OFC Poker
How to Play OFC Poker
- Open Face Chinese poker games played between of 2-4 players mostly
- Initially, in OFC Poker each player handles 5 cards and tries to make the best hand by adjusting the cards in the pattern of 3,5,5.
- In the next round, each player handles 3 cards (face down) out of which one card needs to be discarded.
- Once each player sets his or her hand, then scores are determined.
- Each hand is compared with the opponent's respective hand. Like a top hand-top hand, middle hand- middle hand, bottom hand-bottom hand.
- Each row consists of 1 point. If you win in all three hands in Open Face Chinese Poker, your score will be 6 and this state is known as “Scoop”.
- You have to win 1 point from your opponent's point in order to beat your opponent in 2 rows.
- If OFC poker is played among three players, first points are calculated between Big blind and Small blind, then between Small Blind and Dealer, then between Big Blind and Dealer
OFC Poker Basics
OFC refers to Open Face Chinese Poker, and "Pineapple OFC" is a popular name for the poker game. Instead of utilising chips like in traditional poker, OFC uses a point system in which each point has a certain value. One type of OFC is Sit and go, while the other is Cash. cash game are more popular than sit and go games.
OFC is played between either 2 players or 3. In a sit n go, a player buys-in with a fixed amount (which is the minimum and maximum that the player would need to invest). A fixed number of hands are played in each round, after which the scores are reset and players can choose either to play again or quit. In the cash format, which is the more popular of the two, there is no system of rounds and after a player chooses a table of their preference, the game is played much like a 2 or 3-way game of Hold’em. The scoring format explained below holds good for both these formats. Unlike online poker, this game is played without chips. A point system is followed to determine the score, with each point holding a certain value.
The objective of Open Face Chinese Poker is to make the best hand based on the poker hands rankings against your opponents. At the start of the game, each player is dealt with a total of 13 cards, which are divided into three hands. The top hand is the weakest hand which contains 3 cards, the middle hand contains 5 cards and the bottom hand contains 5 cards. If these 3 subsequent hands do not follow the specific pattern which is mentioned in the rules, and it is called a “Dead Hand” and the players’ score will become zero. As such, the player will lose the Open Face Chinese Poker game
Rules of OFC Poker
The aim of this game is to set your best hand, and compare it against your opponent(s) to
determine the scores. This is divided into 3 rows – bottom, middle and top. The bottom and
middle row comprise of 5 cards each, while the top row comprises of just 3. So, an OFC hand
comprises of a total of 13 cards (5+5+3). Based on poker
card rankings, players need to set
their cards into these rows following one primary rule – the bottom hand must be stronger than
the middle hand, and the middle hand must be stronger than the top hand. If this structure is
not followed, you end up with a “Dead Hand”, which means that you earn 0 points in addition to
the amount you lose to your opponent(s).
Each player is first dealt 5 cards face-up. A
player then beings to construct his/her hand using these 5 cards. Once this round concludes,
players are dealt 3 cards each (face-down), of which they must use 2 cards and discard one. This
continues until each player has completed constructing his/her hand (5 rounds of play in total).
Once each player sets his/her hand, points are calculated and compared against each other to
gather the final tally. Players are dealt in a similar style to Texas Hold 'em, with there being
a Small Blind, Big Blind and Dealer in three-handed games.
OFC Poker Points Rules
The game of OFC follows a point system, where players earn a set number of points for making certain hands. Each row is compared with your opponent’s respective row, and scores are calculated based on the points secured by each player. Each row comprises of one point, which means that if you were to beat your opponent in 2 rows, you would win 1 point from him/her (your two points minus opponent’s 1 point). If however you beat your opponent in all 3 rows – you would win a total of 6 points (known as sweep or scoop). Player scores are calculated clockwise, starting from the left of the button. This means that in a three-handed game, points are tallied first between the Big Blind and Small Blind, then the Small Blind and Dealer, and finally the Big Blind and Dealer.
