How to Play Guandan: Full Rules From the First Deal to Passing Ace

Guandan is a card game for four players in two fixed partnerships, played with two full decks shuffled together, so each player holds 27 cards. The player with the lead puts down any legal combination, and each player after that must beat it with a higher combination of the same kind or with a bomb, or pass. The aim is to empty your hand first. Your side then moves up a ladder of levels from 2 to Ace, by one, two or three steps depending on where your partner finishes, and the match goes to the first side that, playing at its own Ace, wins a deal without the partner coming last.

The Chinese name is 掼蛋 (guàndàn), literally "throwing eggs". The game grew up in Huai'an, in Jiangsu province, and is now played all over China, with national tournaments of its own. This page follows the rules used in Chinese national competitions. Home games and several English guides differ on a handful of points, and those differences have their own section near the end.

If you already know Big Two, Dou Dizhu or Tractor

Guandan is a climbing game, the same family as Big Two and Dou Dizhu: someone leads, the others have to go higher or pass, and the round belongs to whoever made the last play. What it adds is a partner, a second deck and a ladder of levels.

Big Two players need to unlearn two habits. A 2 is the lowest card in Guandan, unless 2 happens to be the level, and suits never break a tie. Five-card plays are not poker hands either, so there is no flush and no four of a kind with a spare card. Dou Dizhu players will recognise bombs, but Guandan has no triple with a single, no four with two and no "airplane", and a straight is always exactly five cards long.

If you have played Tractor, the level idea is already familiar: each side climbs its own ladder from 2 to Ace, and the rank being played is promoted for that deal. Guandan keeps the ladder, makes the two hearts of that rank wild, and drops tricks and point cards altogether. Going out first is the only thing that counts.

Chinese terms and their English names

Most Guandan material is in Chinese, and English guides translate the terms in different ways. These are the words used on this page, with the Chinese they come from.

Cards, seats and the deal

Guandan takes four players and 108 cards: two standard 52-card decks plus all four jokers, two red and two black. Partners sit opposite each other, so the sides alternate around the table, and play moves counter-clockwise, which means the next player is the one on your right (Articles 1 and 7). Everyone ends up with 27 cards.

At a tournament table nobody deals. After the shuffle and cut, players draw one card at a time in turn until the pack is used up (Article 7). Dealing the cards out in the usual way works just as well at home.

On the first deal, a card is turned face up during the cut. Counting round the table by its rank picks the player who draws first, and whoever draws that turned-up card leads the first round. From the second deal on, the previous deal's last player draws first, or, after a double-down, the player to the right of the previous winner (Article 7). The first lead of every later deal is decided by tribute, explained further down. Online there is nothing to turn up, so this site draws the first leader at random, with the same chance for each of the four seats.

Card ranking and the level card

For singles, pairs, triples and the triple in a full house, cards rank Red Joker, Black Joker, level card, then A, K, Q, J, 10 and down to 3, with 2 at the bottom (Article 4). Suits are never compared, so a card can only be beaten by a higher rank, never by an equal one.

The level card is the rank that matches the level being played. Both sides start on 2, so on the first deal all eight 2s are level cards and beat any Ace (Article 2, item 14). After that, each deal is played at the level of the side that won the deal before. If your side won the last deal and now sits on 9, every 9 is promoted to just below the jokers for this deal, and the 2s sink back to the bottom.

Inside a straight, a run of pairs, a run of triples or a straight flush, the level card goes back to its printed place (Article 5). In a deal played at 9, the run 5-6-7-8-9 counts as a plain 9-high straight, and 7-8-9-10-J beats it.

The seven ordinary combinations

Every play that is not a bomb takes one of seven shapes, and only a higher play of the same shape and length can beat it (Articles 3 and 4).

Sequences are compared by their top card. A full house counts only its triple, so 10-10-10 with a pair of 3s beats 9-9-9 with a pair of Red Jokers. Two Red Jokers or two Black Jokers make a pair, but one of each is not a pair of anything.

The Ace works at either end of a sequence. It can follow the King in 10-J-Q-K-A, or count as 1 in front of the 2, in the straight A-2-3-4-5 and in the runs AA-22-33 and AAA-222 (Article 4). A sequence cannot run round the corner from King through Ace to 2.

