Maybe you should play a bunch of games and keep note of how the humans play. Keep track of the unwritten rules/guidelines that human players normally follow, and note the general ideas that govern the way they play.
I dunno if this helps, but how I generally play is I first organize my cards into singles, doubles and triples, and I envision the possible end-sequences that lead to a victory, uninterrupted. An example of such an end-sequence is "9-9-9-8-8, K-K, 2, 7".
Then, during play, I first aim to get rid of my unnecessary singles, and low doubles. When most of my cards can be a part of a possible end-sequence, I aim to take control by playing a very high or unlikely hand, and then run through the end-sequence. Of course, there's straights as well — straights can be a part of an end-sequence and a way to get rid of a lot of singles.
Based on my (probably not so great) human strategy, this is one way you could program the AI:
First, make an approximate ranking system for hands. Base the ranking on the probability that someone will be able to respond with a higher hand — this judges the hand's potential as part of an end-sequence. You can also rank with the probability that someone will play a lower hand of the same type — this, factored in with the previous ranking, judges a hand's ability to take control and start an end-sequence.
Keep track of the player's readiness to start an end-sequence — a player is ready if most of his cards are a part of high and unlikely hands, with not a lot of lone singles and weak doubles, /and/ the player has high enough singles/doubles to take control and start and end-sequence. Every turn, the AI judges its possible moves, and chooses the move (or chooses not to move) that increases the player's readiness the most. When the player is ready enough, the player waits to take control, and then plays down its end sequence.
Of course, this is only one approach to an AI for Chinese poker. You should experiment with different approaches; perhaps write several and then pit them against each other to find the best techniques and strategies.
