Dou Di Zhu Rules: Bidding, Combinations and Multipliers
Dou Di Zhu (斗地主, “Fight the Landlord”) is a three-player card game: one player becomes the landlord and the other two team up as farmers. Whoever empties their hand first wins for their side. This guide covers bidding and robbing, every combination and how the multiplier climbs, with worked examples.
The basics
- Cards: one 54-card deck with both jokers. Everyone gets 17 cards and 3 are left face down as the kitty.
- Landlord: decided by bidding and robbing. The landlord takes the 3 kitty cards (shown to everyone), holds 20 cards and leads first.
- Farmers: the other two play as a team. If either farmer goes out first, both farmers win.
- Play: beat the last play with the same type, the same number of cards and a higher rank, or pass. When both others pass, the last player leads again.
Bidding, robbing, doubling and showing
- Bid: starting from one player, everyone answers in turn. Until someone bids, the choice is “bid / no bid”; after that it is “rob / no rob”.
- Rob: every rob doubles the multiplier. If anyone robbed in the first round, the original bidder gets one last chance to rob back.
- No bids: if nobody bids, the cards are redealt. If nobody bids twice in a row, the first player becomes landlord.
- Double: once the landlord is set, all three choose at the same time whether to double. The landlord's double affects both farmers; a farmer's double only affects their own share.
- Show: before the first play, the landlord may show their hand for ×2.
MacePlay uses the rob-the-landlord system; there is no 1-, 2- or 3-point bidding.
All combinations
| Combination | Cards | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Single | 1 | Any card. |
| Pair | 2 | Two of a rank (the two jokers are a rocket, not a pair). |
| Triple | 3 | Three of a rank. |
| Triple + single | 4 | A triple with one extra card. |
| Triple + pair | 5 | A triple with a pair (no jokers). |
| Straight | 5–12 | At least 5 consecutive ranks up to A; 2s and jokers cannot be used. |
| Pair straight | 6+ | At least 3 consecutive pairs, up to A. |
| Airplane | 6+ | Two or more consecutive triples up to A, optionally with one single per triple or one pair per triple as “wings”. |
| Four + two | 6 / 8 | Four of a rank with two singles, or with two pairs. Not a bomb. |
| Bomb | 4 | Four of a rank. Beats any non-bomb; bombs compare by rank. |
| Rocket | 2 | Both jokers. Beats everything. |
Apart from bombs and the rocket, a play can only be beaten by the same type with the same number of cards. Attached singles or pairs (wings) do not matter; only the main part is compared.
How the multiplier works
- Spring: the landlord wins and neither farmer played a single card.
- Anti-spring: the farmers win and the landlord played only once.
- Each farmer's share = multiplier × landlord double (×2) × own double (×2). In MacePlay each share is capped at 32 × base.
- Settlement: the landlord plays against both farmers, collecting both shares on a win and paying both on a loss.
Worked examples
Example 1: can this play beat that one?
- The leader plays 3-3-3-4-4-4 with a 5 and a 7 (an airplane with single wings). To beat it you need something like 6-6-6-7-7-7 with two singles; 8-8-8-9-9-9 on its own is not allowed because the card count differs.
- 10-J-Q-K-A is a legal straight; J-Q-K-A-2 is not (2s cannot be in straights).
- The leader plays four 8s with a 3 and a 5 (four + two). Your bomb of four 3s beats it: four + two is not a bomb, and a bomb beats it.
Example 2: the farmers win, one farmer doubled (base 100)
You bid for landlord and nobody robs, so there is no rob multiplier. Only Farmer A doubles. One bomb is played during the hand, and Farmer B goes out first. The landlord had played 3 times, so it is not an anti-spring.
- Multiplier = 1 × 1 × 2 (one bomb) × 1 = 2
- Farmer A's share: 2 × own double 2 = 4 × base = 400
- Farmer B's share: 2 × base = 200
The landlord pays 600 in total: 400 to Farmer A and 200 to Farmer B.
Example 3: two robs, show, a bomb and a spring (hits the cap)
A bids, B robs, C does not, and A robs back (2 robs). Landlord A shows the hand; A and B both double. One bomb is played, and A goes out before either farmer plays a card: a spring.
- Multiplier = 22 × 2 (show) × 2 (bomb) × 2 (spring) = 32
- B's share: 32 × 2 × 2 = 128, capped at 32 × base
- C's share: 32 × 2 = 64, also capped at 32 × base
With a base of 100, B and C each pay 3,200 and the landlord collects 6,400.
Common questions
Does four + two double the multiplier?
No. It is a normal combination, not a bomb. Only bombs and the rocket double the multiplier.
Can wings include jokers?
Single wings may include one joker, but not both. Pair wings cannot include jokers.
Can 2s go into straights or pair straights?
No. Straights, pair straights and airplanes stop at A. A triple of 2s can be played alone or with a single or a pair.
What if I do not want to be landlord?
Choose “no bid” or “no rob”. If nobody bids, the cards are redealt.
Play Dou Di Zhu in MacePlay
MacePlay's Dou Di Zhu is a three-player table where the landlord wears a red ingot hat and the farmers wear straw hats, so you always know who is on which side, and the rocket really launches. Tables start any time, with AI players filling empty seats, and you can open a private room for friends.
MacePlay is for adults 18+ and for entertainment only. Virtual coins have no cash value and cannot be exchanged for cash or goods.
Ready? Open a table in MacePlay
Three-player Dou Di Zhu, with hats that show who is landlord and a rocket that really launches.
