Take your Time in OFC

Why Taking Your Time Matters in Open Face Chinese Poker (OFC)

In a perfect world, we’d all have unlimited time when playing a card game like Open Face Chinese Poker (OFC). That way, we could carefully think through every possible option before placing our cards.

OFC is a type of poker where you have many more decisions to make than in No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE). In NLHE, once you get your two cards, your only choices are to fold, call, or raise. But in Pineapple OFC, you start with five cards and can place them wherever you want on the three rows of your board.

Let’s say you get a pair of queens. Will you put them in the bottom row to try for a full house or four-of-a-kind? Or will you go for Fantasyland and place them on the top row? Depending on your choice, the rest of the hand will play out very differently.


Avoiding Mistakes by Slowing Down

The main reason to slow down is simple: to avoid making easy mistakes. When you play too fast, it’s easy to misclick, and place your cards so badly that you’ll instantly regret your decision. For example, if you’re trying to build a straight but you don’t look at your opponents’ boards, you might not notice that the cards you need are already out. That could lead you to bust the hand unnecessarily.

Taking your time in OFC helps you avoid your own mistakes — and also gives you time to observe what cards are already on the table. There’s a lot of information to keep track of, so if you’re new to the game, we strongly recommend using your full time bank instead of rushing.


The First Five Cards Matter a Lot

When you get your first five cards, don’t place them too quickly. That early setup can affect your whole hand and your chances of scoring points. Every move counts in OFC — and each choice influences what happens next.

This is part of what we talked about recently: risk in OFC is very different from risk in NLHE. In OFC, small decisions have big consequences — so it’s better to take your time and think them through.

Placing your first five cards is crucial, and it can really make the difference between a winning player and a losing one. Yes, there is variance in OFC, and even the best starting placements won’t always stop you from busting. But in the long run, knowing when to go for a flush on the bottom or when to break it to prioritize a pair will give you an edge over your opponents.

So one last time: take your time!

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