Introduction to Open Face Chinese Poker – Part 3

In Part 2 of this series we talked about the most often played variation of Open Face Chinese Poker, but apart from this standard game, there are several different instances that deviate in certain aspects from the original game. In this final part we will take a look at a couple of these variations.

Pineapple OFC

Standard rules for OFC have already been explained so we will only focus on differences in game play. Although players will also receive thirteen cards by the time the hand is over, the dealing in Pineapple is somewhat different.

Each player involved in the hand will first receive five cards face up to arrange in any of the three rows (back, middle, front) as they see fit. After all players are done with this initial round, the next round of dealing commences.

On this next and every subsequent round, every player will receive three cards face down. They are allowed to use any two of these three cards to create the best possible hand, while the third card is discarded (still face down). This continues until all players have arranged all thirteen cards.

The fact that there are cards being discarded without opponents having any information about those cards adds another strategic factor to the game, as you will be able to account for these cards when calculating how likely or unlikely your opponent is to make a certain hand.

Fantasy Land in Pineapple

The same rules as in classic OFC apply for entering Fantasy Land in Pineapple, i.e. Queens or better in the front, without fouling. Once in Fantasy Land, a player will receive fourteen (instead of thirteen) cards and will discard one of those cards when they are done arranging the hand.

To stay in Fantasy Land, a player must create a hand containing three of a kind or better at the top, a boat in the middle, or quads in the back.

Scoring is the same as in regular OFC.

Turbo OFC

Turbo Open Face Chinese poker is played much the same as the classic variation in terms of fouling, scoring, and Fantasy Land rules. The only real difference is in how the cards are dealt.

In the initial round, every player in the hand is dealt five cards face up. This round is then followed by two more rounds where every player receives four more cards face up in every round – and that’s it. Everything is done in just three rounds of dealing, significantly decreasing the time needed for a hand to play out, but also adding to the variance.

You should now be fully equipped to sit down and play any of the standard variations out there. Learning strategies and math behind the game is up to you, but if you are starting to like the idea of Open Face Chinese, then click this link and join TonyBetand take part in tonight’s $500 freeroll.

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