1. Chinese Poker Scoring Chart 2019
2. Chinese Poker Scoring Chart Sheet
3. Chinese Poker Scoring Chart Printable
4. Chinese Poker Scoring Chart 2020

Chinese Poker Scoring. Watch the video below to learn how to deal, set your hand and keep score in Chinese Poker quickly and easily. There's no betting or raising - instead everyone agrees on a point value, for example $1 per point. Everyone gets 13 cards and then has to organize their cards into three poker hands. 2-4-rule in Chinese Poker. Another common scoring system is the 2-4-rule. With this system a 3-0 score is worth 4 points while the opponent loses 4 points. With a 2-1 you get 2 points; your opponent loses 2 points. Chinese Poker’s standard playing style does not allow the player to fold his cards. However, since then, there have been no Chinese Poker events hosted at the WSOP. Ease of Learning: 4/10 –Chinese Poker is quite an easy game to play. But it can get more complicated with understanding the different scoring systems and in deciding whether or not “royalties” (bonus points) – and if so, which ones – will be used in the game.

This page is based on information from Dave Holdsworth.

• Variations
• Pineapple OFCP

• (Note: There are two common methods for scoring normal Chinese Poker. 1 point per hand plus 3 points for a sweep, called 1-6 scoring because a player wins 1 point (2-1) for winning two out of three hands and 6 points (3+3) for winning all three.
• In this video we'll show you how to play Chinese Poker including rules, gameplay and how to keep score. For more poker news head to http://www.pokerlistings.

Introduction

Despite its name, this variant of Chinese Poker, sometimes known as Open Hand Chinese Poker or just as OFCP, originated in Russia and Finland in the early 21st century. It was introduced to the poker tournament circuit by Russian players in the Aviation Club, Paris in early 2012 and has since become generally popular, and the side-game of choice for professional poker players in the US and Europe.

Players and Cards

The game can be played by 2, 3 or 4 players, each playing for themselves. A standard 52-card deck is used. Deal and play are clockwise. Before playing it is necessary to agree on a stake per point.

Arrangement of Cards

The objective of the game is for each player to develop over the course of a deal their best 'back' hand of 5 cards, 'middle' hand of 5 cards and 'front' hand of 3 cards from a total of 13 cards. Initially the player has 5 cards to distribute among the hands. Then further cards are drawn one at a time, and the player has to decide where to place each card before seeing what will come next. 'Open face' in the name of the game refers to the fact that during the game all hands are visible to all players.

For a player's hands to be valid, the back hand must be better than or equal to the middle hand, and the middle hand must be better than the front hand. If these conditions are not met the player's hand is considered 'foul' and does not score. Note that in Open Face Chinese Poker (unlike standard Chinese Poker), a player may easily get into a situation where a foul is unavoidable, if the last few cards are not what the player hoped for.

The standard poker ranking is used - so the hand types from high to low are: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pairs, one pair, high card (see the page on ranking of poker hands). There are no wild cards.

Since the front hand has only 3 cards, only three hand types are possible: three of a kind; one pair; high card. There is no value in having a front hand with three consecutive cards or three cards of the same suit: 'straights' or 'flushes' in the front hand do not count.

Deal and Play

One player is designated dealer and deals 5 cards to each player, one at a time face down. The player to dealer's left now sets his or her 5 cards, placing them face up on the table, assigning each card to the front, middle or back hand. The other players do the same, in turn, ending with the dealer.

Once all players have set their first 5 cards, play continues clockwise, starting with the player on the dealer's left. Each player in turn draws the top card of the stock, exposes it, and adds it to one of his or her three hands. Once played, cards cannot be moved from one hand to another, and when a hand has its full complement of cards (5 in the back or middle, 3 in the front), no more can be added. When everyone has 13 cards, the hands are compared and scored.

The deal moves to the left after each hand.

Scoring

Each pair of players compares corresponding hands. So with three players there are three pairs of hands to be compared and scored: A against B, A against C and B against C. With four players there are six pairs: A against B, A against C, A against D, B against C, C against D, C against D.

For each pair of players, scores are calculated as follows.

