Not sure if it's formally called "Open Faced Chinese Poker" or "Open Faced Pineapple", but I'm speaking specifically to the game where you start with 5 cards and then draw from the deck and build the Chinese poker hands (can play HU or 3/4 way).
Can someone clarify the official name of the game for me? That's been bugging the shit out of me for a while.
Open faced Chinese is where you get 5, start to set your hand, and you get one card at a time the rest of the way. OFC Pineapple starts the same way, but instead of getting one card at a time, players get three cards, use two of them and discard one. Can only be played HU or 3 handed, because of the discards. 3-handed games finish with one card left in the stub.
I still don't know how the points/cash distribution is done. Searches on the interwebz and YouTube only shows how the game is played.
Here's a basic scoring primer:
All hands are scored vs. all other hands. So P1 compares his hand to P2, then to P3, then P4. Then P2 compares his hand to P3 and P4, and P3 and P4 then score their hands vs. each other.
Win 2-of-3 hands against an opponent = 1 pt
Scoop (3-of-3) against an opponent = 6 pts
Royalties are awarded for all straight or better hands for the five-card hands, and pairs of 6s or higher in the three-card hand.
Straight = 2 pts
Flush = 4 pts
Full House = 6 pts
Quads = 10 pts
Straight flush = 15 pts
Royal flush = 25 pts
All those point totals are doubled if you make a hand that qualifies for a royalty in your middle hand (without fouling, of course).
Point values for royalties for the three-card hand are as follows:
66 = 1 pt
77 = 2 pts
88 = 3 pts
And so on, up to
AA = 9 pts
222 = 10 pts
333 = 11 pts
And so on. Most people play that if two players make a royalty, they cancel each other out. So for instance, if I make an ace-high flush and you make a king-high flush, I win the hand but don't get any points for the royalty, because we both hit the same royalty. If you hit a straight, I'd only get 2 extra points, because I'd subtract what you earned for your royalty from what I earned for mine.
Of course, when you add in Fantasyland, it takes it to a whole new level.
If you play with Fantasyland rules, a player who makes a pair of queens or better in the three-card hand gets dealt all 13 cards face down immediately at the start of the hand. That player then sets their hand face down, then waits for the other players to play out their hand. This is obviously a huge advantage, though it's a bit less of one in OFC Pineapple, because instead of seeing 17 cards, you see 13.
To stay in Fantasyland, typically you're required to make quads or better in your best hand. Some people play that making trips in your 3-card hand will also keep you in Fantasyland.
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We picked up most of the rules watching degens play at the Bellagio for $25 a point then lo and behold the rules have been added to wikipedia where they call it pineapple open face Chinese. We just called it 3 handed ofc because its a lot more fun and faster to play that way. Its called pineapple because 3 handed you draw three cards at a time and discard one. 4 handed you need all the cards so you can only draw one at a time. Maybe that is the source of your confusion .
Somehow I missed your post before writing my ridiculously long answer, moose.
