OFC Poker: What Is It, How to Play and Top Strategies

OFC Poker is short for Open Face Chinese Poker, a popular variant of the game. Extremely popular among the high-stakes poker community, OFC Poker is a fun points-based game players often play on the sidelines of major tournaments. 

If you are new to OFC Poker, we will teach you the basic OFC Poker rules, some simple OFC Poker strategy, and everything you need to know to get started. Let’s look at the basics first and see how OFC Poker differs from games like Texas Hold’em Poker. 

What Is OFC Poker or Open Face Chinese Poker?

OFC Poker is one of the many variations of Chinese Poker. Unlike other poker games, OFC Poker is played with 13 cards to a player and nine dealing rounds in total. The game is based on a points system rather than betting rounds. Players compete in arranging their 13 cards into three poker hands, one of which is made up of just three cards. 

Here are a few ways in which OFC poker differs from other poker games:

• 13 Cards Per Player: Each player is dealt a total of 13 cards in Open Face Chinese Poker. 
• 4 Players to a Game: Up to four players can play OFC Poker since the deck is limited to 52 cards in total. 
• No Betting: There is no betting, raising, or bluffing in OFC Poker. You arrange your cards, get points, and are paid based on the point structure. 
• Fast Pace: When played among professionals, the game moves quickly as there is no reason for tanking or stalling.

The game’s history may stretch back a few centuries, although its popularity is tied with Russian poker player Alex Kravchenko. Alex introduced the game to the high-stakes poker community, which allowed it to gain a global audience. The game was welcomed by the pros, as it’s points-based system allows them to win against the less skillful players by taking mathematically correct lines.

Today, the game of OFC Poker is played by poker players around the world. It was introduced in the USA in 2012 and quickly became popular as something to play between the big games in the high-stakes community. In other parts of the world, OFC Poker remains popular in Scandinavia and Russia. 

Rules of OFC Poker

Traditionally played with two to four players, OFC utilizes a standard 52-card deck. However, instead of receiving only a couple of cards, each player will initially receive five cards at once, which they have to set up face up. Then, they’ll receive one card per turn until they have 13 cards in total, set in three poker hands. 

The rules of OFC Poker dictate that you must set your cards in three separate poker hands. Two of these hands, the bottom and the middle, are made up of five cards. The top hand is made up of just three cards, making up a total of 13. By the end of the hand, you must arrange your 13 cards in three hands such that:

• Bottom hand: The strongest hand you have
• Middle hand: Should be stronger than the top, weaker than the bottom
• Top hand: The weakest hand

A hand ends in a foul if your hands are not appropriately arranged. For example, if your top hand is stronger than your middle hand, your hand is fouled. If your middle hand is stronger than the bottom hand, the hand is also fouled. That is, you can’t have three-of-a-kind in your top hand and two pair in your middle hand, etc.

The Objective of the Game

Unlike other poker games, which are played with betting and raising, OFC Poker is all about points. Once you arrange your three hands, you will receive points according to the OFC Poker rules. The points are jotted down, and players are paid at the end of the game. 

Your objective in OFC Poker is not to make your opponents fold or to win the pot. Instead, it is to arrange the cards you are dealt in the best possible way. This means tracking what cards have been dealt out, going for the strongest possible hands, and ensuring you don’t foul your hand. 

The Rounds in OFC Poker

A hand of OFC Poker starts with each player receiving five cards. The player to the left of the dealer goes first, arranging their five cards into their three hands. The action goes around the table until all players have arranged their first five cards. 

Once all players have arranged their five cards, the dealer deals one card to each of the players. Players must set that card into either their top, middle, or bottom hand before the next card is dealt. 

The action keeps going until all players have received their 13 cards and arranged them into their hands. Once all the dealing rounds are completed, the hands are compared, and the points are assigned. Nothing is left to the imagination in Poker OFC, as all the cards are placed face up on the table, meaning players can know what cards are left in the deck as the later dealing rounds come around. 

How to Score

You now know how to play OFC Poker, but how do you win? As we mentioned earlier, OFC doesn’t use the traditional betting structure but a points system instead. In this game, the winner is the player with the most points at the end of the game. While the scoring and bonus systems might feel extensive, they’re actually pretty straightforward. 

The three hands are compared between each of the players.

Winning each hand awards +1 point. For example, if you have a better top and middle hand, but a worse bottom hand, you will win a total of +1 point. If you win all three hands, you get what’s known as a scoop, worth +6 points in total, which includes a +3 bonus for winning all hands. 

This makes the basic Chinese Poker scoring system very simple and fast to pick up, however, there is a lot more to learn about, as additional points can be won through royalties and scoring bonuses, which we will explain next.

