• Poker

Why You Should Play OFC Poker

OFC Poker is an exciting game that offers strategic depth, fast-paced action and the chance to build monster hands. This innovative poker variant has been gaining momentum in recent years, as it offers a fun alternative to Texas Hold’em and Omaha.

Our guide explains how to play OFC Poker. We’ll also highlight the best sites for anyone interested in playing OFC Poker online.

Reasons to Play OFC Poker Over Other Variants

Open Face Chinese (OFC) Poker offers a few key advantages over alternative poker variants:

Strategic Depth without Bluffing

Unlike most variants, OFC Poker does not involve betting or bluffing, so it’s ideal for players that struggle to put on a poker face. Instead, this popular game revolves around optimal hand construction, and it requires a great deal of strategy.

Throughout each round, you will need to carefully plan how best to arrange your cards across three poker hands: top, middle, and bottom. This requires mathematical skills, problem solving, risk assessment, and meticulous planning.

Fast-Paced, Engaging Action with A Few Players

OFC Poker is an action-packed game, as you need to constantly adjust your approach as each each round progresses. You will need to decide which cards to keep and which to discard in order to build a strong 13-card grid, without fouling, and you don’t need to wait for opponents to place bets.

This format ensures that players are constantly engaged throughout the game. OFC Poker also requires just two, three or four players, so it’s ideal for small groups.

High Variance and Big Hand Potential

OFC Poker offers regular opportunities to build strong hands, such as a full house, a flush or a straight flush. This is especially true of Pineapple OFC, one of the most popular OFC Poker variants.

This format can be highly rewarding, especially if you build a strong grid and enter the special bonus round, Fantasyland. There are loads of potential combinations too, so OFC Poker offers a high degree of variance.

How to Play Open-Face Chinese Poker

This game requires strategic depth, but the format is pretty simple and accessible. This section explains how to play Open-Face Chinese Poker online. Follow these steps to get involved in the action.

Step 1: Find an OFC Poker Game Online

Sign up with a reputable online poker room and find an OFC Poker game. We’ve highlighted the best sites for OFC poker in the next section.

The game typically features three or four players, depending on the variant. OFC Poker is played with a standard 52-card deck.

• How it differs from Hold’em/Omaha: Unlike Hold’em and Omaha, there are no blinds, antes, or betting rounds. Players score points based on their hands.

Step 2: The First Five Cards are Dealt

Each player is dealt five cards at the start of the round. You will need to start planning your grid at this point.

At the end of each round, you will be left with 13 cards. They must be arranged face-up into three poker hands:

• Top: You need to place a three-card hand at the top of the grid.
• Middle: This five-card hand must be stronger than the top hand.
• Bottom: This five-card hand must be stronger than the middle hand.

After receiving your initial five cards, you must them face-up anywhere on this 5-5-3 grid.

• How it differs from Hold’em/Omaha: Players build three hands instead of one. Cards are dealt face-up, and there are no hole cards or community cards.

Step 3: Remaining Cards are Dealt and Place

After the initial five cards, players take it in turn to receive three cards at a time. You must place two cards on your 5-5-3 grid and discard the third card. This continues until each player has 13 cards in total.

• How it differs from Hold’em/Omaha: There are no betting rounds after each deal. Instead, you need to carefully plan where to place your cards. Once you place a card on the grid, it cannot be moved.

Step 4: The Hands are Scored

Once all players have completed their hands, the scoring begins. This is the standard scoring:

• Win a hand – earn 1 point.
• Lose a hand – lose 1 point.
• Win all three hands – claim an extra 3 extra points for the sweep.

If you incorrectly arrange your hands – for example, if the front hand is stronger than the middle hand – you will have committed a “foul.” This means you will receive zero points for the round.

It’s crucial to factor in the prospect of fouling when building your 5-5-3 grid. A delicate balance is required, as you try to compile three strong hands without fouling.

• How it differs from Hold’em/Omaha: Instead of winning chips, you earn or lose points. The prospect of winning bonus points adds extra strategic depth too, while you can lose all of your potential points if you misplace your cards.

Step 5: Enter Fantasyland

If you place QQ or better in the front hand without fouling, you will unlock a special bonus feature known as Fantasyland at the start of the next round.

That means you will be dealt all 13 cards at once, and you can arrange them before your opponents play normally. This can provide you with a major advantage when constructing your three hands.

• How it differs from Hold’em/Omaha: This unique bonus mechanic is not found in other poker variants.

How to Win at OFC Poker

OFC Poker can be played as a cash game or a tournament:

• Cash game: Players agree on a fixed dollar amount per point. For example, it might be $1 per point or $10 per point. You win or lose money at the end of each round. Games can be played indefinitely, and you can leave whenever you like. 
• Tournament: Players buy in for a fixed amount, such as $30. Everyone starts with a set number of points, rather than chips. The tournament will run for a fixed number of rounds or a fixed period of time, and the player with the most points at the end of the tournament wins the largest share of the prize pool. There will normally be runner-up prizes too.
• Knockout Tournament: In many OFC Poker tournaments, the players with the lowest scores are eliminated after certain rounds. If it’s a large tournament, the highest scoring players will move to a final table and battle it out for the top prize. For example, the player with the most points might win $4,000, with $2,500 going to the runner-up, $1,500 for the player that finishes third, and so on.

Where to Play OFC Poker Online

OFC Poker is now available at a couple of leading online poker rooms. Sister sites BetOnline and SportsBetting.ag offer OFC Poker as a cash game. Both sites have the same game, which has stakes of $0.10, $0.25, and $0.50 per point.

This well-designed game follows the regular OFC Poker format, as opposed to OFC Pineapple or 2-7. You can also compete in OFC Pineapple tournaments at BetOnline and SportsBetting.ag. Buy-ins of $3, $8, $15 and $30 are available.

If you’d like to hone your OFC poker skills, here are a couple of free apps to consider:

• Open Face Chinese Poker by Untapped LLC: This iOS app offers multiple OFC variants, including Regular, Regular 2-7, Regular Progressive, Pineapple, Pineapple 2-7, and Pineapple 2-7. The interface is clean and accessible, and the app offers all the stats you need to gauge your skills.
• Open Face Chinese Poker by Corvid Apps: This app allows you to play both traditional OFC Poker and OFC Pineapple. You can play against the computer or challenge friends online. The app also offers a tutorial mode to help new players learn the rules.

Summary

It’s easy to see why OFC Poker has become so popular. This is a fast-paced, engaging, and fun game, which doesn’t require you to wait for opponents to place their bets. The scoring system makes every round competitive, and it should appeal to anyone that enjoys solving puzzles.

OFC Poker offers a unique strategic challenge, and it’s highly interactive too. You can download a free app to help you master the game, and you can then visit BetOnline or SportsBetting.ag to play OFC Poker online for real money.