Niu Niu (Bull Bull) Rules: Making a Bull, Hand Ranks and Banker Bidding
In Niu Niu (牛牛, “Bull Bull”) everyone gets five cards. If you can find three that add up to a multiple of 10, you “have a bull”, and the last two cards decide which bull. This guide covers counting, hand ranks, tie-breaks, banker bidding and multipliers, with three worked examples.
Counting: what is a bull?
- Points: A is 1, 2 to 9 are face value, and 10, J, Q, K are all 10.
- Bull: three of your five cards add up to a multiple of 10 (10, 20 or 30).
- Which bull: add the other two cards and take the last digit. A last digit of 0 is Bull Bull (牛牛).
- No bull: no three cards make a multiple of 10.
Shortcut: if you have a bull at all, its number is simply the last digit of all five cards added together. Add them up, then check whether three of them make a multiple of 10.
Hand ranks and multipliers
| Hand | Multiplier | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Five small | × 8 | All five cards below 5 (A, 2, 3, 4) and adding up to 10 or less. |
| Bomb | × 6 | Four cards of the same rank. |
| Five faces | × 5 | All five cards are J, Q or K (a 10 does not count). |
| Bull Bull | × 4 | A bull whose last two cards end in 0. |
| Bull 9 | × 3 | The last two cards end in 9. |
| Bull 8, Bull 7 | × 2 | Ending in 8 or 7. |
| Bull 1 to Bull 6 | × 1 | Ending in 1 to 6. |
| No bull | × 1 | No three cards make a multiple of 10. |
The order from best to worst follows the table: five small > bomb > five faces > Bull Bull > Bull 9 > … > Bull 1 > no bull.
In MacePlay there are only three special hands: five small, bomb and five faces. There is no silver bull, four faces, straight or flush bonus.
Breaking ties
If two players have the same hand, say Bull 7, compare each player's highest card: rank first (K > Q > J > 10 > 9 … > A), then suit (♠ > ♥ > ♣ > ♦). Two bombs compare the rank of the four. With a single deck, two hands can never tie exactly.
Banker bidding: how it plays
- See four cards: everyone sees four cards first and decides whether to bid for banker, and how high (no bid, ×1, ×2, ×3 or ×4).
- Banker: the highest bid becomes banker; ties are random. If nobody bids, a random player is banker at ×1.
- Players choose a multiplier: every other player picks ×1, ×2, ×3 or ×5.
- Reveal: the fifth card is dealt and each player is compared with the banker.
Note the last factor uses the hand of whoever wins: the player's hand if the player wins, the banker's if the banker wins.
The MacePlay Golden Bull table also offers two other modes. All-vs-all Niu Niu has no banker: all five cards are revealed at once, and the best hand collects “base × its hand multiplier” from every other player. Three Face (三公) uses three cards, with J, Q and K worth 0 and the last digit deciding (three of a kind ×5 > three faces ×4 > 9 points ×3 > 8 points ×2 > others ×1).
Worked examples
Example 1: which bull is this?
Cards: 7♠ 3♥ K♦ 5♣ 9♠, worth 7, 3, 10, 5 and 9.
- 7 + 3 + K = 20, a multiple of 10: you have a bull.
- The other two: 5 + 9 = 14, last digit 4: Bull 4 (×1).
- Check: all five add up to 34, which also ends in 4.
Example 2: one banker round (base 100)
The banker bid ×3 and you (a player) chose ×2.
- Your cards: 10♠ Q♥ K♣ 6♦ 4♠. 10 + Q + K = 30, and 6 + 4 = 10 ends in 0: Bull Bull (×4). The 10 means it is not five faces.
- The banker's cards: 8♥ 2♣ 5♠ 5♦ A♥. No three of them make a multiple of 10: no bull.
You win, so your hand's multiplier applies: 100 × 3 × 2 × 4 = 2,400, paid by the banker.
Example 3: five small, and a tie-break
- A♠ 2♥ 2♣ 3♦ A♥: all five cards are below 5 and add up to 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 9, not more than 10: five small (×8), even better than a bomb.
- Player A has K♠ 5♥ 5♣ 9♦ 8♠: K + 5 + 5 = 20, leaving 17, so Bull 7. Player B has K♥ Q♣ J♦ 3♠ 4♠: K + Q + J = 30, leaving 7, also Bull 7. Both highest cards are kings, so suit decides: spades beat hearts and A wins.
Common questions
Does a 10 count towards five faces?
Not in MacePlay. Five faces needs all five cards to be J, Q or K.
What if the banker and a player have the same hand?
Compare the highest card's rank, then its suit. There is always a winner.
What if I do not choose in time?
Running out of time when bidding counts as no bid; when choosing a multiplier it counts as ×1.
Play Niu Niu in MacePlay: Golden Bull
MacePlay's Golden Bull is a five-seat Niu Niu table with three modes in one: banker Niu Niu, all-vs-all Niu Niu and Three Face. The black, red and gold Golden Bull table has dealers who call the banker bidding, and at the reveal your cards are laid out as the three that make ten and the two that count, so you can read your bull at a glance. AI players fill empty seats.
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
Golden Bull: banker Niu Niu, all-vs-all Niu Niu and Three Face at one five-seat table.
