A one-of-a-kind poker variant, Chinese Poker has fascinated poker enthusiasts across the world. With players receiving 13 starting cards instead of the regular 2, Chinese Poker stands out from the other common poker variants.

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If you are a novice to Chinese Poker, check out our blog ‘Chinese Poker: A Complete Guide for Beginners’ click here

The aforementioned blog contains all things a newbie player needs to know to be able to play Chinese Poker without any difficulties.

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In this blog, we will be discussing the two Chinese Poker game variations along with laying out 5 highly effective strategies & tips for Chinese Poker advanced gameplay. Let’s start with the game variations!

Chinese Poker Game Variations

Chinese Poker has two chief variations which include Open-Face Chinese Poker (OFC) and Pineapple Open-Face Chinese Poker (Pineapple OFC). Both variations moreover comprise a legendary element to the game known as ‘Fantasy Land’. Besides these two variants, there are a few lesser-known variations that aren’t very common.

Let’s get to know these two popular variations along with their various twists:

• Open-Face Chinese Poker

To put it simply, OFC Poker blends simple rules & the excitement of drawing for big hands, like that of games like Texas Hold’em & 7-card Stud, with the high variance of games such as blackjack.

The game is quite simple and can be learnt quickly. It’s also quite instinctive to play (don’t be afraid of the table of bonuses) and provides a good enough chance for beginners to start winning straight away. With the game being played face-up, the players and the audience get the same information.

The basic concept of OFC Poker is identical to that of Chinese poker, but the manner in which player’s cards are eventually played into the 3 separate hands is very much different. In OFC poker, players begin with just 5 of the final 13 cards & (starting with the player to the left of the dealer) place these 5 cards in a face-up way to begin forming their 3 distinct hands. The important point to note here is the fact that once these cards (& consequent cards, as well) have been placed in their respective rows, they aren’t allowed to be moved!

Once this opening round takes place, players get to draw a single card one by one & then arrange it into any of their face-up hands placed on the table. This process keeps on going until all players have drawn & played all the 13 cards in their hand.

Despite the fact that players aren’t aware of their final 13 cards straight away, players can still mis-set (or foul) their hands if they disorganise the correctly ranked order of their 3 hands by the end, relinquishing all bonuses/royalties they would have otherwise got. Generally speaking, in OFC poker, if a player commits a foul, he/she is required to pay 6 units to each opponent who doesn’t foul themselves. Moreover, surrendering results in the player forfeiting 2 units to each opponent who doesn’t surrender.

Coming to the scoring part, it’s the same as that in traditional Chinese Poker, with players winning one unit each from the other players for each hand that they defeat. The 1-6 method is usually utilised in OFC poker, which implies that only if a player wins all 3 hands, then other players are required to each give an extra 3 units as an award to the winning player.

In OFC poker, royalties are calculated & tallied during the scoring of each hand as they can’t be declared prior to the completion of arranging/placing a hand due to all the cards having not been drawn.

• Fantasy Land

Fantasy Land is an optional yet generally used addition to OFC poker wherein if a player forms a pair of Queens or better in their front hand without mis-setting the hand, he/she enters Fantasy Land!

In Fantasy Land, the player gets a huge advantage for the ensuing hand as he/she gets dealt all 13 cards at the start itself, showing the cards to the table only after all players have set their cards on the table. For the player to remain in Fantasy Land for the upcoming hand as well, he/she needs to form either one of these:

• Trips in their front hand;
• A full house (or better) in their middle hand; or
• Quads (or better) in their back hand

• Pineapple Open-Face Chinese Poker

Pineapple OFC Poker is very much identical to regular OFC Poker, with the difference being the dealing process after the starting 5 cards have been placed by all players.

Rather than getting & placing a single card in a one-by-one manner, players are dealt a total of 3 cards on each subsequent turn & are required to play 2 of them into their tabled hands while discarding the 3rd card in a face-down manner. (Bonus tip: As your opponents can’t see the discarded card, it could be of massive benefit to discard the card/s that they need)

Courtesy of the players drawing 3 cards in a turn after the first 5 cards, the gameplay speed increases as each player gets just 5 turns in Pineapple OFC Poker. Furthermore, just 3 players at most can play in total due to the cards that will go into the discard pile. The Fantasy Land rules & requirements are almost the same as that of regular OFC Poker, with the exception being the fact that players are dealt 14 cards & have to discard one among them in a face-down manner while setting & arranging their final hand.

Chinese Poker Strategy and Tips

It’s time to check out the 5 strategies/tips that will boost your chances of winning in Chinese Poker and it’s variations.

1) Avoid mis-setting your hands at all costs

This tip particularly applies to the original Chinese Poker, as committing this mistake even once can come back to bite players in a massive way. So ensure that you are setting your hands in a correct manner!

2) Examine face-up cards of other players in OFC poker

By checking out your opponents’ face-up cards, you can figure out the probability of you getting your desired card/s from the deck. Also, bear in mind the removed cards in order to properly calculate the probability.

3) Avoid considering your front hand to be a discard pile

While playing Chinese Poker, players need to keep in mind that the front hand eventually counts for 33% of the final points they will score (regardless of winning or losing the hand) in every round. Hence, give it its due importance and avoid simply focusing on the strength of your back & middle hands. Many times in Chinese Poker, the strength of the front hand proves decisive in determining the winning hand. Hence, it’s well-advised to focus on the strength of all three hands and not disregard the front hand.

4) Always play small stakes

As a result of the variance & swings that are a part of Chinese Poker, playing smaller stakes than usual can help immensely. Particularly when taking into account the likelihood of royalties; envisage the amount of money you would lose if a player hits that royal flush. Hence, despite the level of expertise you have in Chinese Poker, it’s well-advised to play small stakes due to the fact that the game is of high variance.

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5) Take into account any observable player tendencies while determining your gameplay strategy

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This particular tip is greatly applicable to OFC & Pineapple OFC Poker, as you are able to examine your opponent’s cards and there are several rounds of drawing & setting/placing taking place. For instance, if you encounter a risk-taking player who isn’t looking to play safe, then make sure that you play safe! Avoid going for low probability hands and let the risk-taker lose all his money by trying to form unlikely hands.