NoMercy OFC Crash Course: Setting Up Your Initial Cards

Hello everyone! Welcome to my personal blog on OFC Pineapple (Open Face Chinese Poker). Week after week, I’ll go over the history of the game, some basic rules and recommendations, anecdotes from the players, and finally, some more advanced strategies.  Stay tune and enjoy the Fantasy Ride!

Now that we went over the history of this fantastic game, let’s focus for a while on general advices and basic strategies. We already went over a list of elements that will help you maximise your profits in OFC: remember all the royalties, know your opponents, take your time before you act, and be observant of your live cards. Once you’ve integrated these general notions, you’ll already be a better player than most of the people.

Which brings me to our next valuable concept; setting up your initial cards.

Indeed, and since you will not be able to move your cards around once they are set, your initial positioning constitute the absolute foundation of your hand.

This reminds me of classic chess openings! In OFC, you will sometimes find that there are a few different possibilities for your openings, and sometimes the way to place your first 5 cards will be evident. 

Whenever I receive an Ace in classic Pineapple, I’m very much inclined to put this card in the middle, as it is my joker card to easily make a pair of Aces, completed by a pair of Queens on top. 

That being said, if this Ace is in a particular suit, let’s say the Ace of Diamond, and that I received it along with 4 other diamond cards, there is a very good chance that I will place my flush in the back, especially if I am last to act and see that my diamonds are pretty much live.

However, if I receive a pair of Kings to start the hand, it is unlikely that I will place it on top right away. Indeed, the value of accessing a Fantasyland with Kings is not worth the risk of fooling in Classic Pineapple, as opposed to Progressive Pineapple, which we will study later on in these series of tips.

In fact, many of the greatest OFC players that I had the chance to study with, will all tell you the same; placing a pair of Queens on top in opening, without at least a live Ace or live King in the middle, is definitely not a good play.

The combinations are so numerous in OFC openings, that it is just impossible to write down some guidelines that will cover all scenarios. Therefore, we will spend some time over the weeks analysing the best possible openings in different situations, which will give you a greater idea of the best ways to start playing your hand.

Meet me at the OFC tables on CoinPoker to practice your skills and enjoy the action. Welcome to Fantasyland!

Isabelle “No Mercy” Mercier

OFC “Progressive” World Champion