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Card game guide · August 2026

How to play Thirteen (13), the Tiến Lên card game

Thirteen is a shedding game for four players: everyone gets thirteen cards, and the first person to play them all out wins. The rules below cover the card ranking, every legal combination, and the bombs that beat a 2 — the one part people usually get wrong.

Play Thirteen freeJump to the combinations

The name, and why it is Thirteen

The game is Vietnamese, and its name there is Tiến Lên — roughly “go forward”. Written without accents it becomes Tien Len, which is how most English-language sites spell it. You will also see it listed as Thirteen, 13, or just Vietnamese cards.

The number comes from the deal: four players, thirteen cards each, one standard 52-card deck used exactly. Nothing is left over and there is no stock to draw from — the hand you are dealt is the hand you play.

If you know Big Two, Dai Di or Chinese Poker, you will recognise the shape. The combinations and the ranking are different enough that they are genuinely separate games.

The deal and the first lead

  • Four players, one 52-card deck, thirteen cards each.
  • No jokers, no draw pile, no trump suit.
  • The player holding the 3 of spades leads the very first play of the game.
  • That opening play must include the 3 of spades — on its own, or inside a legal combination such as a pair of threes or a run starting at it.
  • Play then passes to the left.

After the first round, whoever won the previous round leads the next one, and they may lead any combination they like.

The part that surprises people

The 2 is the highest card, not the Ace

This single rule changes how the whole game feels. The humble 2 outranks everything, and the 3 is the weakest card in the deck.

Rank order, lowest to highest

3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · J · Q · K · A · 2

So an Ace beats a King, and a 2 beats the Ace. A hand full of twos and aces is strong; a hand full of threes and fours is not.

Suits break every tie

When two cards share a rank, the suit decides. From weakest to strongest:

♠ spades · ♣ clubs · ♦ diamonds · ♥ hearts

That makes the 2 of hearts the single strongest card in the game, and the 3 of spades the weakest — which is exactly why the 3 of spades is the card that opens play.

What you are allowed to play

The six combinations

You can only beat a combination with the same kind of combination, made of the same number of cards — a pair beats a pair, a five-card run beats a five-card run. The bombs at the end are the only exception.

1 card

Single

Any one card. Beaten by any higher single — remembering that a 2 is higher than an Ace, and hearts beat diamonds at the same rank.

2 cards

Pair

Two cards of the same rank, such as two nines. A higher pair beats it; if both pairs are nines, the one containing the higher suit wins.

3 cards

Triple

Three of a kind. Only another, higher triple can beat it.

3+ cards

Sequence (a run)

Three or more cards in consecutive rank, suits irrelevant — 5·6·7, or 9·10·J·Q. A sequence may not contain a 2. A longer run does not beat a shorter one; you must match the length exactly and win on the highest card.

6, 8, 10 cards

Double sequence

Three or more consecutive pairs — 7·7·8·8·9·9. Six cards is three pairs, eight cards is four. Like runs, these cannot contain a 2, and must be matched pair-for-pair in length.

4 cards

Four of a kind (a bomb)

All four cards of one rank. Beats any lower four of a kind — and, unusually, it can also be played out of turn-shape against a 2. See below.

Bombs: the only way to beat a 2

A 2 led as a single cannot be beaten by any other single, because nothing outranks it. That would make twos unstoppable, so the game gives them a specific counter — the bomb, also called a chop:

  • Four of a kind beats a single 2.
  • Three consecutive pairs (six cards) also beats a single 2.
  • Four consecutive pairs (eight cards) beats a pair of 2s.

This is the strategic heart of the game. A bomb is a large, inflexible chunk of your hand, and spending it early to win a small round usually costs more than it gains — but holding it means you always have an answer when someone finally drops a 2.

How a round actually plays out

  1. The leader plays any legal combination.
  2. Each player in turn either beats it — same type, same number of cards, higher rank — or passes.
  3. Passing puts you out of that round. You cannot rejoin it, even if a later play is one you could have beaten.
  4. When everybody else has passed, the last player to have played wins the round, the table clears, and they lead a brand-new round with anything they choose.

The first player to get rid of all thirteen cards wins the game outright. Everyone else finishes in the order they run out.

Our own answer

Play it free, with two rule sets

Reading the rules only takes you so far. Our browser version deals you a hand against three computer players so you can try them out — no ads, no sign-in, no download.

Standard and Classic

The game ships both of the main rule families, switchable in the toolbar:

  • Standard is the version described in this guide: the 2 is the highest card, runs and double sequences may not contain a 2, and the three bombs above apply.
  • Classic reverses the twos. The 2 becomes the lowest card and the Ace is the highest, runs are allowed to contain a 2, and sequences may wrap around the ends. There are no bombs, because there is no unbeatable card to counter.

If you learned this game from family, one of those two will feel like the “real” one. That is exactly why both are there.

What else is in it

  • Three computer opponents, so you never need a table of four.
  • A daily deal — everyone who plays on a given day gets the same starting hand, so results are comparable.
  • A running win count kept on your own device.
  • Works offline once the page has loaded, and installs as an app if you want it to.
Play Thirteen nowAll free games

Common questions

Is Thirteen the same as Big Two?

No, though they are cousins. Big Two uses poker hands — flushes, full houses, straights — for its five-card plays, and ranks the suits differently. Thirteen has no poker hands at all: its five-card play is a plain run of consecutive ranks, and its special plays are the pair-based bombs. The two games reward quite different hands.

What happens if nobody can beat the lead?

Then the leader wins that round immediately, clears the table, and leads again with anything they like. Leading a card nobody can answer — a 2, late in the game — is a legitimate way to seize the lead and start dumping your weak cards.

Can I play a longer run to beat a shorter one?

No. Length has to match exactly. A six-card run does not beat a five-card run; it is simply not a legal reply to it. The only plays that break the matching rule are the bombs, and they only break it against twos.

Does the 3 of spades rule apply every round?

Only to the very first play of the game. After that, the winner of each round leads the next one and may lead whatever they like.