OFC Pineapple: the rules in five minutes
25 Aug 2026 · OFCPoker.eu
If you can read a poker hand you can play OFC. Here is the whole game in five minutes — the full reference lives on the Rules page, and the free Academy turns it into a proper course.
The board
You build three hands, from the top down: the top (3 cards), the middle (5 cards) and the back (5 cards). The back must beat the middle, and the middle must beat the top. Break that order and you foul: every row loses to every opponent, royalties included. Avoiding the foul is the first skill of the game.
The deal
Five cards to start, placed however you like — and once a card is down, it stays down. Then four rounds of three cards: place two, discard one face down. That discard is the “Pineapple” part, and it is what makes the game fast enough for a tournament clock. Watching which cards can no longer appear is half the strategy.
Scoring
Row against row versus each opponent: one point per row won, plus a three-point scoop bonus for sweeping all three. On top of that come royalties — fixed bonuses for premium hands, from a pair of sixes in the top row to a royal flush in the back. Royalties are where the big swings live: a strong board can be worth more in bonuses than in rows.
Fantasyland
Put QQ+ in the top without fouling and your next hand is Fantasyland: in the Progressive format you receive 14 cards for QQ, 15 for KK, 16 for AA and 17 for trips — all at once, face down, while your opponents play blind against you. Stay in (“Re-Fantasy”) by making trips in the top or quads or better in the back.
At a tournament
Ranking events play as points or chip tournaments depending on the festival — the format is listed on each event page. Either way the rules above are all you need to sit down.