• For each of the three hands, back, middle and front, the player with the better hand scores one point.
• If the same player wins all three hands, that player scores an extra bonus of 3 points.
• Points are also awarded for royalties: making certain hand values in the different hand positions, which are then added to the score. Unlike standard Chinese Poker, royalties are usually counted for both players being compared.
• The player who has fewer points pays the difference between the scores to the player who has more.
• A player who has a foul hand scores nothing for any hand, but instead pays 6 points for the foul plus points for any royalties the opponent may have. If both players being compared have foul hands then neither scores.

The standard scoring system is as follows:

Points for Winning hands, foul and sweep

• Each hand won: 1 point
• Bonus for winning all three hands (sweep): 3 points
• Opponent's Foul: 6 points

(Note: There are two common methods for scoring normal Chinese Poker

1. 1 point per hand plus 3 points for a sweep, called 1-6 scoring because a player wins 1 point (2-1) for winning two out of three hands and 6 points (3+3) for winning all three
2. 1 point per hand plus 1 point for winning the majority of hands, called 2-4 scoring. because a player wins 2 points (2-1+1) for winning two out of three hands and 4 points (3+1) for winning all three.

OFCP is normally played with 1-6 scoring as shown above.)

Points for Royalties

Back Hand:

Straight = 2 points

Flush = 4 points

Full House = 6 points

Four of A Kind = 10 points

Straight Flush = 15 points

Royal Flush = 25 points

Middle Hand (double the bonus for back hand):

Straight = 4 points

Flush = 8 points

Full House = 12 points

Four of a Kind = 20 points

Straight Flush = 30 points

Royal Flush = 50 points

Front Hand

Pair of Sixes (6, 6) = 1 point

Pair of Sevens (7, 7) = 2 points

Pair of Eights (8, 8) = 3 points

Pair of Nines (9, 9) = 4 points

Pair of Tens (10, 10) = 5 points

Pair of Jacks (J, J) = 6 points

Pair of Queens (Q, Q) = 7 points

Pair of Kings (K, K) = 8 points

Pair of Aces (A, A) = 9 points

3 of a Kind = 20 points

Variations

OFCP is evolving and many minor variations in scoring can be seen, even in the casino game.

Chinese Poker Scoring Chart 2019

Scoring Variations

Some play with different scoring for 3 of a kind in the Front hand:

• 3 of a Kind Twos (2, 2, 2) = 10 points
• 3 of a Kind Threes (3, 3, 3) = 11 points
• 3 of a Kind Fours (4, 4, 4) = 12 points
• 3 of a Kind Fives (5, 5, 5) = 13 points
• 3 of a Kind Sixes (6, 6, 6) = 14 points
• 3 of a Kind Sevens (7, 7, 7) = 15 points
• 3 of a Kind Eights (8, 8, 8) = 16 points
• 3 of a Kind Nines (9, 9, 9) = 17 points
• 3 of a Kind Tens (10, 10, 10) = 18 points
• 3 of a Kind Jacks (J, J, J) = 19 points
• 3 of a Kind Queens (Q, Q, Q) = 20 points
• 3 of a Kind Kings (K, K, K) = 21 points
• 3 of a Kind Aces (A, A, A) = 22 points

Some play that Trips in the Middle = 2 points

Some play that Trips in the Middle = 2 points and Trips in the Back = 1 point

Some play:

• Back Hand:
  • Four of A Kind = 8 points
  • Straight Flush = 10 points
  • Royal Flush = 20 points
• Middle Hand: double the bonus for back hand.

Some play:

• Back Hand:
  • Straight = 4 points
  • Straight Flush = 15 points
  • Royal Flush = 25 points
• Middle Hand:
  • treble the bonus for back hand, and
  • Trips in the Middle = 2 points

Some play that only the winning hand of the pair being compared counts when adding up royalties.

Some play using 2-4 scoring instead of 1-6 scoring

Table Stakes

In tournament play and when played in a casino, it may be required to play table stakes, which means that the player is liable only for those chips which he has in front of him.

