Paul Phua loves poker games, but the first card games he ever played were traditional Chinese ones at home with his family. One of the most popular card games in China is called Dou Di Zhu.
In China, card games exist in two parallel worlds. One world uses the Anglo-American deck of cards, and plays games known globally, such as the poker games we play in casinos. In the other world, though, you find decks of cards with different shapes, different characters, different numbers of cards, and different games to the ones played in homes and casinos across the West. There are also games that take something from both worlds. One of those games is called Dou Di Zhu, which translates literally as fighting, or fight the landlord. It has 54 cards, and can be played using a traditional Anglo-American deck (you’ll need the two jokers), but it doesn’t have to be – there are also special Dou Di Zhu decks. It’s one of the most popular card games in China, and one that Paul saw played at home when he was young.
A bit like learning how to play poker, it’s both easy to pick up, but can take a very long time before you get good at it – there are lots of permutations of winning hands, and they can be made up of different numbers of winning cards. Unlike Texas Holdem poker, you have to play it with a set number of players. The most common version is played with 3 people – two who take on the role of the peasant, and one who takes on the role of the landlord. The landlord, fittingly, has slightly more cards (20), than the two peasants (who both have 17).
Its name comes from a period in Chinese history where landlords were considered to be evil characters, profiteering at the expense of the poor peasants. That being said, players at the start of the game have to bid to have the privilege of playing the role of the landlord. If you aren’t successful in that, or don’t even try to bid, you have to take the role of the peasant.
Though it started off in just one province of Hubei, it’s now wildly popular. Millions of players play the game on social media. There are tournaments in the real world too, with the winners claiming large pots and fame. If you go to China, and want to learn something different to your normal Texas Holdem poker game, be sure to learn the game of Fight the Landlord before you go.
For more information on this game and how it plays, please read the Wikipedia article on Dou dizhu