Scoring Bonuses (Royalties)

The two most common scoring bonuses are the Scoop, which is +6, and Fouling, which is -6. A scoop comes into play when one player wins all three hands. A foul comes into play when one player’s hand is fouled. This happens whenever a player’s cards are not appropriately arranged. For example, if your top hand is stronger than your middle hand, your hand is fouled. 

Poker royalties and scoring bonuses in OFC came about as a way to encourage and reward players who want to take chances. That’s why the game rewards good hands in every row with different bonus points. 

To receive bonus points, you have to make a qualifying hand, and it doesn’t matter if it is lost or won.

Here is a look at the basic royalties in OFC Poker:

Since the top hand is made up of only three cards, the royalties work a little differently. Extra points are awarded for making pairs or three-of-a-kind, as follows:

All of the bonuses, no matter the overall result of the row, are paid out during comparison. Another thing to keep in mind is that royalty points can actually cancel each other out. For example, if you and another player hit a pair of eights in the top hand, you would cancel each other out, and both receive zero points.

Fantasyland Bonus Round

One of the reasons so many players get into OFC poker is for the possibility to play in Fantasyland. Since it’s an optional rule, players have to agree on it before the game starts.

For players to get into OFC Poker Fantasyland, they’ll need their top hand to be a pair of Queens or better. With a pair of Queens (or better) in hand and no foul in sight, the player’s next hand will be in Fantasyland.

Once a player is in Fantasyland, the dealer button doesn’t move until they leave it. All players keep their positions, and none can quit the game during Fantasyland. 

But what is the significance of Fantasyland, and why do players fight so hard to get there?

Well, the player who’s in Fantasyland gets all 13 of their cards dealt to them at once, and they can set their hand any way they want, leaving nothing to chance. What’s more, until everyone at the table completes their hands, the player in Fantasyland doesn’t have to expose their hands. 

Staying in Fantasyland

Being in OFC Poker Fantasyland is a massive advantage. Since it is much easier to make big hands with all 13 cards dealt at once, staying in Fantasyland for the next round is a lot more difficult. In order to stay in Fantasyland once you are already in, you must make a hand with Trips in the top, a Full House in the middle, or Quads or better at the top. 

This is a tall order to make, but staying in Fantasyland is incredibly valuable. If you can stay there for more than a single round, you are likely to scoop many hands and get tons of royalties, including some Straight and Royal Flushes. In some scenarios, players must choose between receiving maximum royalties or staying in Fantasyland for another hand, which can be a difficult decision to make. 

OFC Poker Example Hand

Now that we have explained all the essential rules of OFC Poker, let’s take a look at how an example hand might look. The hand starts with each player getting dealt five cards, so let’s imagine you are dealt A♥ K♥ 9♥ J♣ 7♦.

A this point, you get to choose how to set these five cards in your five hands. One solid way to set the cards in this hand could be:

Top: 7♦

Middle: J♣

Bottom: A♥ K♥ 9♥

With this arrangement, you will be going for a flush at the bottom while looking to make trips or pairs in the other two hands. Of course, going for a flush can be risky, as it opens up the door to fouling your hand. If you don’t catch the hearts you need, the hand could result in a foul as the bottom hand becomes weak.

If the hand develops in a way where a lot of hearts are dealt out to other players, you can also try to save it by adding another A or K to your bottom hand. This way, your bottom hand becomes a pair of Kings or Aces, which allows you to avoid fouling. 

As you play the hand, it is important to stay mindful of your opponents’ cards. For example, you may want to switch your plan from going for a flush to going for a pair of Aces as soon as you see a few hearts dealt out. Likewise, your plan should remain unchanged if the other players’ cards don’t interfere with the original idea.

Other Variants of OFC Poker

While OFC Poker is a very fun game in itself, there are other OFC Poker types you may want to try as well. These other versions add new rules, change up the points system, and add some variety for players already used to the classic game. 

Some popular examples include:

• Pinneapple OFC Poker: Players receive three cards at a time and get to discard one and set the other two in their hands. 
• Turbo OFC Poker: Players get five initial cards and fourd cards over two additional dealing rounds for a faster-paced game.
• Progressive OFC Poker: Receive up to 17 cards per hand after making QQ or better in your top hand in OFC Progressive Poker. 

OFC Poker is an open-ended game, and you can even make up rules of your own. The next time you are playing with your friends, think about making Fantasyland easier to reach, awarding more or fewer points for royalties, etc. Such twists make playing OFC Poker more fun and force players to think about the best OFC Poker strategy on the go. 

Try Other Poker Games for Free – Today

OFC Poker is one of the best poker games to play with your friends and in your home game. However, if you really want to take playing poker to the next level, you will have to try the more popular poker variations like Texas Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. 

Join CoinPoker today to start learning these games and play them for the lowest stakes possible online. Enjoy our freeroll poker tournaments, where you can win real cash with no risk, or play at stakes you are comfortable with as you build up your bankroll and hone in your poker skills. 

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