When playing table stakes the payoff must be conducted in strict sequence. First the hand of player to dealer's left is compared with those of the other players in clockwise order, ending with the dealer, then the next player 's hand is compared with those of the remaining players, and so on. So for example if there are four players West, North, East and South and South has dealt, then the hands are compared in the following order: W vs N, W vs E, W vs S, N vs E, N vs S, E vs S.

Since you cannot lose more than the amount you have on the table, it is reasonable to have a rule that you also cannot win more than this amount. Therefore, if at any point in the payoff a player has won as much as he or she had on the table at the start of that deal, the player's win is capped at this amount. The opponent pays enough so that the player has won in total an amount equal to their stake at the start of that deal, and from that point onward the player's hand is 'complete'. The player cannot win or lose any further chips (even if without the cap he or she would have subsequently lost chips to another player) and the comparison moves on to the other pairs of players.

Fantasyland

Fantasyland is a very popular variant which awards a special bonus for setting a Pair of Queens or higher in the Front hand. On the subsequent hand the player is said to be in Fantasyland, and is dealt all 13 cards at the beginning of the deal. The player sets his hand face down before play begins. The hands are scored as normal when the other players finish setting their hands.

The dealer button does not move for the Fantasyland hand. Normal play resumes after the hand.

Some play that if a player in Fantasyland sets at least four of a kind in the back, full house in the middle or trips in front he can stay in Fantasyland for another hand.

Some play that a player must announce if he is staying in Fantasyland when he sets his hand.

Some play that a player in Fantasyland sets his hand face down in the normal course of play rather than before any other players set their hands.

Final Cards Face Down

Some play the final 3 cards face down to speed up the four-handed game.

Pineapple OFCP

Pineapple is a relatively recent variant for two or three players, which is played in some Las Vegas casinos.

Players are dealt 5 cards to start and set them as usual. After that they take 3 cards on each turn, setting two of the cards and discarding one card face down.

In Pineapple OFCP, some play the Fantasyland variant with 14 cards dealt at the start of the hand and 1 discarded. In Progressive Pineapple a player with a hand better than QQ in front is dealt more cards: 15 cards for KK, 16 cards for AA and 17 cards for triplets. The player keeps 13 cards, discarding the remainder before setting the hands. A player in Fantasyland who sets a front hand of QQ or better will be dealt a 14-card Fantasyland hand next time, even if the front hand was better than QQ.

Pineapple 2-7 OFCP

In this variant, the aim is to set strong hands front and back and a low hand in the middle. For the middle hand, 2-7 ranking is used: straights and flushes count and ace is always high, so that the lowest hand is 7-5-4-3-2 in mixed suits. In order not to foul the hand, your back hand must be higher than your front hand and your middle hand cannot be stringer than 10 high. Royalties for the middle hand are:

• 9 high – 1 point,
• 8 high – 2 points,
• 7 high – 4 points,
• 75432 – 8 points.

KK or better in the top row or 75432 in the middle row results in a 14-card Fantasyland. Both KK or better in the top row and 75432 in the middle row at the same time results in a 15-card Fantasyland (15 cards dealt at once and two discarded). A Fantasyland player who makes a set in front or quads or better in the back hand is rewarded with another 14-card Fanstasyland hand.

Websites and Online Games

Open Face Chinese Poker and Pineapple OFCP can be played online at flopturnriver, either between 2-4 live players or as a 2-player (heads up) game against a bot.

There are many information sites and blogs appearing. Strategy discussions can be found at www.openfaceodds.com and on www.twoplustwo.com.

Open-face Chinese poker, OFCP, commonly known as Open Face Chinese or OFC, is a variant of Chinese poker where players receive five cards to start and then one card at a time until each player has a 13 card hand legal or not. The game originated in Finland during the mid-2000s and spread to Russia a few years later. Professional poker player Alex Kravchenko, who is credited with introducing the game to the Russian high-stakes community, describes the game as 'spreading like a virus'.^[1] The game was introduced to the United States in 2012.^[2]

In December 2014, TonyBet hosted the first-ever World Championship of OFC where Jennifer Shahade won the High Roller and Mikal Blomlie won the Main Event.^[3][4]

Gameplay[edit]

