Open Face Chinese (OFC) Rules
Open Face Chinese is a points game for 2 or 3 players. There are no betting rounds. Each hand you build three rows from 13 cards: a top row of 3 cards, a middle row of 5 and a bottom row of 5. The bottom must be at least as strong as the middle, and the middle at least as strong as the top.
When every board is complete, you compare rows with each opponent, collect bonuses for strong rows, and settle the points at the table’s point value. Phenom spreads six OFC games. They share the scoring below and differ in how cards are dealt, in Fantasyland, in jokers and, in one game, in how the middle row is ranked.
OFC Standard
Also called Open Face Chinese, Regular OFC
The original game: five cards to start, then one card at a time until all 13 are set.
- Players
- 2–3
- Deal
- 5 cards, then 1 card a round for 8 rounds
- Discards
- None
- Fantasyland
- No
- Deck
- 52 cards
How a hand plays
- Everyone is dealt 5 cards face down. Starting with the player to the left of the button, each player places all 5 cards into their rows. The button places last.
- Next, each player gets 1 card and places it, in the same order. This repeats for 8 rounds until every player has 13 cards on their board.
- Placed cards are face up for the table and can’t be moved once you confirm.
- When all boards are full, rows are compared and points are settled. See Scoring and Royalties below.
Winning
- Against each opponent you win or lose a point per row, plus 3 more for winning all three rows.
- Royalties (bonus points for strong rows) are added on top.
- A board that breaks the row order fouls and loses 6 points to every opponent who didn’t foul.
At Phenom
- OFC Standard has no Fantasyland.
- Your time to set each round is shown on your seat. If you run out of time, your cards are placed for you and you are sat out after the hand.
OFC Pineapple
Also called Pineapple OFC
Three cards a round: keep two, throw one away, and play for a 14-card Fantasyland.
- Players
- 2–3
- Deal
- 5 cards, then 3 cards a round for 4 rounds
- Discards
- 1 per round (4 a hand)
- Fantasyland
- Queens or better on top: 14 cards
- Deck
- 52 cards
How a hand plays
- Everyone is dealt 5 cards and places all of them, one player at a time starting left of the button. The button places last.
- In each of the next 4 rounds you get 3 cards. Place 2 of them and discard the third. Your discards stay face down until the showdown, when every player’s discards are shown.
- After the fourth round every board holds 13 cards, and rows are compared and scored.
Fantasyland
- Finish a hand without fouling with a pair of queens or better on top (any three of a kind on top counts) and your next hand is a Fantasyland hand.
- In Fantasyland you get 14 cards at once. Set 13 of them into your rows and discard the last one.
- You stay in Fantasyland for another hand if you finish your Fantasyland hand without fouling and with three of a kind on top, or four of a kind or better on the bottom. Each stay is another 14 cards.
- There is no limit on how many times in a row you can stay.
Winning
- Scoring, royalties and fouls are the same as every OFC game. See the sections below.
Example hands
OFC Pineapple Progressive
Also called Progressive Pineapple, Progressive Fantasyland
Pineapple where a stronger top row buys a bigger Fantasyland hand.
- Players
- 2–3
- Deal
- 5 cards, then 3 cards a round for 4 rounds
- Discards
- 1 per round (4 a hand)
- Fantasyland
- QQ 14, KK 15, AA 16, trips 17 cards
- Deck
- 52 cards
How a hand plays
The deal is the same as OFC Pineapple: 5 cards to start, then 4 rounds of 3 cards where you place 2 and discard 1. Players set one at a time, starting left of the button, and the button sets last.
Fantasyland
- Qualify with a pair of queens or better on top without fouling. The size of your Fantasyland hand depends on your top row: queens get 14 cards, kings 15, aces 16, and any three of a kind 17.
- Set 13 cards into your rows and discard the rest.
- You stay in Fantasyland if your Fantasyland board doesn’t foul and has three of a kind on top, or four of a kind or better on the bottom. A stay is always 14 cards, whatever you entered with.
- There is no limit on how many times in a row you can stay.
Winning
- Scoring, royalties and fouls are the same as every OFC game. See the sections below.
