Rules

Match

A match in OFC Pineapple is a number of hands played by players at a single table. Throughout a whole match, no more player can join the game.

The number of hands in a match equals to the number of players. However, there can be more or less hands if:

  • all players except one lost their entire chips, so the match finishes.
  • one of the players achieved fantasyland, so the match increases by one hand.

Dealing cards in a hand

Cards are dealt alternately on 5 streets:

  • 1st street – 5 cards are dealt.
    On the first street, the player to the left of the dealer, is dealt 5 cards. All players can see these cards. Players must lay out all 5 cards into three boxes. The game is played entirely open. Players don’t have any undisclosed cards. All cards are laid out into boxes, the content of which is available to all participants. The players lay out cards one by one. The process of laying out on the first street is visible to all players.
    Once a player lays out all cards, the “Ready” button is available for them. Until their move is finished, the player can shift any of their cards. When the player finishes their move, the next player is dealt 5 cards and so on, until the first street is completed.
  • 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th streets – 3 cards are dealt.
    Starting from the second street and until all players have 13 cards laid out, players receive three cards face down and lay two of them out into the boxes. The remaining card is discarded by pressing the button “Discard”. By discarding the third card, two others are opened. Player can’t move the cards laid out on previous streets.

Boxes

Players must lay out all their cards into 3 boxes (lines):

  • front – upper box with 3 cards (the weakest);
  • middle – middle box with 5 cards (average);
  • back – the lower box with 5 cards (the strongest one).

Rule of boxes: the front box can’t beat middle box, the middle box can’t beat back box. Combinations must be sorted by seniority from bottom in ascending order. Equal combinations are allowed. If this rule is not respected, the hand is considered as fouled and players won’t receive any points.


Fantasyland

At the OFC table, there can be available Fantasyland mode, which states that a player received the combination of QQ or more in the upper box and his hand is not fouled. Fantasyland means:

  • The player’s hand is extended by one hand;
  • Dealer button moves forward like in the ordinary game mode (as if there is no Fantasyland);
  • Players without fantasyland lay out cards first, they receive cards by the rules of Pineapple, first 5 and then 3, then players in Fantasyland mode are at once dealt all cards undisclosed.
  • The number of cards dealt depend on Fantasyland type:
    • for Classiс and Unlimited – 14 cards;
    • for Progressive classic and Progressive unlimited – 14 to 17 cards depending on the strength of the combination in the upper box: QQ – 14 cards; KK – 15 cards; AA – 16 cards; 222+ – 17 cards.

Fantasyland repeat

In some cases, Fantasyland can be repeated if a player collects the combination of:

  • three of a kind and stronger in the upper box;
  • four of a kind and stronger in the lower box.

Players can receive one-time repeat of Classic and Progressive classic fantasyland in a row, and unlimited repeats of Unlimited and Progressive classic fantasyland.


Time for turn

Each player has the same amount of time to lay out cards on every street. Starting with the first street there is a countdown. On the second street, players have less time than on the first one and etc..


Scoring

At the end of a hand scores are summed up. Points are awarded at a pairwise comparison of each players’ hand. In each pair, respective combinations are compared: highest with highest, average with average, and lowest with lowest.

In case of draw on any of the hands (for example both players have equal flash in the bottom line) none of the players receives points for this hand.


Scoring rules

There are two methods of scoring:

  • Method 2-4 (2-4 scoring)
    Players get 1 point for each won hand.
    Additionally, players get 1 point if they won 2 out of three hands or all three hands.
    In case of draw in one of the hands (for example both players have equal flash on the bottom line) none of the players receives points. But if a player wins with two other hands, they receive three points – one for each won hand and one additional.
  • Method 1-6 (1-6 scoring)
    Players get 1 point for each won hand.
    Additionally, players get 3 points if they won all three hands.

Foul (dead hand)

If at the end of a hand a player made up combinations with fail in the order of their strength (the back box is weaker than other boxes, or the middle box is weaker than the lowest one), than the hand is considered as fouled. In this case all player’s combinations are considered as losing to others and the player doesn’t receive any points but pays a fine (in the amount of 6 points (1-6 scoring), 4 points (2-4 scoring)) and bonus points to each of the players.

If two or more players have “foul”, then their hands receive 0 points at the comparison stage.


Royalties

In addition to the points for a win, players are awarded with royalties for the combinations, regardless the results of distribution. These bonuses are not obligatory.

Royalties are considered either by Russian or American rules:

Below is the table of calculation (the differences are bold):

Box Combination Russian rules American rules
Back a straight 2
a flush 4
a full house 6
four of a kind 8 10
straight flush 10 15
royal flush 15 25
Мiddle three of a kind 2
a straight 4
a flush 8
a full house 12
four of a kind 16 20
straight flush 20 30
royal flush 30 50
Front 66 1
77 2
88 3
99 4
TT 5
JJ 6
QQ 7
KK 8
AA 9
222 10
333 11
444 12
555 13
666 14
777 15
888 16
999 17
TTT 18
JJJ 19
QQQ 20
KKK 21
AAA 22

Payout

Every table has its own cost of one point (Point score), for example, 1 cent per point. At the end of a match, scores are summed up. Players are paid out after a pairwise comparison.

The player to the left of the dealer pays to other players first, then the second and the third players do the same and etc.. After the pairwise comparison, players compare their changed stacks.

Sometimes, a player loses all his entire chips to one player and can not pay to other players.