Open Face Chinese Poker Online for Money

Open Face Chinese Poker (OFC) is a cool poker version that many people enjoy. It has become famous in recent times and has even been featured in big poker tournaments. This game needs skill and is perfect for 2-3 players using a regular 52-card deck. By the end of this blog, you” know where to play Open Face Chinese Poker online for money.

Also called Pineapple poker, this poker game’s goal is to create the best 13-card hand, arranging them in three rows. You make three special hands: a top hand with three cards, a middle hand with five cards, and a bottom hand with five cards.

Pineapple OFC poker is all about points unlike other poker games using chips. There’s a set Points system, and players score points for making specific hands according to standard poker hand rankings. Open Face Pineapple Poker follows the same hand rankings as Texas Hold’em and Omaha Poker.

Open Face Chinese Poker doesn’t involve chips or betting, so it differs slightly from traditional “poker.” However, it gets its name from using poker hands. You can play with 2-4 players, a regular 52-card deck, and there are various ways to score. Let’s dive into the details of Open Face Chinese Poker.

The Basics Of Playing Open Face Chinese Poker Online for Money

Instead of a complex setup, just imagine a dealer button in front of the dealer. If there are three players, the action moves around the table clockwise, starting from the player to the Dealer’s left.

For the first round, everyone gets dealt five cards face down. Now, here’s the fun part – players start building their hand with these five cards.

Once all players have set their initial five cards, they take turns drawing three more cards. But hold on, they can only use two of those to add to their hand. The third one? Well, that gets discarded face down.

This cycle repeats for five rounds. Each time, players draw three cards, choose two for their hand, and discard one. It goes on until everyone has finished building their final 13-card hand.

Open Face Chinese Poker Rules

Game Goal

In Open Face Chinese Poker, your mission is to organize 13 cards into three poker hands following a 5+5+3 pattern. The goal? Rack up points for each of these hands. The player with the most points takes the OFC poker crown.

Three Rows, Three Hands

The first batch has 3 cards and is your weakest – it’s the top row. Moving down, the second set boasts five cards and must outshine the first – this is the middle row. The final bunch also rocks five cards but needs to beat both the first and second hands – introducing the bottom row.

The Foul Play

Here’s the twist – if your final 13-card masterpiece doesn’t play by these rules, it’s a foul. You lose points across all three rows. This is what we call a “Dead hand” in OFC poker. In this game, cards are dished out round by round, so you don’t see all your cards at once. That’s why there’s a good chance you might end up with a Dead hand. Tricky, isn’t it?

Fouling, also called mis-setting, occurs when an illegal hand is made, resulting in the forfeiture of that hand. To be legal, the back hand must be as strong as or stronger than the middle and front hands. If this balance isn’t maintained, the hand is not legal and is considered fouled. When a player fouls, they lose six points (one point for each line plus a three-point scoop bonus) for each non-fouling player, while non-fouling players gain six points.

Additional losses may occur if players with legal hands achieve royalties. Opponents with legal hands gain six points, along with any royalties in their hands, excluding royalties in fouled hands. Fouling players lose all royalties in their hands. If multiple players foul, they tie, and no points are exchanged between players with fouled hands. Unlike standard Chinese poker, players don’t receive all thirteen cards at once. Therefore, fouling is a significant factor, and strategies are developed to avoid it.

How Is the Winner Determined While Playing Open Face Chinese Poker Online for Money?

Once everyone has set up their complete hands, it’s time to compare. Each player looks at their three rows of cards and sees how they stack up against their opponents.

The player with the highest points after adding up the scores from all three rows is the big winner of the game. Simple as that!

Royalty Points 

Apart from the regular points you get for each row, you can bag some extra points for pulling off impressive hands like a Flush or Four of a Kind in OFC poker. These special points are called Royalty Points, and they can seriously boost your overall score.

How Royalty Points Work?

These points aren’t dependent on whether you win or lose a row; they’re all about the strength of the hand you create. The stronger your hand, the more Royalty Points come your way.

Examples of Royalty Points:

• A Flush nets you 4 points in the bottom row and 8 points in the middle row.
• Going big with Four of a Kind? That’s 10 points in the bottom row and a hefty 20 points in the middle row.

Accumulating Royalty Points:

If you manage to pull off multiple hands earning you Royalty Points, all those points get added to your original score. It’s like a bonus for your poker prowess.

