Sanmai Kabu [三枚かぶ] (lit. “three-card nine”) is a betting game using rules applied in Oicho-kabu, played in the Aomori Prefecture in Japan.
¶ Setup
Game setup involves choosing a dealer - 親 [おや, oya], deciding the seating arrangement of the other players, and shuffling the deck. Certain ground rules should also be agreed upon before play begins.
¶ Equipment
Sanmai Kabu is played with a 48-card hanafuda deck.
You need to be familiar with the hanafuda month sequence to play this game using hanafuda.
Alternatively, you may use a 48-card one-suited mekurifuda deck such as Kinseizan or Irinokichi.
If you don’t have any of these cards, a western playing card deck may be used. Remove all “10” cards in the deck.
¶ Ground Rules
Before play begins, the group should agree on the following:
- What should happen in the event of a tie between a player and the dealer. There are two options: Either the result is a draw and the player’s bet is returned, or the dealer wins.
- The maximum total bet. This is a limit on the amount of points that can be wagered per round- the sum of all bets from all players cannot exceed it, and once it is reached, no further bets can be placed.
¶ Choosing the Dealer and Seating
To begin, each player draws a card from the deck. The player with the lowest number becomes the dealer, and the remaining players seat themselves in order anti-clockwise around the table- the second-lowest number sits to the right of the dealer, third-lowest to the right of them, and so on. Since play begins with the dealer and progresses anti-clockwise, there is a distinct advantage to sitting close to the dealer’s right.
If the dealer represents an establishment- say, when playing at a casino or gambling parlour- then their role will obviously be fixed, though the other players may still use this process to determine their seating order.
In the event of a tie, the players in question should draw a second card and compare again.
When playing with a hanafuda deck, the ranks of the cards can be used to break ties in the usual manner- Brights beat Animals, which beat Ribbons, which beat Chaff.
With a western playing card deck, suits could be used to break ties instead.
¶ Gameplay
Like all kabu-kei games, the goal is to have a hand whose total value is as close as possible to 9. Totals that go over 9 ‘wrap around’ by discarding the tens digit. So 10 is equivalent to 0, 11 is equivalent to 1, and so on, much like Baccarat.
Similar to other banking games, the players are not competing against each other, but are only aiming to beat the dealer.
¶ Card Values
| VALUE | Mekurifuda Number |
Hanafuda Month |
Flower Icon |
Flower Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 (Dragon) | January |  |
Pine |
| 2 | 2 | February |  |
Plum Blossom |
| 3 | 3 | March |  |
Cherry Blossom |
| 4 | 4 | April |  |
Wisteria |
| 5 | 5 | May |  |
Iris |
| 6 | 6 | June |  |
Peony |
| 7 | 7 | July |  |
Bush Clover |
| 8 | 8 | August |  |
Susuki Grass |
| 9 | 9 | September |  |
Chrysanthemum |
| 0 | 10 (Maid) | October |  |
Maple |
| 0 | 11 (Horse) | November |  |
Willow |
| 0 | 12 (King) | December |  |
Paulownia |
If mekurifuda is used, you will notice that all number cards are worth face value, while all court cards are worth 0 points.
¶ Setting up the table
The dealer shuffles the deck, and places 3 stacks of 3 face-down cards each on the table to form the field. Each stack on the field is a potential hand of a player other than the dealer.
Then, the dealer places a stack of 3 face-down cards to themself. This stack will be the dealer’s hand.
¶ Betting
Then, starting from the right of the dealer and working anti-clockwise, the players take turns to bet on these potential hands. Each player may bet on as many of the three stacks as they choose, and may bet different amounts on each. They signal their bets by placing the appropriate number of chips on top of each card.
¶ Showdown
After all players have placed their bets, all cards on the field are revealed.
The dealer’s hand is compared with each of the three stacks on the table.
- If the dealer’s hand totals greater than a field hand, then the dealer wins; they take for themselves any bets placed on that hand by the players.
- If the dealer’s hand totals less the a field hand, then the players win. Any player who bet on that hand wins an amount equal to their bet, in addition to having their bet returned to them, for a total payout of 2:1.
- If the dealer’s hand and a field hand are equal in value, then this is a draw, and whichever rule the players agreed upon beforehand is applied. Either the dealer wins, or all bets on that hand are annulled and returned to the players.
This comparison is performed independently for each of the four hands- it is entirely possible for the dealer to win against some hands while losing against others.
One special yaku is attested to be used in this game:
- Three of a Kind [嵐 - あらし, arashi]: If all 3 cards in a hand are of the same month, then this hand automatically wins against the dealer. Any players who bet on this hand receive double their bet in addition to having the original bet returned, for a payout of 3:1.
Other yaku used in Oicho-kabu could potentially be used in the game as a house-rule.
¶ Additional Rounds
No particular setup is given for playing additional rounds. When playing at a casino or parlour, the dealer will remain the dealer, though the players may cycle their seating positions.
In casual games, the dealer may either remain fixed, or lose their role whenever their hand loses against every hand on the table. In this case, the player to their right becomes the next dealer.
¶ Bibliography
- Yamaguchi Yasuhiko, “Saigo no Yomikaruta”