Suoha (Hong Kong Five-Card Stud): Rules, Hand Ranks and Going All-In
Suoha, or Hong Kong five-card stud (Show Hand), deals each player one hole card and four face-up cards, with a betting round after each deal. You can see most of your opponents' cards but never their hole card. This guide covers the 28-card deck MacePlay uses, the hand ranks (and why a flush beats a full house), how suits break ties, who acts first and how going all-in works, with three worked examples.
The basics
- Cards: only 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K and A, 28 cards in all, for up to 5 players.
- Ante: each player puts in 1 ante at the start of every hand.
- The deal: everyone gets a hole card (face down, seen only by you) and one face-up card, then there is a betting round. The third, fourth and fifth cards are dealt face up one at a time, each followed by a betting round: four rounds in total.
- Showdown: after the fifth card, everyone still in turns over their hole card and the best hand takes the pot. If everyone else folds earlier, the last player takes the pot without showing.
Hand ranks (best to worst)
| Hand | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Straight flush | ♠10 ♠J ♠Q ♠K ♠A | A straight in one suit. |
| Four of a kind | 9 9 9 9 + any | Four cards of one rank. |
| Flush | ♥8 ♥10 ♥J ♥K ♥A | Five cards of one suit, not in sequence. |
| Full house | Q Q Q + 9 9 | Three of a kind plus a pair. |
| Straight | 8 9 10 J Q | Five ranks in a row. |
| Three of a kind | K K K + two | Three cards of one rank. |
| Two pair | A A + 10 10 + one | Two different pairs. |
| One pair | J J + three | A single pair. |
| High card | A K J 9 8 | No combination. |
In MacePlay a flush beats a full house. With 28 cards there are only 7 of each suit, so a flush is harder to make than a full house and ranks higher. There are only four straights, from 8-9-10-J-Q up to 10-J-Q-K-A, and the ace can't play low.
Same hand type: suits decide last
Ranks come first. Straights and straight flushes compare their top card; four of a kind, full houses and three of a kind compare the matched cards; two pair compares the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the odd card; one pair compares the pair, then the other cards in order; flushes and high-card hands compare card by card from the top.
If every rank matches, compare the suit of the highest card (or of the highest card in the top pair):
Because suits always settle it, there are no ties in Suoha.
How betting works
Who acts first
In every round, the player with the best face-up cards acts first (hole cards don't count). With fewer than five face-up cards, only pairs, two pair, three of a kind, four of a kind and high cards count, not straights or flushes; equal ranks are split by suit. So the last player to act in one round can be first in the next.
Your options
- Check: if no one has bet this round, you can pass for now.
- Bet / raise: in MacePlay bets come in fixed sizes of 1, 2, 5 or 10 antes. A raise must be bigger than the current bet, and each round allows at most 3 raises.
- Call: match the current bet.
- Fold: give up the hand. Anything you have bet stays in the pot.
- All-in (Suoha): push your total for the hand straight to the cap. In MacePlay you can go all-in from the second round (three cards) on, and the cap is 100 antes per player per hand. After an all-in, the others can only call up to the cap or fold, and once everyone has called the remaining cards are dealt straight to showdown.
You have 15 seconds per turn. If time runs out you check when you can, otherwise you fold.
Worked examples
Example 1: who acts first?
After the third card, the face-up cards are: A K♠ 9♥, B 10♣ 10♦, C A♥ Q♠.
- B has a pair of 10s while the others have high cards, so B acts first.
- If B folds, A and C are compared: C's ace beats A's king, so C acts first next round.
Example 2: flush against full house
At showdown, A has ♥8 ♥10 ♥J ♥K ♥A (a flush) and B has Q♠ Q♥ Q♦ 9♣ 9♦ (a full house).
In MacePlay's 28-card Suoha a flush beats a full house, so A takes the pot. In regular 52-card poker it would be the other way round.
Example 3: suit tie-break, and going all-in (ante 100)
- A has K♠ K♦ A♣ 10♥ 9♦ and B has K♥ K♣ A♦ 10♠ 9♣. Both have a pair of kings with A, 10, 9 alongside. The suits of the pair decide: A holds the ♠K, so A wins.
- The all-in cap is 100 × 100 = 10,000. In round two A has put in 600 so far (100 ante + 500 in round one). Going all-in adds 9,400 to bring A to 10,000; B either tops up to 10,000 as well or folds.
Common questions
Do I have to show my hole card?
Only at showdown. Until then only you can see it, and a player who takes the pot because everyone else folded never shows it.
Why are there no 2s through 7s?
Hong Kong stud uses only the high cards. With a smaller deck, strong hands come up more often and every hand has bigger swings.
Can I go all-in in the first round?
Not in MacePlay. You have to wait for the third card (round two).
Is A-8-9-10-J a straight?
No. The ace only plays high, so the lowest straight is 8-9-10-J-Q.
Play Suoha in MacePlay
MacePlay's Suoha is a five-seat table with a Victoria Harbour night-cruise theme, dealt by three sister dealers in rotation. Each player's cards sit in a row with the hole card in front. When someone goes all-in, a mountain of gold chips slides into the pot, a big "Suoha!" stamp lands in the middle and the dealer calls it out; four of a kind and straight flushes bring fireworks. Choose from beginner, standard and high-roller rooms, or open a private room; 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
Five-seat Suoha, where an all-in pushes a mountain of gold chips into the pot.
