Open Face Chinese Poker
Open-face Chinese poker, OFCP, commonly known as Open Face Chinese or OFC, is a variant of Chinese poker where players receive five cards to start and then one card at a time until each player has a 13 card hand legal or not. The game originated in Finland during the mid- 2000s and spread to Russia a few years later. How to Play Open Face Chinese: Instructions. A variation of Chinese Poker called Open Face Chinese Poker (OFC) has been spreading wildly across the world. Rakeback.com room Tonybet Poker is the first site to offer it online. In OFC the basic gameplay is as follows: Each player is dealt five cards initially. Learn how to play open-face chinese poker online to earn reward points for real money in India at PokerBaazi. So, an OFC hand comprises of a total of 13 cards (5+5+3). Based on poker hand 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. Open Face Chinese Poker is a fast paced and incredibly popular variant of Chinese Poker. Also known as OFC Poker, the game is enjoyed by beginner poker players through to table veterans and is unique in offering lucrative in-game bonuses. Learn how to play and find expert tips in this guide.
Gameplay of Open Face Chinese Poker
Setting Up
- Just grab a deck of cards. No blinds, no antes, no buttons needed.
- Betting structure is on a per-point basis. Payouts occur after each hand.
Rules
- 3 hands (back, middle and top) are set for each player (similar to Chinese Poker).
- The back hand has 5 cards, the middle hand has 5 cards and the top hand has 3 cards.
- The back hand must be better than the middle hand and the middle hand must be better than the top hand.
- If the back hand is not your strongest hand and your middle hand your second strongest, you have a fouled hand.
- The first 5 cards are dealt to each player face down and set into any of the 3 hands.
- Once all cards are set, each hand is revealed.
- Each player then receives 1 card until 13 cards are in each hand. Each card is set in a hand once received.
Determining a Winner
- Similar hands are compared to determine a winner (Back vs Back, Middle vs Middle, Top vs Top).
- If you win 2 of 3 hands, you win 1 point. If you sweep all 3 hands, you win 6 points.
- A fouled hand is worth 6 points to your opponent.
Hand Examples
If you are more visual than textual, take a look at some photos of Open Face Chinese Poker hand examples.
Initially Set Starting Hand
This photo shows what a hand looks like after the first 5 cards are received and set.
Completed Hand
This is what an an Open Face Chinese Poker hand looks like once all 13 cards are received. After your first 5 cards are received and set, you will receive one card at a time to set.
Fouled Hand
This is an example of a fouled hand in Open Face Chinese Poker. Notice the middle hand is stronger than the bottom hand.
Royalties
When Open Face Chinese Poker is played with 'royalties', bonus points are awarded when certain hands are made. Royalties are not awarded if you foul your hand.
Back Hand Royalties
Cards Points Straight 2 Flush 4 Full House 6 Quads 8 Straight Flush 10 Royal Flush 20 Middle Hand Royalties
Cards Points Straight 4 Flush 8 Full House 12 Quads 16 Straight Flush 20 Royal Flush 40 Top Hand Royalties
Cards Points Pair of 6s 1 Point Pair of 7s 2 Pair of 8s 3 Pair of 9s 4 Pair of 10s 5 Pair of Jacks 6 Pair of Queens 7 Pair of Kings 8 Pair of Aces 9 Trip 2s 10 Trip 3s 11 Trip 4s 12 Trip 5s 13 Trip 6s 14 Trip 7s 15 Trip 8s 16 Trip 9s 17 Trip 10s 18 Trip Jacks 19 Trip Queens 20 Trip Kings 21 Trip Aces 22
Fantasyland
When you have a pair of queens or better in the top hand you enter what is called 'fantasyland' (think NBA Jams 'on fire!'). When in fantasyland you receive all 13 cards at once and set your hand like a normal Chinese Poker hand. Receiving all of your cards and not having to guess what's coming next is a massive advantage. Players may stay in fantasyland for multiple hands as long as queens or better are achieved in the top hand.
Basic Strategies of Open Face Chinese Poker
- It is often correct to risk fouling your hand and go for royalty hands.
- Once you have a royalty, be sure to not foul your hand.
- When royalties are not possible, concentrate on not fouling your hand.
- Watch the outs that appear in your opponents hands to determine where to place your next card.
Open Face Chinese Poker 2-7 Pineapple
OFC 2-7 Pineapple is the latest variant to be launched at Tonybet Poker. Itself a variant of regular Pineapple (learn more about that here), deuce to seven Pineapple is a lowball version with a few strategic differences.
Tonybet team pro Pedro Marte explains the rules of OFC 2-7 Pineapple in the video above.
Famous Open Face Chinese Poker Hands
Open Face Chinese Poker: Learn How to Play the Game
Shaun Deeb teaches Kristy Arnett how to play Open Face Chinese.
