Chinese poker is a beginner-friendly poker game, where players don’t need to bet or bluff, and only play with points. Instead of holding just one hand, however, players hold 3; a bottom and middle hand with a total of 5 cards, and a top hand with a total of 3.

These hands are arranged like a pyramid, and in Open Face Chinese (OFC) Poker, they are also displayed face up. This means all players can view the cards you have in play, and makes the game less about representing a hand and more about making well-calculated choices in arranging the cards dealt to you.

The number of cards you receive in each round depends on the variation you’re playing, and we’ll get into more detail on the rules and variations of OFC below.

OFC Games Available on CoinPoker

For the moment you will be able to find OFC Pineapple, the game’s most popular variation, in the CoinPoker lobby. Depending on community feedback, more versions of this fast-paced poker game will be added in the future.

OFC Classic and Pineapple Rules

Classic Open Face Chinese and its Pineapple variation are strikingly similar games with just a few key differences. Below we’ll cover the basics of the classic game, and point out how Pineapple differs and why it makes it a faster-paced and more popular variation.

OFC Basic Gameplay

Open face Chinese is a scintillating online gambling poker game with lots of strategy and opportunities for huge momentum swings due to royalty bonuses and Fantasy Land play. It's a fascinating excursion. Dec 10, 2020 Most Open Face Chinese poker games consist of 2-4 players with the standard game online consisting of three-handed tables. A dealer button is used for the sake of determining order of action and moves after each hand. The exception is a hand where one player is in ' Fantasyland.'

Classic OFC can be played by 2, 3, or 4 players while its Pineapple counterpart has a maximum number of players set at 3. The reason for this difference is that more cards are dealt in Pineapple, but we’ll get into that a little later.

Every OFC cash game follows the same principles as Hold’Em or PLO in the sense that they have a set buy-in. The difference is that when you sit down at the table with your buy-in there will be no bets or chips. Instead, you will compete for points, and each table has an assigned value to one point. For example, a 500 CHP buy-in game will usually have a 5CHP/point value set.

Each round is referred to as a set, and the number of hands in a set depends on the number of players at the table.

• A Set with 2 Players Consists of 2 Hands
• A Set with 3 Players Consists of 3 Hands

During the game you will sometimes notice that the number of hands increases, this is because of the Fantasyland feature, which will be explained later on.

The game starts with the player left of the dealer, and each player is given 5 cards to start with. Players need to arrange the cards into 3 hands, consisting of 13 slots, which will be visible to everyone at the table.

After the first 5 cards are dealt, players are dealt one card at a time in Classic OFC, or 3 cards at a time in Pineapple. Pineapple is a lot faster paced, and in this variation players get these cards face down, choose 2 to play with and reveal, then discard the third.

Fouling and Hand Order

OFC is less about bluffing your opponents and more about calculating the odds of making a certain hand. When arranging the cards into each row there are a few important rules to consider in addition to trying to make the best possible hand.

1. Your bottom row must be stronger than the middle and top rows
2. Your middle row must be stronger than the top row

Failing to comply with these rules results in a foul. Fouling gets you -6 points at the end of the hand. That’s the same penalty as losing all three rows, and fouling will cut these points off your score regardless of whether or not your rows are stronger than your opponents’.

Scoring and Royalties in OFC

Once all 13 cards are placed and you have successfully avoided fouling, it’s time you compare hands with your opponent(s). The system for scoring is the same in both Classic OFC and Pineapple, and can seem a little confusing at first.

• Best Hand in Any Row: +1
• Best hand in All Rows: +6 (+1 point for each row +3 points for getting a Scoop)
• Lost Hand in Any Row: -1
• Lost Hand in All Rows: -6
• Incorrect Hand Order: -6 (Foul)

In addition to these points, OFC and Pineapple scoring also includes royalties. These are special points awarded for certain hands, and are added to the basic scores. Higher hands on the top row get the highest number of royalty points, followed by the middle and bottom rows.

You can find a handy cheat sheet for all OFC royalties here.

Rules of Fantasyland

If you manage to get QQ or higher in your top row without fouling then you enter into what is called Fantasyland. Fantasyland gives you the special advantage of receiving 13 cards at once in Classic or 14 in Pineapple (1 you would discard) instead of just the initial 5 on your next hand.

You can then use these cards to make your hands without the uncertainty that comes with drawing 1 or 3 at a time. Players can stay in Fantasyland in the next hand and beyond by satisfying any of the following conditions during the current hand:

1. Trips in your top hand
2. Quads or higher in your bottom hand

Fantasyland adds an extra hand to your existing set, giving you a huge advantage during the hand and an opportunity to grab more points from your opponent(s).

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Chinese Poker Conquers the World

Chinese Poker Strategies

It turns out that Asia does not need European or America rules for the game of poker. China has its own variant of this popular card game, called “Chinese poker” – and you can play it too, thanks to the GameDesire service.

Professional Poker Players Participate in Open Face Chinese

Jason Mercier, a many times poker champion – including a win at one of the most famous tournaments, the European Poker Tour, said on his blog that his first encounter with Chinese poker was quite singular. As soon as he had learned the rules, he played it non-stop for 34 hours, slept nine hours and returned to the tournament for the next 20 hours. Chinese poker is a game that does not require too much concentration from the player, and can even be very relaxing and soothing. It is an excellent form of relaxation and pleasure for unwinding after a long and tiring day. Despite that, the decisions taken during the game can determine victory or defeat. It all adds up to a first encounter with Chinese poker that can turn into hours of engrossing gameplay.

No Strategy will be Good

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Surprisingly, no one has so far not fully figure out all the combinations in Open Face Chinese. Some even make the bold assertion that it is a question to which there is no possible answer. Perhaps this is why Chinese poker has such a hypnotic draw. It provides a lot more fun than any other poker variation, in which dozens of strategies have been developed with the aim of gaining an advantage over opponents. The loose form of the game does however force us to think at some moments, converting and building hands in order to avoid the scrutiny of opponents at every moment. The only way to become an experienced Chinese poker player is persistent practice, and you should start now – especially as it is so much fun.

Chinese Poker – the Goal of the Game

Open face Chinese is largely based on planning and making the right decisions. Each player is initially dealt 13 cards from the deck (five at the beginning and then eight one by one), which they arrange into three hands (on a 3-5-5 pattern), from strongest to weakest hand. Winning hands are those that contain the strongest cards, which multiply your number of points.

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Open Face Chinese – Gameplay

At the beginning the dealer deals five cards to each player. The cards can be placed anywhere on the table, but it is extremely important to remember that they cannot be moved to another position once set in place. Then, a further eight cards are distributed to each player. These go onto the bottom line (five cards), the middle (five cards), and the top (three cards).
The rules state that the cards and subsequent combinations must be arranged thus: weakest in the lower section, followed by the middle section, then the strongest on top. If they are not arranged in the correct order, a “mis-setting” (foul) will occur, and the hand is forfeited. Cards are selected by the players until each has 13.

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Play Chinese Poker Online

Anyone who is bored with well-known variants of poker, in which every move and strategy have long since been developed by professionals, will find something for them in Chinese poker. By playing online, you can join the game popular in Asian countries without the need for expensive and difficult to obtain tickets to distant China. Poker masters themselves will tell you that playing Open Face Chinese Poker will not result in a 15 minute game.
Go to GameDesire to set up your free account and start the game! And if you are interested in different card games, check out poker and thousand. With GameDesire you don’t have to waste time seeking gaming partners, because they are already there and waiting for new Chinese poker players. Win, share their experiences and experience intense emotions alongside other members of the GameDesire community.