Pineapple Open-Face Chinese Poker

Introduction

Pineapple OFC is a derivative of standard open-face Chinese poker with Fantasyland, the rules for which can be found here.

Just as in regular OFC, the players get several cards in turn, and place them face-up until they make a 13-card hand, consisting of a "top," "middle," and "bottom" row of three, five, and five cards, respectively. The players start by placing their first five cards each, but then the “crazy pineapple” part kicks in.

Objective

The first five cards are placed just as in regular OFC, but then players get dealt three cards instead of just one. In turn, each player then places two of the three cards in any of his or her available rows before discarding the third one face down. The procedure is repeated until players have completed their 13-card hands.

It is customary not to show the third card to opponents when discarding, but it should be remembered for your own information. Some players use this hidden information to discard cards purposefully that their opponents need to make their hands. Discarded cards are not shuffled back in the deck.

Scoring

Scoring is the same in Pineapple OFC as it is in regular OFC. You can view the complete scoring rules on our regular OFC rules page.

Fantasyland Changes

The rules for making it to Fantasyland are the same as in regular OFC. You need QxQx or better on top to qualify, and since the players see 50% more cards in Pineapple OFC than in regular OFC, players make it to Fantasyland much more often.

To compensate for the fact that hands are now much stronger than in regular OFC, players who make it to Fantasyland in Pineapple OFC are dealt 14 cards and get to play any 13 of them, discarding one.

Adding that 14th card may not seem like much, but it nearly doubles the chance for a player to stay in Fantasyland by making a big hand in the top, middle, or bottom. See our regular OFC rules for a complete list of hands that allow you to stay in Fantasyland.

Conclusion

There you have it. Welcome to Pineapple OFC, the version of Open Face Chinese Poker in which players make hands that are twice as big in half the rounds, where Fantasyland is not just possible but standard, and where you get a 14th chance at quads or a straight flush.

We'll see you in Fantasyland!

OFC rules have been contributed by Nikolai Yakovenko. Known as "Googles," Yakovenko is originally from Moscow, Russia and is now a poker player and software developer residing in Brooklyn, New York. Yakovenko has made both World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour final tables. Meanwhile after several years at Google New York working on ranking algorithms, he's been developing independent software projects ever since. He also helped create the ABC Open-Face Chinese Poker iPhone App. You can follow Yakovenko on Twittter at @ivan_bezdomny.

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