo demo against three AI opponents. Pick cards, hit Play, and put what you just learned into practice.