This Video Contains:
- Shaun Deeb
- Kristy Arnett
- Learn the basics of Open Face Chinese Poker
Open Face Chinese Poker: The First Ever Live Tournament
The 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure hosts the first ever live tournament.
This Video Contains:
- Daniel Negreanu
- Victor Ramdin
Where Can I Play Open Face Chinese Poker Online?
Play OFC at Tonybet Poker.
Open Face Chinese (OFC) is a variant of Chinese Poker. Each player is dealt 13 cards with the goal of arranging these cards on a layout to form 3 different poker hands. Unlike traditional Chinese, these cards are not dealt simultaneously, and players must place additional cards as they are dealt in turn.
Open Face Chinese Poker Gameplay
Open Face Chinese, also called OFC, can be played by 2 or 3 players.
During the course of the hand, players will arrange their hole cards on the layout in rows to make 3 poker hands, arranged in order of ascending rank. These hands are called the top, middle, and bottom:
Open Face Chinese Poker Points
- Top hand: A 3-card poker hand, which may only rank as a high card, a pair, or three of a kind. Straights and flushes do not count. It must rank lowest of the 3 hands.
- Middle hand: A standard 5-card poker hand. It must rank higher than the top hand.
- Bottom hand: A standard 5-card poker hand. It must rank the highest of the 3 hands.
An OFC hand that breaks these rules (by having a top hand stronger than the middle hand, or a middle hand stronger than the bottom hand) is a fouled hand and automatically loses.
At the start of a hand, each player is dealt 5 face-down hole cards.
Clockwise from the dealer, players in turn set and confirm the positions of these 5 cards on the layout, face-up. Once confirmed, the cards become visible to all players and cannot be changed or moved.
For the rest of the hand, each player is dealt 1 face-up card in turn, and must place the card into an available position on the layout. After a card has been placed, it cannot be changed or moved to a different row.
The remaining cards are dealt in this manner, one at a time, until all players have received a total of 13 cards and completed their layouts. Hands are then compared and scored.
Scoring
At showdown, players hands are compared and points are exchanged based on hand strength.
Two players’ individual hands are first compared to each other for scoring, row to row (top against top, middle against middle, and bottom against bottom), with the better hand winning each comparison.
- 1 point is awarded to the winner of each of the three hands.
- 3 bonus points are awarded if a player wins all three hands.
Additional bonus points called royalties are then awarded for certain strong hands:
- Bottom Royalties
- Royal Flush: 25 points
- Straight Flush: 15 points
- Four of a Kind: 10 points
- Full House: 6 points
- Flush: 4 points
- Straight: 2 points
- Middle Royalties
- Royal Flush: 50 points
- Straight Flush: 30 points
- Four of a Kind: 20 points
- Full House: 12 points
- Flush: 8 points
- Straight: 4 points
- Three of a Kind: 2 points
Top Royalties
- AAA: 22 points
- KKK: 21 points
- QQQ: 20 points
- JJJ: 19 points
- TTT: 18 points
- 999: 17 points
- 888: 16 points
- 777: 15 points
- 666: 14 points
- 555: 13 points
- 444: 12 points
- 333: 11 points
- 222: 10 points
- AA: 9 points
- KK: 8 points
- QQ: 7 points
- JJ: 6 points
- TT: 5 points
- 99: 4 points
- 88: 3 points
- 77: 2 points
- 66: 1 point
The awarded points and royalties for both players are then recorded. If more than 2 players are playing, each remaining exchange is scored until all players have exchanged points with all other players in the hand.
After a round of hands completes, players settle the final total of points won or lost, by exchanging chips with the other players in turn. Players are not allowed to sit out or leave the table during a round of hands, and must wait until the round is complete.
Fantasyland
The Fantasyland bonus requirement in OFC is QQ+ (a pair of Queens or better as top).
Open Face Chinese Poker Strategy
A player enters Fantasyland by making a hand which both meets this requirement and does not foul.
The button does not advance during a Fantasyland bonus hand.
In the bonus hand, the player in Fantasyland receives 13 cards face-down at the start of the hand to choose from, and sets a complete 13 card hand face-down on the first turn.
Open Face Chinese Poker Game Desire
All players not in Fantasyland receive 5 starting cards as normal, and must draw and set their hands face-up in turn. The hand is then scored normally.
A player in Fantasyland may repeat Fantasyland and play another bonus hand by making one of the following strong hands while in Fantasyland:
- Three of a Kind or better (top)
- Full House or better (middle)
- Four of a Kind or better (bottom)
Open Face Chinese Poker Online
Open Face Chinese is played for table stakes. The amount a player has at the table determines the maximum win or loss possible in one round.