Royalties In OFC Poker
Apart from the basic points system, players can earn Royalties for hands like a Flush, Straight, Full House, Trips etc. Royalty points, often known as bonus points, are additional points that you can earn for hands. In Open Face Chinese Poker, each hand has a varied number of points depending on its strength. The royalty points cancel each other out. For example, if two players receive the same number of royalty points for the identical hands, points will be zero (zero). The below table indicates how Royalties work for each row:
| Hands | Bottom hand | Middle Hand |
|---|---|---|
| Trips | 0 Points | 2 Points |
| Straight | 2 Points | 4 Points |
| Flush | 4 Points | 8 Points |
| Full House | 6 Points | 12 Points |
| Four of a Kind | 10 Points | 20 Points |
| Straight Flush | 15 Points | 30 Points |
| Royal Flush | 25 Points | 50 Points |
Top Hand
| Hands | Pair | Trips |
|---|---|---|
| 2s | 0 Points | 10 Points |
| 3s | 0 Points | 11 Points |
| 4s | 0 Points | 12 Points |
| 5s | 0 Points | 13 Points |
| 6s | 1 Points | 14 Points |
| 7s | 2 Points | 15 Points |
| 8s | 3 Points | 16 Points |
| 9s | 4 Points | 17 Points |
| 10s | 5 Points | 18 Points |
| Js | 6 Points | 19 Points |
| Qs | 7 Points | 20 Points |
| Ks | 8 Points | 21 Points |
| As | 9 Points | 22 Points |
Royalty points are counted and compared with the total tally while calculating the score, and the player with the most points wins. He/she will win an amount equivalent to the points scored times the value of each point. These Royalty amounts are earned by a player regardless of whether they win that particular row or not. Additionally, bonuses negate each other (for example if two players have a flush at the bottom row – while the player with the higher flush earns one point for the row – the royalty points will be 0 instead of 4).
Fantasyland of OFC Poker
Fantasyland is where you want to be! This part of the game is probably the most exciting, and rewards players with additional points. If a player manages to set Queens or better in their top row, they qualify for a fantasyland in OFC poker". This means that once that round completes, an additional round is dealt – only this time, the player who had a fantasy hand gets dealt either 14-17 cards (depending on the variant) face-up at one shot and sets his/her best 13 card hand. Opponents are dealt their hands in the regular fashion (5+3+3+3+3). Additionally, a player can get a “recurring fantasy” hand if he/she manages to set either quads in the bottom row or by placing trips in their top row (in a fantasy hand). In this case, a player is dealt another fantasy in the subsequent hand. There is no limit to the number of recurring fantasy hands that a player can get.
OFC Poker Variants
Regular
Players in Fantasy are dealt 14 cards get to play any 13 of them, discarding any one. When a player qualifies for a recurring fantasy, he/she will be dealt only 14 cards in the next hand. Players can qualify for a recurring fantasy by placing in a Full House in the bottom row if they have a Full House in the middle row, as long as they don’t foul.
Progressive
Players can be dealt up to 17 cards in fantasy depending on the strength of the hand in the top row 14 (QQ), 15 (KK), 16 (AA), 17 (three-of-a-kind). Players need to manage quads or better in the bottom row or three-of-a-kind in the top row to qualify for a recurring fantasy. Players will only be dealt 14 cards in recurring fantasy.
Ultimate
Players can be dealt up to 17 cards in fantasy depending on the strength of the hand in the top row 14 (QQ), 15 (KK), 16 (AA), 17 (three-of-a-kind). Players need to manage quads or better in the bottom row or three-of-a-kind in the top row to qualify for a recurring fantasy. Players can be dealt up to 17 cards in recurring fantasy, depending on the hand they originally entered fantasy with.
Play OFC Pineapple Poker on PokerBaazi and Win Real Cash
Open Face Chinese Poker is a variation of regular Chinese Poker, and presumably, you now understand the basics of how to play OFC Poker and the poker rules. Play for varied stakes on the felts of PokerBaazi and challenge your mates to earn some through your poker skills online daily.
