The importance of counting at OFC

Why Counting Is Key in Open Face Chinese Poker (OFC)

One of the first pieces of advice we can give if you’re starting out in Open Face Chinese Poker (OFC) is this: learn to count. Here’s why.

There are several good reasons to learn how to count well. First of all, if you want to master any game, you need to understand its details — and counting is one of them.

In OFC, there are many things to count. For example, you need to count how many cards help you and how many are still left to come. If you’re drawing to a flush in the bottom row and already have three spades, you must look at how many spades your opponent(s) have and figure out how many are still in the deck.

At the end of the hand, you also need to count the winning rows. It’s pretty easy: you compare your three rows with your opponent’s, one by one.

– If you win just one row, your opponent wins 2 therefore he gets 1 point.
– If you win two rows, YOU get 1 point.
– If you win all three rows, you scoop him and get 6 points.
– If both players win the same number of rows, it’s a tie and no points are given.

In Pineapple Poker, you also need to count bonuses (called royalties). You calculate your score against each opponent one by one. The order depends on where the button is. Here’s a chart that shows the royalty points.

Below are the royalty charts for the middle and back hands:

Below is the royalty chart for the front hands:

Why is counting important?

First, because the number of points you can possibly make will help you make better decisions.
Let’s say you’re playing against someone who takes too many risks. He puts a set of jacks on the top row, but he hasn’t locked the middle or the bottom yet. You know he’s playing risky, so you shouldn’t. You choose the safe path. You still count your possible points, but you adjust your strategy based on how aggressive he plays.

Second reason: Fantasyland.
In Fantasyland, you get all your cards at once (13, 14 or 15, depending on the OFC format). Sometimes, you’ll have choices to make.
Do you go for a flush on the bottom and a pair in the middle and top? Or with the same cards, do you go for four of a kind on the bottom, a full house in the middle, and nothing on top? Which gives more points?
There’s only one way to know: you need to learn how to count.

Last but not least: counting is also useful in live games.
Most dealers don’t really know how to count points in OFC, so in real games, it’s usually the players who count their own scores at the end of each hand.
If you don’t know how to count, you slow the game down — or worse, your opponents might take advantage and steal points from you.

So… time to get to work!

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