Open-face Chinese poker is typically played as a two- to three-person game, though it can also be played with four people. Each player must use thirteen cards consisting of 3 cards in the front hand, 5 cards in the middle hand, and 5 cards in the back hand. Play is in clockwise order and starts with the player left of the dealer. As in standard Chinese poker, the back hand must be stronger than or equal to the middle hand and the middle hand must be stronger than or equal to the front hand. The strength of the hand is determined by poker hand rankings. The middle and back can make the best five-card poker hand while the front hand can only make the best three-card hand. The best front hand is three aces. Straights, flushes, and straight flushes are not legal front hands.^[5]

Objective[edit]

The goal of the game is to achieve more units (also known as points) than your opponents by winnings more hands also known as rows and/or by collecting royalties on premium hands without fouling. See fouling for more details.

To win rows, your hand ranking must be higher than your opponents' in that same row, for example:

Ivey would win the front row and back row, but lose the middle row. See scoring for more details.

Fouling[edit]

Fouling also known as mis-setting is when an illegal hand is made and as a result, the hand is forfeited. The back hand must be stronger than or equal to the middle and the front, the middle must be stronger or equal to the front, otherwise, the hand is not legal and is considered fouled. In this case the player who fouled loses six points (one point per line plus three point scoop bonus) per non-fouling player and each non-fouling player gains six points. Players who fouled can lose additional units if players with legal hands achieved royalties. Opponents with legal hands gains six points plus any royalties in their hands, but not the royalties in fouled hands. When a hand is fouled the fouling players loses all royalties in their hands as well. If more than one player foul, then the players who foul tie other players who foul and no points are gained or lost between players with fouled hands. Unlike standard Chinese poker, players do not receive all thirteen cards at once. Therefore, fouling plays a large factor, and strategies are devised to avoid it.^[5]

Dealing[edit]

Unlike standard Chinese poker where all thirteen cards are dealt at once, in open face Chinese each player is dealt five cards in the beginning and then one card at a time until thirteen card hands are made (8 deals after 5 cards are dealt). The cards are all set face up. The dealer deals clockwise with the player to the left of the dealer acting first. In the beginning it is not necessary to set cards in each row. Players can set all cards in three or fewer rows depending on their preference. For example, if a player receives A♣2♦3♠4♥5♣ as the first five cards he or she can set them all on the back or middle row if desired. Once a row has been completed (e.g. 3 cards in the front or 5 cards in the middle or back) then another open row must be picked. Once a card has been set it cannot be moved to a different row.

Fantasyland[edit]

Fantasyland is a special bonus awarded to players that make a hand that has a pair of queens (QQx) or stronger in the front hand and does not foul. When fantasyland is achieved, the next hand, the player receives all thirteen cards dealt at once while other players must play out the hand as standard open face. Players in fantasyland sets their hand face down when it is their turn to act. Players can fantasyland repeatedly if they are able to make the required hand. If a player makes fantasyland while already in fantasyland, he or she must declare it to all opponents.^[5] However, to remain in fantasyland while in fantasyland requires higher royalties, one or more of the following conditions must be met:

More than one player can achieve fantasyland. Another way of stating how to stay in fantasyland would be one must score a 10-point royalty or higher in any sub-hand.

Shooting the moon[edit]

If a player has J-high in the back hand and does not foul, he or she receives 20 units from all other players. Shooting the moon is rarely found in open face Chinese poker games, and is generally reserved for kitchen table home games.

Chinese Poker Scoring Chart Sheet

Scoring[edit]

The stakes played for in Chinese poker are known as units or points: an amount of money agreed on per unit before the game starts. Basic scoring rules dictate that a player collects one unit from each opponent whose front, middle or back hand is beaten by his own corresponding hand. Thus, unlike most poker games, being second-best at the table is good enough to win money. In some variants players are also paid an additional unit if they win in two or three of the hands. In other variants players only get an additional unit if they win all three hands (known as a scoop). Also, due to the head-to-head nature of the comparisons, it is possible for different players to play for different stakes. For example, A and B could play for $10 per unit versus each other, while all other player pairings play for $1 per unit. Many variations of scoring are in common use; refer to the external links for more information.

