How to play Open Face Chinese poker: one hand, card by card
The fastest way to learn OFC is to place thirteen cards once with someone explaining why. That's what this is — a full Pineapple hand, with the board drawn at every stage and the reasoning behind each placement.
Last reviewed 8 September 2026
Before the first card
You need to hold exactly three things in your head:
- Three rows: 3 cards on top, 5 in the middle, 5 on the bottom.
- Order matters: bottom ≥ middle ≥ top, or the hand scores zero.
- Nothing moves. Once a card is down it's down.
We'll play Pineapple, because that's the version you'll actually be dealt: five cards to open, then four draws of three cards where you place two and throw one away.
Deal 1: your opening five
You're dealt 7♠ 7♦ K♣ 9♠ 4♥. Five cards, five placements, all at once. This is the most important decision of the hand and it's the one beginners rush.
The pair of sevens is the only real material here. The instinct is to put it on top for a royalty — resist it. A pair on top means your middle now has to beat sevens using five cards you haven't seen, and if it can't, you've fouled. Sevens up top pay 2 points; fouling costs you 6 plus royalties.
Notice what that board is: flexible. The bottom can still become anything. The middle has a pair that the bottom can beat with two pair. The top has one card that might pair up and might not. Nothing is committed.
Deal 2: the first three-card draw
You draw K♥ 9♦ 2♣. Place two, discard one.
The K♥ is obvious: it pairs your king on top, and kings up top pays 8 royalty points — the second-best pair you can have there. But it also raises the bar. Your middle is a pair of sevens and it now has to beat a pair of kings, with three cards left to do it.
The 9♦ pairs the 9♠ on the bottom, which is exactly where you want a pair growing: the bottom is allowed to be your strongest row. The 2♣ helps nothing.
Line: K♥ on top, 9♦ on the bottom, discard the 2♣.
Deal 3: it gets awkward
You draw 7♥ Q♠ 3♦.
The 7♥ is the card of the hand. Trip sevens in the middle beats a pair of kings, which unlocks the whole board — and trips in the middle pays 2 royalty points on top of that. In it goes.
One placement left, and the choice is Q♠ or 3♦. Neither improves a row, so pick on structure instead: the 3♦ closes the top row at a pair of kings, which locks in those 8 royalty points and takes the top out of the equation for good. The Q♠ on the bottom would keep a Q-9-9-4 shape that goes nowhere, and it would use up a seat the bottom badly needs.
Line: 7♥ to the middle, 3♦ to the top, discard the Q♠.
Deal 4: counting what's left
This is the moment to count instead of hope. The bottom has to beat trip sevens. Two pair doesn't do it, a straight or flush isn't coming from 9-9-4 with two cards, so the only realistic save is a third nine — and there are exactly two nines left in the deck.
You draw 9♣ 8♠ 5♦. There it is. Trip nines on the bottom beats trip sevens in the middle, which beats kings on top: the board is legal and it will stay legal whatever comes next.
Line: 9♣ to the bottom, 8♠ to the middle (between 8♠ and 5♦ the higher kicker is free money in a tie), discard the 5♦.
Deal 5: the last two cards
Two seats left — one on the bottom, one in the middle — and you draw A♦ 6♣ 2♥. The A♦ goes to the bottom, because a higher kicker never hurts and nothing else is at stake. The 2♥ fills the middle. The 6♣ goes in the muck.
Showdown and scoring
Say your opponent finishes with a pair of fours on top, two pair in the middle and a flush on the bottom. Row by row:
| Row | You | Them | Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | Pair of kings | Pair of fours | +1 |
| Middle | Trip sevens | Two pair | +1 |
| Bottom | Trip nines | Flush | −1 |
| Scoop | Nobody won all three | 0 | |
| Royalties | 8 + 2 = 10 | 4 (flush, bottom) | +6 |
Net: +7 to you. You lost a row and still won the hand comfortably, because royalties are where OFC points really live. That's the lesson of the whole game: the royalty chart matters more than winning rows.
The three mistakes everyone makes
1. Putting a pair on top too early
It's the single most expensive habit in beginner OFC. Every pair you commit up top raises the bar your middle has to clear. Park pairs in the middle and promote them later, when you know what the middle can do.
2. Building the bottom row last
The bottom is the row that has to beat everything, so it needs the most cards and the most time. Start it on deal one. A bottom row that's still two cards short on deal four is a hand about to foul.
3. Ignoring the opponent's board
Every card they place is a card you can't have. If they've got four hearts showing, your heart draw is worse than the odds say — and in Pineapple, the card you throw away should be the one they most want to see. More on that in the strategy guide.
Best way to make these mistakes cheaply: make them against a bot. The app flags a board that's about to foul while you can still do something about it, which is the fastest way to build the instinct.
Questions people actually ask
Where do I put my first five cards in OFC?
Bottom-heavy. A good default is three cards on the bottom, two in the middle and nothing on top — that keeps the row order safe and leaves you the most ways to finish legally. Only park a card on top when it's a high card you'd like to pair, or the fifth card you have nowhere else to put.
Should I put a pair on top early?
Usually not. A pair on top forces your middle to beat that pair with only five cards, and if it can't, you foul. A pair of sixes on top is worth one royalty point; fouling costs you six points plus royalties. Park pairs in the middle until you know the middle can carry them.
What do I discard in Pineapple?
The card that helps you least and your opponent most. Any card that fits none of your rows goes first; between two useless cards, throw the one your opponent is visibly drawing to.
How do I know if I'm about to foul?
Count the empty seats. Before placing, ask what the best and worst possible finish is for each row with the cards you still have to place. If any legal finishing order puts a stronger hand above a weaker one, you're in foul territory and should take the safe placement.
Keep reading
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- Pineapple and Classic, 5 to 50 rounds a match
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