Get Ready for Open-Face Chinese Poker (OFC)

Open-face Chinese Poker, or OFC, has become all the rage recently, especially among high-stakes gamblers, because it’s a fun, quick, and exciting game that can be played at any time with just two to four players. Pokerrrr wants to help you get in on the action.

Are you ready to get started? Well, first thing’s first—you’ll need to get a basic grasp of the rules under your belt before you start raking in the chips. Although they can seem daunting at first, once you get the hang of it then you’ll realize that it’s actually super easy. Take some time to read this primer and watch this How-To video, and you’ll be up to speed in no time. And don’t worry if you don’t get all the scoring rules at first—relax, jump into a game, and you’ll pick it up in no time.

The Rules

OFC uses a standard, 52 card deck and is played with two to four people. The object of the game is to use a total of 13 cards to make three poker hands—two of five and one of three—that are better than your opponents. These three hands are referred to the top, middle, and bottom. For each hand that is better than an opponent’s corresponding hand, you’ll score one point.

One important rule is that your hands must be played ‘in order.’ This means that the bottom hand must beat the middle and the middle must beat the top. If this isn’t true (say you have a set in the top and only a pair in the middle) then your hand is a foul and you automatically lose. Be careful not to foul!

You’ll start with five cards that you can arrange as you see fit, and then, for the rest of the game, you and your opponent(s) will take turns taking cards off the deck and placing them into the three rows. During play, unlike regular poker, there is no betting. Instead, you will wait until the end of the hand and score your points.

As we mentioned earlier, you will score one point for each hand that beats an opponent’s hand. So, if your top and bottom are winners, but your middle is a loser, then you will score 1 point total. If you manage to win all three hands, then you get a ‘scoop’ or six points!

Some additional rules include “royalty points” that award you for playing higher cards in the top rows and “fantasyland” that, once you meet certain conditions, allow you to look at all 13 of your cards at the beginning of the next hand before your opponent gets a chance to do anything. That’s a huge advantage.

If you’re excited to get started on OFC, then don’t hesitate to join a game on Pokerrrr.

See you at the table!