The most common scoring system used in Open-face Chinese poker is the 1-6 scoring method.

In the 1-6 method the players receives 1 unit for each hand they win, and 3 bonus units if they win all three hands from a player known as a scoop. Players lose 1 unit for each hand they lose to each player and lose 3 bonus units to each player who scoops them.

In the example above, Hellmuth would pay Ivey 4 units, as Hellmuth scored 5 units, while Ivey scored 9. The difference is 4, and therefore Hellmuth would pay Ivey 4 units. Hellmuth received 5 units by scoring 1 unit for winning the middle hand, and 4 units for a flush royalty in the back. The total becomes 5. Ivey scored 9 units by scoring 1 unit for the winning the top, 1 unit for a pair of 6 royalty up top, 1 unit for winning the bottom, and 6 units for a full house royalty on the bottom. The total becomes 9.

Points are added to the winner and subtracted from the loser as the game progresses. If a game has more than two players, players gain a point for each hand/row they win from each player and lose a point for each hand/row they lose from each player. Royalty points are also scored based on the number of players involved. For example, a player with a completed back hand flush in a three player game would receive an 8-point bonus, 4 per player excluding royalties in any non-fouled opponents' hands. If other players do not have royalties, they would lose 4 points each otherwise, players would calculate the difference between the royalties achieve in their own legal hands.

Royalties[edit]

Royalties, or bonuses as they are sometimes called, are extra units that may be awarded to players with particularly strong hands. Hands that qualify for royalties in Open-face Chinese are lower than that of standard Chinese poker as hands formed are generally weaker.

Other variations play with naturals and can be scored the same as standard Chinese poker or to the players preference.

Like standard Chinese poker, in open face Chinese royalties cancel out. For example, if one player has 7777x in the back and another has 6666x in the back, the player with 7777x would win 1 unit for the back hand/row but not the royalty units. Even if a player loses a hand/row he is eligible for the royalties in the hand as long as it is not fouled.

Variations[edit]

• Pineapple Open Face Chinese poker (POFC) — For a maximum of three players. Each player is dealt five cards to start. Instead of being dealt one at a time players are dealt three cards at a time.^[7] Players set two cards and discards one until 13 card hands are made. If a player achieves fantasyland the player receives 14 cards and discard one. Traditional OFC rules apply to enter fantasyland. Some players suggest AA+ as a minimum requirement. To remain in fantasyland requires three of a kind on top and/or four of a kind or better on the bottom. Full house in the middle does not qualify.
• Double deck open face Chinese poker — in this variant two decks of cards are shuffled together and both used in the game, allowing more people to play, Double deck pineapple can also be played. Apart from this the games are played using the same rules as the single deck games. Some players suggest a AA+ as a minimum requirement for fantasy land. By using two decks it is possible to get 5 of a kind; some suggest giving this hand the same royalties as the straight flush.

Live Tournaments[edit]

PokerStars hosted a live OFC tournament in the 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Chinese Poker Scoring Chart Printable

OFC has never been featured at the World Series of Poker, only in the Carnivale of Poker. The Carnivale of Poker is a smaller tournament series that had a brief run, organized by the WSOP.^[8]

References[edit]

1. ^Dave Behr (2012). 'Not just another pretty face'. Bluff Magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13.
2. ^Jennifer Shahade (2012-10-18). 'How to Play Open-Face Chinese Poker'. Card Player.
3. ^Calvinayre.com: Mikal Blomlie Wins the TonyBet OFC World Championships
4. ^Pokernews.com: Jennifer Shahade Wins Biggest Open-Face Chinese Live Poker Event in History
5. ^ ^abc'Chinese Poker'. PokerNews. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
6. ^'2013 Carnivale of Poker $5000 Open Face Chinese Poker Official Medaillion Event'(PDF). World Series of Poker. 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
7. ^'Introduction to Pineapple Open Face Chinese Poker'. PokerOpenFace. Archived from the original on 2015-02-07. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
8. ^'OFC Rules'.

Chinese Poker Scoring Chart 2020