This thread is for all things related to OFCP. Strategy, games, pictures of great hands, etc. I've been learning this game for the past couple of months. It's a super-active, high-decision-factor game that is a ton of fun with just a few players. It's now my go-to game early or late on a poker night.
For those who aren't familiar, the goal is to create poker hands of decreasing value from bottom (best) to top (worst). The top does not include straights/flushes. For each hand you win, you get a point from each player that you beat. If you win all three hands against a player, you get an extra one point per hand from that player (i.e., 6 total points). For high value hands, you then get "royalty" bonus points. Bonuses start at 66 on Top, Trips in Middle, and Straight on Bottom. Just Google the bonus tables. The dollar value per point can be changed to whatever you want it to be (e.g., $0.05 per point for learning, $0.25 for low stakes games). The game is played with 2-4 total players. With four players, there is no Pineapple element (i.e., as you need all 13 cards).
In the first round, each player gets 5 cards and places cards face up, positioned wherever they want. Once placed, cards do not move. Each player does this in order for all 5 cards. In the next rounds, each player gets 3 cards and taking turns in order by position relative to the dealer they then select two to play face up. The third card is discarded face down into the muck. Later players have positional advantage of knowing what's been played so far. This process goes on until the hands are fully set, after which they are scored and points awarded. If you "foul" by setting an illegal hand of not decreasing values, your entire hand is mucked and you lose all three hands against any other player who has not fouled.
There is also an extra advantage that you can qualify for if you have a legal hand with QQ or higher in the top. In this "Fantasyland" bonus, you get 14 cards at one time and can set all 13 at once face down (discarding one). With four players, you don't get an extra 14th card in Fantasyland. It's a bonus worth on average ~10 points. Getting to Fantasyland adds a great strategic element to the game. You need a very strong hand to remain in Fantasyland: Trips on Top, Boat in Middle, Quads on Bottom.
My initial thoughts on this game is that new players greatly underestimate the value of Fantasyland. Many focus mostly on the bottom. Flushes appear to be strongly preferred for the bottom, but full houses aren't that hard to secure there for good advantage. Straights in the middle are also very strong. Getting a hand like QQ on top is very strong plus is qualifies for Fantasyland. An AQ draw may find Q top and A middle, hoping to pair each for a valid hand. A single pair up high often wins the top. Trips on top are incredibly strong, but difficult to do. So who else is playing this, and what do you think?
For those who aren't familiar, the goal is to create poker hands of decreasing value from bottom (best) to top (worst). The top does not include straights/flushes. For each hand you win, you get a point from each player that you beat. If you win all three hands against a player, you get an extra one point per hand from that player (i.e., 6 total points). For high value hands, you then get "royalty" bonus points. Bonuses start at 66 on Top, Trips in Middle, and Straight on Bottom. Just Google the bonus tables. The dollar value per point can be changed to whatever you want it to be (e.g., $0.05 per point for learning, $0.25 for low stakes games). The game is played with 2-4 total players. With four players, there is no Pineapple element (i.e., as you need all 13 cards).
- X X X <--Top/Front (3 cards, trips is best hand)
- X X X X X <--Middle (5 cards)
- X X X X X <--Bottom/Back (5 cards)
In the first round, each player gets 5 cards and places cards face up, positioned wherever they want. Once placed, cards do not move. Each player does this in order for all 5 cards. In the next rounds, each player gets 3 cards and taking turns in order by position relative to the dealer they then select two to play face up. The third card is discarded face down into the muck. Later players have positional advantage of knowing what's been played so far. This process goes on until the hands are fully set, after which they are scored and points awarded. If you "foul" by setting an illegal hand of not decreasing values, your entire hand is mucked and you lose all three hands against any other player who has not fouled.
There is also an extra advantage that you can qualify for if you have a legal hand with QQ or higher in the top. In this "Fantasyland" bonus, you get 14 cards at one time and can set all 13 at once face down (discarding one). With four players, you don't get an extra 14th card in Fantasyland. It's a bonus worth on average ~10 points. Getting to Fantasyland adds a great strategic element to the game. You need a very strong hand to remain in Fantasyland: Trips on Top, Boat in Middle, Quads on Bottom.
My initial thoughts on this game is that new players greatly underestimate the value of Fantasyland. Many focus mostly on the bottom. Flushes appear to be strongly preferred for the bottom, but full houses aren't that hard to secure there for good advantage. Straights in the middle are also very strong. Getting a hand like QQ on top is very strong plus is qualifies for Fantasyland. An AQ draw may find Q top and A middle, hoping to pair each for a valid hand. A single pair up high often wins the top. Trips on top are incredibly strong, but difficult to do. So who else is playing this, and what do you think?
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