Open Face Chinese Poker (OFC): Rules, Scoring and Fantasyland (2026)

What is Open Face Chinese poker

OFC is a variant of Chinese poker where cards are placed face up as they are dealt, so everyone sees how the others are building their hands. There are no chips in the middle and no bluffing: you win or lose points, and the club sets how much each point is worth.

Almost every club app plays the Pineapple version: you receive three cards per street, keep two and discard one. That makes hands stronger and the game faster than “classic” OFC, where you get one card at a time. This article covers Pineapple OFC.

Rows and fouling

Your three rows are ordinary poker hands. On the 3-card top row only high card, pairs and three of a kind count — straights and flushes don’t exist with three cards. The rows must go from weakest on top to strongest at the bottom:

If your finished hand breaks this order — for example, a pair of kings on top and a pair of nines in the middle — the hand is fouled (also called “dead” or “mis-set”). A fouled hand loses all three rows to every opponent who didn’t foul and earns no royalties.

How dealing works in Pineapple OFC

1. 1
   Each player gets five cards and places all of them face up in any rows. Players act in turn, starting to the left of the button.
2. 2
   On each of the next four streets you get three cards: place two, discard one face down.
3. 3
   Once placed, a card can’t be moved. After five streets every player has exactly 13 cards in their rows.
4. 4
   Hands are revealed and compared row by row; points are settled between every pair of players.

Pineapple OFC is played by two or three players: each uses 17 cards (5 + 4 × 3), so three players take 51 of the 52 cards. Classic OFC, with one card per street after the first five, can seat up to four.

Scoring: rows, scoop bonus and royalties

Every player is compared with every other player separately. The most common scoring used in apps:

• 1 point for each row you win (a tied row scores nothing);
• +3 bonus for winning all three rows — a scoop, 6 points in total;
• royalties for strong hands in each row, paid to you by each opponent;
• a fouled hand loses as if scooped and gets no royalties; if both players foul, no points change hands.

Scoring example

Royalty tables

These are the standard Pineapple OFC royalties used by most apps. Some clubs use different tables — check the table info.

Fantasyland

Fantasyland is the bonus round that makes OFC addictive. If you finish a hand with a pair of queens or better on top and don’t foul, on the next hand you get all your cards at once, set them face down while the others play street by street, and reveal at the end. Seeing everything in advance makes big royalties much easier.

OFC strategy basics

Setting the first five cards

• Principles that save points
• Build from the bottom up: a strong bottom row gives you room for the middle and top.
• Count your outs using every card you can see — your rows, opponents’ rows and your own discards are dead.
• Chase Fantasyland when the risk of fouling is reasonable — it is worth a lot of points over time.
• Late in the hand, take the safe line: a small win beats a foul.
• Watch what opponents need: if they are drawing to the same cards, your odds drop.

Common OFC mistakes

• What costs players points
• Putting a high pair on top too early and fouling later.
• Drawing to flushes or straights when most outs are already visible on the table.
• Forgetting that discarded cards are dead.
• Over-chasing royalties in the middle row instead of securing the bottom.
• Ignoring the club’s point value — a fun-looking game can have big stakes per point.

• Before you play OFC in a club
• How much is one point worth?
• Which royalty table does the table use?
• Is Fantasyland standard (14 cards) or progressive, and what are the stay rules?
• How many players, and what is the time limit per street?

Variance in OFC

OFC swings are driven by royalties and Fantasyland: one Fantasyland hand with big royalties can be worth more than dozens of normal hands. Scores per hand are small, but streaks of good or bad cards add up fast, especially at high point values. Plan your bankroll in points the same way you would in buy-ins — see poker variance explained and bankroll for club poker.

Where to play OFC

OFC is available in most club apps: PPPoker (Pineapple), PokerBros (Pineapple OFC), ClubGG, X-Poker and Pokerrrr 2. As always, which tables run depends on the club.

PPPokerReviews & guidePokerBrosReviews & guideClubGG 4.5 · 1X-PokerReviews & guidePokerrrr 2Reviews & guide

ClubGG clubs from our catalog

Ranked by player reviews; each club page lists its games — look for OFC. Browse clubs by app: PPPoker, PokerBros, ClubGG.

1MOJO 2 4.5 · rakeback 50% · Massive Poker Union2MOJO 1No reviews yet · rakeback 50% · AllinUnion3Mr Pink PantherNo reviews yet · rakeback 40%4ZerakeNo reviews yet · rakeback Zero Rake5POKER VIBE UANo reviews yet · rakeback 40%All clubs in the catalog

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