OFC

Apps: 1Clubs: 1

OFC: Open-Face Chinese Poker

Open-Face Chinese Poker (OFC) is a game that is very different from the poker most people know. There are no betting rounds, no raises and no bluffs: players take turns placing face-up cards into three rows and compete to see whose rows end up stronger. The game is played for points, and players agree on the value of a point in advance.

Professional players fell in love with OFC for its mix of math, planning and gamble. Today the most popular version is Pineapple OFC, and that is the one you will most often find in club apps.

IMAGE PROMPT (aspect 3:2, width 75%)
ALT: OFC card layout: a three-card top row, five-card middle and bottom rows
PROMPT: Photorealistic top-down view of an Open-Face Chinese Poker layout on a dark felt table: face-up cards arranged in three rows, top row of three cards, middle and bottom rows of five cards each, bottom row holding a flush, clean studio lighting, no text, no logos

How the Layout Works

Each player builds 13 cards into three poker hands:

Top row - 3 cards. Only high card, pairs and three of a kind count here.
Middle row - 5 cards.
Bottom row - 5 cards.

The key rule: the bottom row must be at least as strong as the middle row, and the middle row at least as strong as the top. If the order is broken, the hand is "fouled" and loses all three rows, plus a bonus to the opponent.

How Pineapple OFC Is Played

Each player receives 5 cards and places them face up in the rows.
Four rounds follow: the player receives 3 cards, places two of them and discards one face down.
Cards that have already been placed cannot be moved.
Once every player has 13 cards set, rows are compared head to head and points are awarded.

In classic OFC, after the first five cards players receive one card at a time with no discard, so Pineapple offers more choice and more big hands.

Scoring and Royalties

A player earns 1 point from the opponent for each row won. Winning all three rows (a "scoop") adds a 3-point bonus, for 6 points in total. On top of that, royalties are paid: bonuses for strong hands in specific rows. A typical table:

Bottom row: straight 2, flush 4, full house 6, quads 10, straight flush 15, royal flush 25.
Middle row: three of a kind 2, straight 4, flush 8, full house 12, quads 20, straight flush 30, royal flush 50.
Top row: a pair of sixes pays 1 point, rising by 1 per rank up to 9 for aces; trip deuces pay 10, rising up to 22 for trip aces.

Exact numbers can differ between apps and clubs, so check the table's royalty chart before you play.

IMAGE PROMPT (aspect 16:9, width 75%)
ALT: OFC royalty chart for the top, middle and bottom rows
PROMPT: Clean infographic table of Open-Face Chinese Poker royalties for top, middle and bottom rows, small card icons illustrating each hand, points shown as numbers, flat modern design on dark background with teal and gold accents, no brand logos

Fantasyland

Fantasyland is the main goal of experienced players. In Pineapple OFC, a player who makes queens or better in the top row without fouling receives 14 or more cards at once on the next hand and sets them face down without seeing the opponents' moves. Building strong rows with big royalties is much easier in such a hand. In the progressive version the number of cards grows with the strength of the top row: queens 14, kings 15, aces 16, trips 17.

To stay in Fantasyland for another hand, you usually need trips in the top row, a full house in the middle or quads in the bottom.

Tips for Beginners

Do not foul. A fouled hand is the most expensive outcome. Playing safer beats risking all three rows.
Build from the bottom up. The bottom row is the foundation: put flush and straight draws there.
Track the live cards. Your opponents' cards are face up, so you can always count how many outs remain.
Aim for Fantasyland, but wisely. Queens or kings on top demand strong middle and bottom rows, or you risk fouling.
Respect the variance. Royalties and Fantasyland make session results very swingy, so choose a point value you are comfortable with.

Where to Play OFC

OFC is rare in classic poker rooms, but club apps offer Pineapple OFC tables at different point values, usually for two or three players. In our site's catalog you can find clubs and unions that run OFC.

If you are tired of endless betting and bluffing, OFC offers a completely different take on poker hands, built on planning and precise calculation.