Open Face Chinese Pineapple Poker is a relatively new variation of Pai Gow Poker that is gaining in popularity. The game is played with a standard 52-card deck, but the layout of the cards is different.
Instead of having two jokers, Open Face Chinese Pineapple Poker uses three wild cards. The fourth card, the “face card”, is always the jack or queen.
The objective of the game is to collect sets of three cards of the same rank. Sets are scored as follows: two cards of the same rank, one card of the same rank and a wild card. A player can only complete one set during any given hand and must place all three cards on the table before any other player can make a decision about whether to take that hand.
For example, if someone has an Ace, Two and Three in their hand, they can place these cards on the table and then another player would need to either take that hand or make another decision (such as calling). If someone has an Ace, Two and Wild Card in their hand, they can place these cards on the table and then another player would need to either take that hand or make another decision (such as folding).
Players are dealt four hands at a time and play clockwise around the table. Each player starts with $100 in chips and every round played results in either taking money from the pot or adding more chips to their stack.
When all players have finished playing their hands, any chips left in the pot are taken by the winner. The game ends when one player has lost all their chips or when a predetermined number of hands (usually seven) have been played.
Open Face Chinese Pineapple Poker can be a very fun and strategic game. The different layout of the cards can create some interesting decisions for players, as well as adding an additional layer of strategy to what would otherwise be a fairly simple poker game.
It can be difficult for beginners to get a handle on all of the different rules and nuances involved in playing this variation of Pai Gow Poker, but with some practice it should become easier to play competently.