Bombs and the order they beat each other

A bomb beats any ordinary combination of any rank, and bombs beat each other on a fixed ladder (Article 4). Four of a kind is the smallest bomb and five of a kind comes next. The straight flush sits above both, six of a kind up to ten of a kind sit above that, and all four jokers together top the ladder.

Within one step of the ladder, rank decides. Seven 5s beat seven 4s, and on the first deal four 2s beat four Aces because 2 is the level. Straight flushes compare their top card, so a club straight flush from 10 to Ace beats a heart one from 9 to King, and two straight flushes with the same top card cannot beat each other. Each rank has only eight copies across the two decks, so nine or ten of a kind needs one or both wild cards added to all eight.

Wild cards: what the heart level card can do

Only the two hearts of the current level are wild: the two ♥2s on the first deal, the two ♥9s in a deal played at 9 (Article 2, item 14). The other six level cards are not wild, and hearts of any other rank are ordinary cards. A wild can take the place of any card except a joker, in any combination from a pair up to a straight flush.

Because a wild never counts as a joker, it cannot make a pair of jokers and cannot complete the four jokers. When the same cards can be read as two different plays, the player says which one is meant (Article 5). At level 9, ♠3 ♣3 ♠4 ♣4 with both wilds can go down as three pairs, 33-44-55, or as two triples, 333-444. Neither can beat the other, so the choice decides what the next player has to answer, and the site gives each reading its own Play as button.

The wild cards change with the level. In a deal played at 5, the ♥2s are low cards again and the two ♥5s are wild.

How a deal of Guandan is played

A deal is a series of rounds. The leader plays any combination or bomb, the others answer in turn to the right, and when three players in a row have passed, the round is over and the last player to play leads the next one (Article 8). The leader may not pass.

1. When it is your turn to answer, you may play the same shape at a higher rank, play a bomb, or pass. Passing is always allowed, even when you could beat the play.
2. A pass only counts for that moment. If someone plays after you, you get another turn to answer the new play.
3. Playing your last card takes you out of the deal. The first player out is first, then second and third, and the one still holding cards is last.
4. When the last play came from someone who has just gone out and everyone else passes, that player's partner leads the next round (Article 9). Players call this catching the wind.
5. Once you hold 10 cards or fewer after a play, you have to let the table know how many, and keep doing so until the deal ends (Article 11). The site shows that number on each player's stack of cards from 10 down.
6. The deal stops as soon as the first two players out are partners, a double-down, because the other side can only be third and last. Otherwise it stops when three players are out (Article 8).

The side of the player who came first wins the deal and moves up, and nobody else moves (Article 2, item 12). The level table further down gives the numbers.

A first deal, step by step

This walk-through follows one first deal, with the players named by compass point. You are South and your partner is North, with East and West as the opponents. Play goes counter-clockwise, so the order round the table is South, East, North, West.

1. Both sides are on 2, so all eight 2s are level cards and the two ♥2s are wild. Everyone has 27 cards, and the card turned up during the cut gives you the first lead.
2. You lead a straight from 3 to 7. East beats it with 6 to 10, North goes higher with 9 to King, and West drops a bomb, four 5s, which beats any straight.
3. You pass, East passes and North passes. Three passes in a row end the round, and West, the last to play, leads the next one.
4. West leads a single ♦4. You play ♦J, East plays ♣A, and North plays ♠2. On this deal the 2s are level cards, so the ♠2 beats the Ace. West, you and East all pass, and North takes the lead.
5. Later in the deal North is down to two cards, a pair of Aces, and leads them. West passes, you pass because your partner is about to finish, and East passes. North is out first, and since North made the last play, the lead goes to North's partner, so you catch the wind.
6. East goes out next, you third, and West is left last.
7. North's partner finished third, so North and South go up two levels, from 2 to 4. East and West stay on 2.
8. The next deal is played at 4, so all eight 4s are level cards and the two ♥4s are wild. Before anyone plays, West hands North the highest card West holds, leaving out the ♥4 wilds, and North returns one ranked 10 or below, which may not be a 4. Then West leads.

If you had gone out second instead of third, the deal would have ended at that moment as a double-down, North and South would have gone up three levels, and East and West would both have paid tribute before the next deal.

