How to Play Open Face Chinese Poker (OFC Poker)
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Since Open
Face Chinese Poker doesn’t use any chips 3️⃣ or betting it’s technically not “poker,” but
its usage of poker hands is what gives the game its name. The 3️⃣ game is played with 2-4
players, a standard 52-card deck and a few different ways to keep score. Read on 3️⃣ for
the full rundown of the Open Face Chinese Poker.
About Open Face Chinese Poker
Open
Face Chinese poker is one of 3️⃣ the fastest growing poker games in the poker world.
Originally developed in Finland it began to catch on in the 3️⃣ U.S. around 2011/2012, more
or less, and from there to the online poker community. Since then the game has exploded
3️⃣ in popularity and is a favourite among pro players in particular, who like to gamble
both small and big stakes 3️⃣ amongst each other.
The object of OFC is the same as standard
Chinese Poker rules. Each player must make (set) three 3️⃣ poker hands. Two of the hands
are five-card poker hands and one is a three-card poker hand. The bottom five-card 3️⃣ hand
must be higher in value than the middle five-card hand and the middle hand must be
higher than the 3️⃣ three-card, or top hand.
How to Play OFC Poker/Pineapple (Video)
Get
started with our easy-to-follow video tutorial on how to play Open 3️⃣ Face Chinese Poker &
Open Face Chinese Poker Pineapple.
Open Face Chinese Poker - How to Deal
In standard
Chinese poker all 3️⃣ 13 cards are dealt at the same time and cards are not exposed while
hands are being set. In Open 3️⃣ Face Chinese Poker players do not receive all 13 cards to
start. Rather, they begin with five cards and then 3️⃣ must set them face up.
From this
point each player receives cards one at a time and must set them in 3️⃣ a row before the
next card is received. This continues until all 13 cards have been set in player
hands.
Open 3️⃣ Face Chinese Poker Rules
OFC is usually played 3-handed
Most Open Face
Chinese poker games consist of 2-4 players with the standard 3️⃣ game online consisting of
three-handed tables. A dealer button is used for the sake of determining order of
action and 3️⃣ moves after each hand. The exception is a hand where one player is in
"Fantasyland." When a player is in 3️⃣ Fantasyland the button freezes until all players are
playing standard OFC.
Starting with the player to the left of the button, 3️⃣ each player
is initially dealt five cards which he or she must set. The player to the left of the
3️⃣ button then sets his five cards face up into whichever row(s) he wishes. This continues
until the player on the 3️⃣ button has acted. Please note that once you have set your hand
and your turn is concluded, you cannot change 3️⃣ your hand.
After the first five cards are
dealt another card is then dealt to each player. Starting with the player 3️⃣ to the left
of the button, that card is placed and action continues to the button player. This
continues until 3️⃣ each player has placed all 13 cards. Once the last card is placed
players make comparisons and score their hands.
Open 3️⃣ Face Chinese Poker Scoring
Scoring
in Open Face Chinese poker is done via points, sometimes called units. In aR$1 OFC
game, 3️⃣ each point or unit is worthR$1. Standard scoring is as follows:
Player is paid 1
unit for each hand he wins 3️⃣ against opponent
If a player scoops all three hands against
an opponent he gets three bonus units.
If a player surrenders a 3️⃣ hand he must pay two
units to each opponent.
If a player "fouls" a hand he must pay six units to 3️⃣ each player
who doesn't foul.
Players also score points by winning royalties.
Units are awarded at
showdown via hand comparisons. In a 3️⃣ three-handed game the player to the left of the
button would compare first and comparisons would continue clockwise. By learning 3️⃣ the
right order of counting open face chinese poker points you make make the rounds run
faster and smoother.
Fouling occurs 3️⃣ when your hands are not set in proper order. For
example you play trip threes in the middle and two 3️⃣ pair on bottom. Fouling also
forfeits any bonuses you may have received.
Open Face Chinese Royalties
Royalties are
bonus points paid to 3️⃣ each player for making certain hands. Bonuses are more generous in
OFC since hands tend to be weaker than standard 3️⃣ Chinese poker.