Example hands
OFC Pineapple Progressive Ultimate
Also called Ultimate Progressive
Progressive Fantasyland where a stay keeps your bigger hand, up to three stays in a row.
- Players
- 2–3
- Deal
- 5 cards, then 3 cards a round for 4 rounds
- Fantasyland
- QQ 14, KK 15, AA 16, trips 17 cards
- Stays
- Keep your entry card count, up to 3 stays
- Low-stack line
- 100 points
How a hand plays
The deal is the same as OFC Pineapple: 5 cards to start, then 4 rounds of 3 cards where you place 2 and discard 1. Players set one at a time, starting left of the button, and the button sets last.
Fantasyland
- Entry works like Progressive: a pair of queens or better on top without fouling. Queens get 14 cards, kings 15, aces 16, and any three of a kind 17.
- You stay in Fantasyland if your Fantasyland board doesn’t foul and has three of a kind on top, or four of a kind or better on the bottom.
- When you stay, you keep the card count you entered with. Enter with aces and every stay is another 16 cards.
- You can stay at most 3 times in a row, so a streak is at most 4 Fantasyland hands. After that you play a normal hand and can qualify again.
At Phenom
- This game uses a higher low-stack line than the other OFC games: 100 points instead of 50. See Points and money below.
- Scoring, royalties and fouls are the same as every OFC game.
OFC Progressive Ultimate Jokers
Also called Joker OFC, OFC Jokers
Progressive Ultimate Pineapple with two wild jokers in a 54-card deck.
- Players
- 2–3
- Deck
- 54 cards (2 wild jokers)
- Deal
- 5 cards, then 3 cards a round for 4 rounds
- Fantasyland
- QQ 14, KK 15, AA 16, trips 17 cards
- Stays
- Keep your entry card count, up to 3 stays
- Low-stack line
- 100 points
How a hand plays
Everything plays like OFC Pineapple Progressive Ultimate: 5 cards to start, then 4 rounds of 3 cards where you place 2 and discard 1, and the same Fantasyland entry, card counts and stay limit. The difference is the deck, which has two jokers.
Jokers
- A joker is wild. You place it like any other card, and it becomes a real card when the hand is scored.
- A joker can become any card that isn’t already in its own row. It may copy a card in one of your other rows, a card you discarded or a card another player holds.
- The game picks what each joker becomes for you. It always avoids a foul if any choice can, and among the choices that keep your board legal it makes your bottom row as strong as possible, then your middle, then your top.
- If no choice of cards keeps your rows in order, the board fouls.
- Two jokers in the same row become two different cards.
- Hands made with jokers pay the same royalties as natural hands, and they count for entering and staying in Fantasyland.
- At showdown the table shows what each joker became.
At Phenom
- Like Progressive Ultimate, this game uses a 100-point low-stack line. See Points and money below.
- Scoring, royalties and fouls are the same as every OFC game.
OFC Pineapple 2-7
Also called 2-7 Pineapple OFC, Deuce-to-Seven OFC
Pineapple where the middle row is a 2-7 lowball hand: the lower, the better.
- Players
- 2–3
- Deal
- 5 cards, then 3 cards a round for 4 rounds
- Middle row
- 2-7 low: no pair, straight or flush, 10-high or better
- Fantasyland
- KK+ on top or a 7-5-4-3-2 middle: 14 cards (both: 15)
- Deck
- 52 cards
How a hand plays
The deal is the same as OFC Pineapple: 5 cards to start, then 4 rounds of 3 cards where you place 2 and discard 1. Players set one at a time, starting left of the button, and the button sets last.
Your top and bottom rows are normal high hands. Your middle row is a deuce-to-seven low hand.
The 2-7 middle row
- Your middle row must have no pair, no straight and no flush, and its highest card must be a 10 or lower. Aces are always high, so an ace in the middle fouls.
- Your bottom row must be at least as strong as your top row. The middle is not compared with the other rows.
- Break either rule and the board fouls.
- Between players the lower middle row wins. 7-5-4-3-2 is the best possible middle.
- Middle-row royalties are paid for a low hand: 7-high pays 4, 8-high pays 2 and 9-high pays 1. Top and bottom royalties are the standard ones.
