NoMercy OFC Crash Course: Opening with a pair of Queens (Part 6)

Hello everyone! Welcome to NoMercy OFC Crash Course, 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 tuned and enjoy the Fantasy Ride!

Over the last series of tips, we reviewed different openings and we went through some real-life hand analysis. There are multiple different possible scenarios in OFC, and we will continue to study what are the optimal plays according to each situation.

At the moment, we are continuing our deep study about opening with Queens and all possible scenarios when receiving such a pair to start your hand. After reviewing all possible best strategies, we will move on to opening with Kings, Aces, 3-Flush, 2 Pairs, Open-ended straight draw, and so on.

We ended the last post with a question regarding the following initial five cards and I asked you to guess what the best opening in such a case would be:

What is your answer to this question?

Did you decide to go with one of the following options:

These are all interesting options that could be debatable if you were last to act in a 3 handed game for example, where you would have had the opportunity to see 10 exposed cards before you make your decision.

But in the present case and for the simplicity of these series of advice, we are assuming that we are always first to act in a heads-up situation.

Therefore, the best play here in such a case would be Option #3. Indeed, the optimum placement here will be to split your Queens and chase down the Flush in the back, which you will often complete. On top of that, with all the Aces being live, you can hope to make that pair in the middle and to catch another Queen or a pair of Kings to access Fantasyland.

What about the other options?

Option #1 would be a very aggressive play and you would definitely need to be last to act with 10 cards exposed to make that kind of play. Indeed, you would have to be absolutely certain that all 3 remaining Aces are live, and that your J-4 or the 9 other diamonds are still available for you in the deck to have some chances of ending up with a valid board.

Option #2 would be the second-best play in such a case. Two pairs Jack high will very often be a winner for that middle line, and you can improve your board to be in a good position to access Fantasyland.

Option #4 is quite weak and conservative, and you will need to catch two other Kings to have a shot at Fantasyland. Indeed, should you get one or two more Queens on the next draws, you will be forced to place them in the back for a shot at a Full House or Quads. As for Aces, the first one you catch will obviously go in the middle, so the chances of catching all 4 Aces to reach Fantasyland with a pair of Aces on top are quite slim.

Finally, Option #5 would be very difficult to justify, even being last to act with 10 cards exposed. Actually, even if all 4s were dead as well as most of the diamonds, then you should place your 4 on top and not in the middle. It will be very rare to complete a hand on the bottom that will allow you to make a wheel in the middle.

Which brings us to our next case scenario; A pair of Queens with 3 Flush draw, but…

What if there is a King in the 3 Flush?

Look at the following opening and try to guess what would be the optimal placement here?

Rendezvous next week to find the answer! Make sure you keep a lookout for the NoMercy OFC Crash Course!

Meet me at the OFC tables on CoinPoker to practice your skills and enjoy the action. Open yourself a CoinPoker account today. Welcome to Fantasyland!

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Isabelle “No Mercy” Mercier

OFC “Progressive” World Champion