Royalties for Bottom
Hand:
Straight +2 units Flush +4 units Full House +6 units Quads +10 units Straight
Flush +15 3️⃣ units Royal Flush +25 units
Royalties for Middle Hand:
Set +2 units Straight
+4 units Flush +8 units Full House +12 units 3️⃣ Quads +20 units Straight Flush +30 units
Royal Flush +50 units
Royalties for Top Hand:
Sixes +1 unit Sevens +2 units Eights 3️⃣ +3
units Nines +4 units Tens +5 units Jacks +6 units Queens +7 units Kings +8 units Aces
+9 units 3️⃣ Trip Deuces +10 units Trip Threes +11 units Trip Fours +12 units Trip Fives
+13 units Trip Sixes +14 units 3️⃣ Trip Sevens +15 units Trip Eights +16 units Trip Nines
+17 units Trip Tens +18 units Trip Jacks +19 units 3️⃣ Trip Queens +20 units Trip Kings +21
units Trip Aces +22 units
Bonuses are paid during comparison. As an example, aces 3️⃣ on
the top in a three-handed game would net the holder nine units from each player.
Please
note that bonuses are 3️⃣ paid regardless of whether a player wins that row. Also, bonuses
negate each other in OFC. For example should two 3️⃣ players hit quads on the bottom, no
bonus would be paid.
Open Face Chinese Poker Fantasyland
In some OFC games Fantasyland
rules 3️⃣ apply. To enter Fantasyland a player must make queens or better in his or her top
hand without fouling.
If this 3️⃣ happens the next hand they will be dealt all 13 cards at
once and can set the hand like a 3️⃣ standard Chinese Poker hand. The player that's in
Fantasyland will not have their cards exposed until the other players have 3️⃣ completed
their hands.
A player can remain in Fantasyland if they makes trips in the top hand, a
full house or 3️⃣ better in the middle hand or quads or better in the bottom hand.
Open
Face Chinese Poker Pineapple
A popular variation of 3️⃣ OFC is Pineapple OFC (Pineapple
Open Face Chinese). The primary difference between Pineapple OFC and standard OFC is
the number 3️⃣ of cards given to each player after the initial deal.
Both games start with
five cards dealt all at once on 3️⃣ the initial deal but in Pineapple players are then
dealt three cards for every subsequent deal.
From those three cards players 3️⃣ must set
two of those cards into their hands and then discard the last one.
The main difference
between this and 3️⃣ regular OFC is that there are just 5 rounds of play instead of 9 and
each player goes through more 3️⃣ card.
Because of that Pineapple OFC is always played with
a maximum of three players. Scoring, bonuses and Fantasyland rules all 3️⃣ remain the
same.
Pineapple OFC is a faster-paced version of the game that is really catching on
and developing a significant 3️⃣ following online. Read more about how to play Pineapple
Poker on our dedicated page about Pineapple Poker rules.
Play Open Face 3️⃣ Chinese Poker
Online
If you want to play Open Face Chinese Poker online you can play for free on your
smartphone 3️⃣ or mobile device on apps such as the Chinese Open Face Poker app or the
Secure Open Face Chinese Poker 3️⃣ app.
For real-money Chinese Poker cash games and
tournaments, create a new account at any of our best online poker sites.You 3️⃣ can get an
exclusive bonus from PokerListings to start you off.
What Makes OFC Poker Rules
Different From Regular Chinese Poker?
OFC 3️⃣ poker rules are close to Chinese poker rules
but one big difference separates these two poker games from each other 3️⃣ and affects the
gameplay significantly. In OFC poker, you don’t see all your cards in the beginning but
build your 3️⃣ three OFC hands by drawing 1 card (or 3 cards in OFC pineapple), from the
deck at the time. At 3️⃣ the start of OFC poker round, each player is dealt 5 cards, and
after the rest 8 cards are drawn 3️⃣ from the deck until total of thirteen cards are facing
up on the table in three rows - top row 3️⃣ (3 cards), mid row (5 cards) and bottom row (5
cards).
Not knowing your cards and building your hands requires skill 3️⃣ and is very
exciting. These elements of randomness and OFC strategy make this poker variant so fun
to play.
Then there 3️⃣ are the special rules you can only find in OFC poker such as
Fantasyland and OFC Pineapple max. 3-player rule. 3️⃣ Fantasyland is based on drawn cards
and hand results, which is not part of the normal variant since no cards 3️⃣ are drawn from
the deck.
