Open Face Chinese Poker Rules & Strategy - Spartan Poker

Game

Game in OFC Pineapple consists of several hands played on one table.

Once a game starts, no more player can join it.

The number of hands in a game equals to the number of players participating in the game, i.e. the dealer's button completes a full circle. However, depending on the following conditions the number of hands can be smaller or bigger that the number of participants:

• if all players, except for one, have lost the entire amount of their chips, the remaining hands are not played, and the game ends;
• if one of the players gets Fantasy Land, there is one additional hand played. At that there can be any number of Fantasy rounds in one game.

Hand play

Players one by one receives cards divided into 5 streets:

• 1st street - 5 cards are dealt
  Each player must lay out all 5 cards in the boxes.
  Players can see other players' cards as the game is open. They can also see the course of layout during the 1st street.
  Once a player finishes laying out his cards, he clicks Ready button. But before clicking the button, he can shift any of his cards.
• 2nd street - 3 cards are dealt
  Beginning from the 2nd street and till the moment when each player lays out all 13 cards in the boxes, the players receive 3 cards face down to take 2 of them and lay out in the boxes. The remaining card is discarded with Discard button. When the card is discarded, the rest 2 are opened.
• 3rd street - 3 cards are dealt.
• 4th street - 3 cards are dealt.
• 5th street - 3 cards are dealt.

Boxes

Players must lay out their cards into 3 boxes:

• front - the upper box of 3 cards (the weakest hand)
  Possible cards combinations are: three of a kind, one pair, high card as long as stronger combinations are formed with no less than 4 cards;
• middle - the middle box of 5 cards (medium strength hand);
• back - the lower box of 5 cards (the strongest hand).

The rule of the boxes: The cards combination in the lower box (back hand) must be stronger than or equal to the cards combination in the middle box (middle hand) and the cards combination in the middle box must be stronger than or equal to the cards combination in the upper box (front hand). In other words, cards combinations in the boxes must be laid out in ascending order: from the weakest in the upper box to the strongest in the lower box. Combinations can be equal. If these conditions are not satisfied, the hand is considered as a dead hand, and no units are changed.

Progressive OFC Pineapple

The excitement of Fantasyland increases in this engaging variant of Open Face Chinese Progressive Pineapple where a player can receive up to 17 Fantasy Land Cards if you get 222+ in your top hand.

While the general rules remain the same, the main difference between Progressive Pineapple and 'regular' OFC Pineapple is that the players receive more cards when they're in Fantasy Land, if they advance with a higher top card combination. The strength of the player's top hand determines what they might get i.e. starting from the regular 14 cards up to a huge 17 Fantasy Land cards!

This way players can aim to get higher hands on top and receiving more Fantasy Land cards thereby enabling them collect even more points.

Open Face Chinese Progressive Pineapple Rules

The Open Face Chinese Progressive Pineapple follows most of the same rules as the regular Pineapple OFC, with a few exceptions when players get into Fantasy Land. Unlike in Pineapple OFC where a player is always dealt 14 cards when they're in Fantasy Land, in Progressive Pineapple, they can potentially get up to 17 cards!

Basic gameplay in Progressive Pineapple doesn't change - each player is dealt five cards in the first turn and then three cards each in all consecutive turns, using just two in their hand and discarding one card face-down.

Fantasy Land

The key difference between the regular Pineapple OFC and Progressive Pineapple is by how many cards the player receives after getting into Fantasy Land. The amount is determined by the strength of the player's top hand. The lowest-possible hand to get a player into Fantasy Land, QQ gives them 14 cards, while higher combinations give more.

Here's the list of hands and the amount of cards the player receives:

    QQ = 14 cards
    KK = 15 cards
    AA = 16 cards
    222+ = 17 cards

Should the player stay in Fantasy Land in Progressive Pineapple, they will get 14 cards for their consecutive Fantasy Land hand despite of their top hand combination.

Action Timeout

Players participating in a hand have equal period of time to lay out their cards in all boxes. When the first street starts, the countdown begins. Thus, in the second street players have less time by the amount of time spent during the first street etc..

If players run out of time, their cards will be laid out automatically (by the system) in accordance to the following rules:

• cards are laid out as they are dealt, first in the lower box, then in the middle and upper boxes;
• beginning from the second street first 2 dealt cards are laid out, and the third card is discarded.

Basic rules of scoring

Units are scored in the end of every hand. Players' hands are compared by pairs, and then units are charged. In pairs corresponding combinations are compared: back hand with back hand, middle hand with middle hand, front hand with front hand.

In case 2 players have equal combinations in one of the hands (draw situation), for example, 2 players have equal Flash combinations in the lower box, non of the players gets units.

Methods of scoring

• 2-4 scoring
  Players get 1 unit for every hand they win, and 1 additional unit if they win 2 out of 3 or all 3 hands.
  In case of draw of one of the hands (ex., if 2 players have equal Flash combinations in the back hand) none of the players gets units. But if a player wins 2 remaining hands, he gets 3 units - one per every won hand + one additional unit (2 + 1).
• 1-6 scoring
  Players get 1 unit for every hand they win, and additional 3 units if they win all 3 hands.

Dead hand

There is such a term as 'Dead hand':if combinations were laid out by strength not in the correct order in the boxes (ex, back hand is weaker than any of the other hands or middle hand is weaker than the front hand), such hands are declared 'dead hands'. In this case all combinations of this player are considered losing to the combinations of the rest players. The player doesn't get bonuses and even pays bonuses to every opponent and a fine:

• 6 units (1-6 scoring).
• 4 units (2-4 scoring).

If 2 or more players have 'dead hands', these players get 0 units each when compared by pairs.

Royalties

Players can also get royalties - bonuses given to players for making up particular combinations. Royalties are given apart from units given for winning, independently of the results of a hand. Royalties are optional. Royalties can be given in accordance with Russian or American rules.

Below is the table showing the difference (in bold) between Russian and American rules:

Hand	Combination		American rules
Hand: Back
Back	a straight
	a flush
	a full house
	four of a kind		10
	straight flush		15
	royal flush		25
Hand: Middle
Middle	three of a kind
	a straight
	a flush
	a full house
	four of a kind		20
	straight flush		30
	royal flush		50
Hand: Front
Front	66	1
	77	2
	88	3
	99	4
	TT	5
	JJ	6
	QQ	7
	KK	8
	AA	9
	222	10
	333	11
	444	12
	555	13
	666	14
	777	15
	888	16
	999	17
	TTT	18
	JJJ	19
	QQQ	20
	KKK	21
	AAA	22

Payouts

For every table there is the cost of 1 unit defined, for example, 1 cent per 1 unit. In the end of a game the settlement begins.

Players get their units summarized. The units are compared by pairs, and payments are determined.

The comparison begins with the player sitting to the left from the dealer, then proceeds to the player sitting second from the dealer, then to the player sitting third etc.. After that players' modified stacks are compared.

There can also be situation when a player loses his entire stack amount to another player, and can not pay to other players.

All-in

If in the end of a hand one player collects the entire amount of other players' chips, then:

• this hand will be the final hand of the game;
• rake is taken in this hand.