Tribute, the return card and tribute refusal

There is no tribute on the first deal. From the second deal on, the side that lost the previous deal pays tribute before any card is played, and the winners give a card back (Article 10). Which of three cases applies depends on how the previous deal ended.

Single tribute

When the previous deal was not a double-down, the player who came last gives the player who came first the highest card in their hand, though never a heart level card. If the highest rank comes in more than one suit, any of those cards will do. First place then gives back a card ranked 10 or lower, which can never be a level card (more on that below), or the lowest card they hold if they have nothing that low. The player who paid tribute leads the first round.

Double tribute

When the previous deal ended in a double-down, each of the two losers pays tribute. First place takes the higher of the two cards and first place's partner takes the lower one, and each gives a card back to whoever paid them. If the two tribute cards are the same rank, tribute goes clockwise: the player sitting on first place's right pays first place, and the other loser pays the partner. In every case the first round is led by whoever paid first place.

Refusing tribute

If the side that owes tribute was dealt both Red Jokers, no tribute is paid at all and first place from the previous deal leads. For a single tribute, the last-place player must hold both Red Jokers. After a double-down the rulebook only says the losing side holds the two Red Jokers, and the usual reading, which this site follows, counts one in each hand as enough.

"10 or lower" for the return card is measured in Guandan's own rank order from Article 4, not by the number printed on the card. The level card ranks above the Ace, so in a deal played at 7 you cannot return a 7, wild or not, even though 7 is less than 10.

Levels: how far you climb and how to pass Ace

Only the side of the first player out moves up, and the step depends on where that player's partner finished (Article 2, item 12):

The levels run 2, 3, 4 and so on through 10, J, Q, K to Ace, and each side keeps its own. Nobody picks the level for a deal. It is always the new level of the side that won the deal before, and the level cards and wilds follow it. A side cannot jump past Ace, so a side on Queen that goes up three levels stops on Ace.

Ace has to be played (Article 2, item 13). To pass Ace and win the match, a side must win a deal played at its own Ace, which means being the side that won the deal before, and the first player's partner must not finish last. So at your Ace a first-and-second or first-and-third finish wins the match, while first-and-last leaves you on Ace to try again. If you are on Ace but win a deal played at the opponents' level, you have not passed Ace. You have only earned the next deal at your own Ace.

At tournaments a match can also be set to a number of deals or a time limit, and the side with the higher level when it ends wins, unless someone passes Ace first (Article 12). Games on this site have no deal or time limit, so a match ends when one side passes Ace.

Rules questions that cause arguments

These are the rulings people most often look up, with the article of the 2022 rulebook that settles each one.

Does a straight flush beat a six-card bomb?

No. A straight flush beats every bomb of four or five cards, but six of a kind beats it, even six 3s against a straight flush to the Ace (Article 4).

Can an Ace go next to a 2 in a straight?

Yes, with the Ace as the low end. The straight A-2-3-4-5 is legal, and so are the runs AA-22-33 and AAA-222, but K-A-2 is not, because a sequence cannot wrap from the top to the bottom (Article 4).

Can a wild card be used as a joker?

No. The heart level card can replace any card except the jokers, so it cannot make a joker pair or complete the four jokers (Article 2, item 14).

Can you give back a level card as the return?

No. The return must be 10 or lower in Guandan's rank order, and the level card ranks above the Ace in that order (Articles 4 and 10).

Can a full house use a pair of jokers?

Yes. The rulebook counts two Red Jokers or two Black Jokers as a pair, and a full house only asks for a triple plus a pair. Only the triple is compared, so the jokers do not make the play any stronger (Article 3).

Is tribute refused when each losing player holds one Red Joker?

Usually yes. Article 10 says tribute is refused when the double-down side holds both Red Jokers, and it is normally read as the two players together. This site plays it that way.

Who gives tribute to first place when both tribute cards are equal?

The player on first place's right. Tribute then runs clockwise, that player also leads the first round, and the other loser pays first place's partner (Article 10).

Who leads after a player goes out on their last play?

Their partner, provided nobody beats that last play (Article 9). It can only happen after the first or second player goes out, because the deal is over once a third player is out.

Is a double-down worth three levels or four?

Three, under the 2022 rules (Article 2, item 12). Four is a common house rule.

Does winning a deal at the other side's level count as passing Ace?