Fantasyland
- Qualify without fouling with a pair of kings or better on top (any three of a kind on top counts), or with a middle row of exactly 7-5-4-3-2.
- Qualifying one way gets 14 cards. Qualifying both ways in the same hand gets 15.
- You stay in Fantasyland if your Fantasyland board doesn’t foul and has three of a kind on top, or four of a kind or better on the bottom. A stay is 14 cards.
- There is no limit on how many times in a row you can stay.
Example hands
Rows and fouls
Your board has three rows. The top row holds 3 cards, and the middle and bottom rows hold 5 each. Your rows must get stronger from top to bottom: the bottom must be at least as strong as the middle, and the middle at least as strong as the top. (OFC Pineapple 2-7 has its own middle-row rule, described in its section.)
The top row only has three cards, so it can be high card, a pair or three of a kind. Straights and flushes don’t count on top.
If your rows are out of order when the board is complete, your hand fouls. A fouled hand loses every row and gets no royalties.
Scoring
You settle with each opponent separately. In a three-handed game you settle with both opponents, and your result is the total of the two.
- Each row: the better hand wins 1 point from the other player. A tied row scores nothing.
- Scoop: win all three rows outright against an opponent and you get 3 more points from them, 6 in total. A tied row means no scoop.
- Royalties: each player’s royalties are added up, and the difference is paid between you.
- Foul: if you foul and your opponent doesn’t, you lose 6 points to them plus their royalties.
- If both of you foul, no points change hands between you.
Royalties
Royalties are bonus points for strong rows. They are the same in every OFC game at Phenom, except for the middle row in OFC Pineapple 2-7.
Top row: pair of 6s 1, 7s 2, 8s 3, 9s 4, 10s 5, jacks 6, queens 7, kings 8, aces 9. Three of a kind: 2s 10, 3s 11, 4s 12, 5s 13, 6s 14, 7s 15, 8s 16, 9s 17, 10s 18, jacks 19, queens 20, kings 21, aces 22.
Middle row: three of a kind 2, straight 4, flush 8, full house 12, four of a kind 20, straight flush 30, royal flush 50.
Bottom row: straight 2, flush 4, full house 6, four of a kind 10, straight flush 15, royal flush 25.
OFC Pineapple 2-7 middle row: 7-high 4, 8-high 2, 9-high 1.
A fouled board earns no royalties.
Fantasyland
Fantasyland is a bonus hand in the Pineapple games. Instead of getting your cards a few at a time, you get them all at once, set 13 into your rows and discard the rest. Entry, card counts and stays depend on the game and are listed in each game’s section. OFC Standard has no Fantasyland.
- Your Fantasyland board stays hidden from the other players until the showdown.
- Your Fantasyland clock starts once the players who are not in Fantasyland have finished their hand. If everyone at the table is in Fantasyland, the clocks run in turn straight away.
- A Fantasyland streak keeps the same players together. Nobody new is dealt in, and nobody from the hand that earned it can leave or sit out, until the streak ends. Requests to leave or sit out are saved and carried out when it ends.
- If you go broke on the hand that earns Fantasyland, the Fantasyland is lost, even if you rebuy. It is also lost if you have no chips when the Fantasyland hand would start.
Points and money
- Every OFC table has a point value, shown as an amount per point (for example 0.10 / pt). Your points for the hand are multiplied by it.
- The table takes rake from each winner’s winnings, capped per hand.
- You can never lose more than your stack. From any one opponent you can win at most the stack you started the hand with.
- If a losing player can’t cover everything they owe, their stack is shared among the winners in proportion to what each is owed.
- Low-stack line: after you have played, if your stack drops below 50 points (100 points in Progressive Ultimate and Progressive Ultimate Jokers), you are sat out before the next deal and asked to add on. During a Fantasyland streak you keep playing and the prompt waits until the streak ends, unless you have no chips left. Exactly on the line is enough to keep playing.
- Rebuys and add-ons are applied between hands. During a Fantasyland streak they wait until the streak ends.
These pages describe how games are dealt at Phenom Poker. At every table, Rules in the table menu (the ••• menu on desktop, the menu drawer on phones) shows the short version for the game being dealt, with this table's stakes and limits.
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