Open-Face Chinese Poker Rules
Open-Face Chinese Poker, or OFC, is a turn-based version of Chinese Poker where you build three face-up rows one card at a time. The bottom five cards must be at least as strong as the middle five, which must be at least as strong as the top three. Set them out of order and the hand is fouled — it scores nothing. Because a placed card can never be moved, every decision is a permanent commitment.
A quick note on the game
OFC is a scoring game played for points or units, not a bet-per-street game — there are no betting rounds in the classic form, and settlement is by points multiplied by a stake. It is the open, turn-based cousin of standard Chinese Poker, in which all 13 cards are set at once behind closed hands. Royalty tables, scoop bonuses, and Fantasyland rules vary between home games and apps, so agree the point schedule before you start.
The objective
Build three valid rows — bottom, middle, top — that each beat as many opponents’ matching rows as possible, while never setting them out of order. The tension is constant: you want strong rows and big royalties, but every permanent placement risks fouling the whole hand if your later cards do not cooperate.
How a hand plays out
Place the opening five
Each player is dealt five cards and sets all five face up at once, spread however they choose across the top (3 cards), middle (5 cards), and bottom (5 cards) rows.
Draw one, place one — permanently
Players then take turns receiving a single card and must place it immediately into an open spot. A placed card can never be moved. This continues until every player has 13 cards set: the opening five plus eight more.
Reveal and score
The boards are already face up, so scoring is simply the comparison: each row against every opponent’s matching row, plus scoop bonuses and royalties, with fouled hands losing everything.
The bottom must be equal to or stronger than the middle, and the middle equal to or stronger than the top. Break that order and you foul, forfeiting all three rows to every opponent regardless of how strong they looked.
Scoring, royalties and Fantasyland
Row-by-row points and the scoop
You score one point for each row that beats an opponent’s matching row, compared head-to-head against every player. Win all three rows against an opponent and you earn a scoop (sweep) bonus on top — commonly 3 or 6 points depending on the house schedule.
Royalties
Strong holdings earn bonus points regardless of whether you win the row: a flush or full house on the bottom, trips on the top, and so on, scaling up to a royal flush. Royalties pay only if the hand does not foul, so chasing them is always a gamble against missetting.
Fantasyland
Make a pair of queens or better on the top row without fouling and you enter Fantasyland: on the next hand you receive all 13 cards at once and set them in private, a substantial edge. It is the game’s big prize and the reason players push their top rows.
Popular variant
Pineapple OFC
The most popular modern form. After the opening five cards, each turn you are dealt three cards, place two of them, and discard one. That reaches 13 placed cards faster and gives you more choice on every turn, which raises both the average hand strength and the skill of avoiding a foul. The Fantasyland trigger is still a pair of queens or better on top.
A worked example
A valid board: bottom A♠ A♦ A♣ 7♦ 7♠ (aces full), middle K♥ K♠ Q♥ Q♦ 4♣ (two pair, kings and queens), top 9♣ 9♠ 2♦ (pair of nines). Bottom (full house) beats middle (two pair) beats top (one pair), so the rows are in order and the hand stands.
A fouled board: bottom 8♥ 8♣ 5♦ 4♠ 2♥ (pair of eights), middle A♦ A♣ 6♠ 6♥ 3♣ (two pair, aces and sixes), top 3♦ 3♠ K♦ (pair of threes). Here the middle two pair is stronger than the bottom pair — the rows are out of order.
That second hand is fouled. It does not matter that the individual rows look decent; because the middle outranks the bottom, the whole hand scores nothing and loses all three rows to every opponent.
Tips for beginners
Set your bottom row first and strongest, then work up — the fastest way to lose is to foul, so protecting the row order matters more than any single royalty. Keep the top row modest early; it only needs three cards and it is where most fouls happen. As you learn the point schedule, you will start to weigh a tempting royalty against the risk that a bad draw forces a misset. If you already know the closed game, our Chinese Poker guide covers the standard set-all-13 version, and Pineapple OFC is the natural next step once the basics click.
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean to "foul" or misset a hand?
Your three rows must be in order: the bottom (5 cards) at least as strong as the middle (5 cards), and the middle at least as strong as the top (3 cards). If any row is out of order — for example a stronger middle than bottom — the hand is fouled. A fouled hand scores nothing and loses all three rows to every opponent.
How is OFC different from regular Chinese Poker?
In standard Chinese Poker you receive all 13 cards at once and set them in private, then everyone reveals. Open-Face is turn-based and face up: you place cards a few at a time as you draw them, everyone can see the developing boards, and — critically — a placed card can never be moved. That forward-only element is the whole challenge.
Can I rearrange cards after placing them?
No. Placement is permanent. Once a card is set into a row it stays there for the rest of the hand, so every decision is a commitment made without knowing what you will draw next. Managing that risk of fouling is the core skill of the game.
What are royalties?
Royalties are bonus points awarded for strong holdings in a row, on top of the points won by beating opponents. Examples include a flush or full house on the bottom, or trips on the top. They are paid only if the hand does not foul, which is why chasing a big royalty always carries misset risk.
What is Fantasyland?
Fantasyland is a bonus round earned by making a pair of queens or better on your top row without fouling. On the next hand you are dealt all 13 cards at once and set them in private, a large advantage. In Pineapple OFC the trigger is still QQ+ on top.
Related games
Informational only — this guide explains how the game is played and doesn't mean it's offered on Salty Poker.