No. Passing Ace needs a win in a deal played at your own Ace, with your partner not last (Article 2, item 13).

Common mistakes new players make

• Treating 2 as the top card. Outside the deals where 2 is the level, it is the lowest rank in the game.
• Settling ties by suit. Two equal cards never beat each other, whatever the suits.
• Playing a triple with one extra card, four of a kind with two, or triples with "wings". The only five-card shape that mixes ranks is the full house, a triple with a pair.
• Stretching a straight to six cards, or a run of pairs to four. Straights have five cards, runs of pairs three pairs and runs of triples two triples, no more and no fewer.
• Playing a flush or four of a kind plus one card as a five-card hand, as in Big Two. Neither is a combination here. Five cards of one suit only count when they are also in sequence, as a straight flush.
• Ranking bombs by rank first. The step on the ladder comes first, so any five of a kind beats four Aces.
• Moving the level card up inside a straight. In sequences it keeps its printed place.
• Using a lone wild as any card you like. On its own it is just a level card.
• Paying tribute before the first deal. Tribute starts with the second deal.
• Counting first place as a full win. If your partner comes last, your side only goes up one level.

House rules and other versions

Guandan was a home game long before the 2022 rulebook, so tables, apps and English guides still disagree on several details. This site plays the competition rules on every point below.

There is also a newer text, the 2025 World Guandan competition rules (世界掼牌（掼蛋）竞赛规则), written for international events. This page and the site follow the 2022 national rules.

Your first game: sorting 27 cards and finding your partner

Before your first lead, sort your hand. Twenty-seven cards held in one fan are hard to read, and a messy hand is how beginners end up with five or six single cards nobody can get rid of. A simple order:

1. Check the level for this deal, then find your level cards and any wild hearts.
2. Pull out every rank you hold four or more of. Those are bombs, so keep them together.
3. Look for a straight flush, counting your wilds.
4. Make the long plays next: straights, three pairs in a row, two triples in a row.
5. Turn what is left into full houses, triples and pairs, and see how many single cards remain. Those leftover singles are the cards you have to plan around.

The Sort button on the site's table groups a hand along these lines in one tap, and the Str. flush buttons under the hand light up any suit that can make a straight flush.

Then keep track of the seating. Your partner is the player opposite, and the opponents are on your left and right. When the player opposite has just played and an opponent has passed, beating your partner usually only costs you a card. For a first game, play Guandan online here. The computer takes your partner's seat and both opponents' seats, and it has four difficulty settings, so start with the easiest.

Guandan strategy tips

Early in a deal, when nobody is close to going out, the lead is cheap. That is the time to get rid of a low single or a low pair you could not otherwise place, rather than carrying it to the end, where it turns into the one card you cannot shed.

Before you lead your long plays, check that you will still have a way back in, such as a top single, a high pair or a bomb that wins a round and gives you the lead again for your last plays. A hand that ends with three loose cards and nothing that wins usually finishes last.

Shapes that are hard to follow make good leads. Two triples in a row or a high straight often goes round unbeaten, because most hands cannot match the exact shape and length, while a single or a pair invites everyone at the table to join in.

The reported counts tell you what not to lead. Against an opponent showing one card, a single only makes sense if it is the top card left, and a pair is the safer lead. Against an opponent showing two cards, the pair becomes the risky lead.

Only twelve cards outrank the Ace, the four jokers and the eight level cards. Once you have seen most of them go, your Ace or even your King may be the highest single left. On the site, the Count button shows how many cards of each rank you have not seen yet.

Bombs are best kept for stopping someone who is about to finish. One spent early to win an ordinary round is one fewer answer when an opponent reaches their last few cards, and with two decks the other side may well hold bigger bombs than yours.

Rulebook and other sources

• 竞技掼蛋竞赛规则（试行）, the 2022 competition rules, full text, reposted on Sohu. Every article number on this page points to this text.
• General Administration of Sport of China, report on the Guandan event at the 5th National Mind Sports Games (October 2023), which was played under these rules.
• Guan Dan on Pagat, John McLeod's card game site, for the English terms tube and plate and for several of the house rules compared above.
• Big Two on Pagat, for the comparison with Big Two.
• Guandan on Wikipedia, where the English names Banker and Dweller for first and last place come from.

By The World at PlayLast updated 2026-11-02