Now, let’s check out the charts below to see how many Royalty Points you can bag for different hands in each row:

Here are the Open Face Chinese Poker royalties in a table for easy reference:

Royalty Points for Open Face Chinese Poker Online For Money

How Does Scoring Work in Open Face Chinese Poker (OFC)?

Each of the three rows you play is worth one point. So, if you manage to outshine your opponent in two rows, you gain one point. But here’s the twist – the one point for the row you lose gets deducted from the two points you won. Now, if you conquer all three rows, that’s a Scoop, and you bag a total of 6 points.

To sum it up:

• Win two rows, lose one, and you’re looking at one point.
• Win one row, lose two, and you end up with minus 1 point.
• Win all three rows, and you hit the jackpot with 6 points (Scoop).
• Lose all three rows, and sadly, you lose 6 points.

Usually, a set number of hands are played in Pineapple poker games. Once that’s done, the winner emerges, and the scores reset. Players then decide whether to kick off a new game or call it a day.

The Concept of Fantasyland and Recurring in Open Face Chinese Poker

You earn your ticket to Fantasyland by getting Queens or better in the top row without messing up. When the round ends, going into Fantasyland means you get all 14 cards face up in the next round. Now, here’s the fun part – you pick your best 13 cards and discard one.

But what’s really awesome here is that your opponents stick to the regular rules, drawing cards the usual way (5+3+3+3+3) for five rounds. They won’t see any of your cards. Being in Fantasyland is a big advantage – you see all your cards at once, plan your moves, and build strong hands.

If you get Queens or better in the top row or Quads or better in the bottom row without messing up, you qualify for Recurring Fantasyland. It’s like a sequel, letting you enjoy the Fantasyland fun in the next hand too. In OFC poker, there’s no limit to how many times you can have this recurring fantasy. Hang out in Fantasyland as long as you keep meeting the requirements with these awesome hands.

Variations In Open Face Chinese Poker Online for Money

Let’s talk about a couple of cool variations in Chinese poker:

Pineapple Open Face Chinese Poker (POFC)

For up to three players, everyone starts with five cards. But here’s the twist – instead of getting one card at a time, players get dealt three cards together. Exciting, right? Players choose two cards to keep and toss away one. They repeat this until they’ve built a hand with 13 cards. If someone hits Fantasyland, they get a whopping 14 cards but need to discard one. Getting into fantasyland follows traditional OFC rules, and some say having AA+ is the way to go. Staying in fantasyland requires a three-of-a-kind on top and/or a four-of-a-kind or better at the bottom. Keep in mind, that a full house in the middle doesn’t count!

Double Deck Open Face Chinese Poker

Here’s a twist – two decks of cards are shuffled together, making it a party for more players. You can even play Double Deck Pineapple! The rules are pretty much the same as the single-deck games, but with double the fun. Some players say having AA+ is the key to unlocking Fantasyland. Using two decks opens up the possibility of scoring a 5-of-a-kind, and some even suggest giving it the same royalties as a straight flush. Double the decks, double the excitement!

Open Face Chinese Poker Online for Money FAQs

What is Open Face Chinese Poker?

OFC Poker, short for Open Face Chinese poker, is a poker version played by 3-4 players using standard poker hand rankings. Each player gets thirteen cards to create three poker hands. The catch is that only 5 cards are initially dealt, and the remaining cards are drawn one at a time from the deck and placed face up on the table. In OFC poker, the top row must have the weakest hand, the middle row stronger than the top, and the bottom row the strongest to avoid fouls. The goal is to have the best hand in each row and earn points accordingly.

How Do I Win in OFC Poker?

In OFC Poker, winning involves scoring points based on your hand wins. In each round, the goal is to win all three hands to get 3 points and potential special bonus points. OFC follows the same poker hand rankings as Texas Hold’em, where a royal flush beats all other hands.

Where can I play OFC Poker online?

You can play OFC Poker online on top poker sites like BLITZPOKER. While not as popular as Texas Hold’em, OFC Poker is steadily gaining traction as one of the most played poker games online and live. You might even find it featured in big tournaments in a few years. Additionally, you can play OFC Poker online for free by downloading the BLITZPOKER app on your smartphone where you can enjoy the freeroll @ 3 PM every day.

How Is OFC Poker Played?

You play OFC Poker against 2 to 4 players, aiming to win each row with the best hand based on regular poker hand rankings. After the initial five cards are dealt, you place three of them face up on the table in rows and start building your hands by drawing cards from the deck. After the showdown, points are calculated, and a new round begins. That’s the basic idea of how to play OFC.