Chinese Poker is an incredibly fun and engaging card game that has gained a lot of popularity in recent years. One of the most popular variations of this game is Open Face Chinese Poker (OFC), which has gained a lot of popularity among players due to its unique gameplay and scoring system.
If you’re new to OFC, you may be wondering how to score the game, especially when it comes to Open Face. In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through the basic rules of OFC and explain how to score Open Face in Chinese Poker.
Basic Rules of OFC
Before we dive into how to score Open Face, let’s first go over the basic rules of OFC. The game is played with up to four players and uses a standard 52-card deck. Each player starts with 13 cards and must arrange them into three separate hands: two five-card hands (the top and middle) and one three-card hand (the bottom).
Once each player has arranged their cards, they reveal their hands one at a time. Points are awarded based on the strength of each hand compared to the other players’ hands. The goal is to have the highest-scoring hand(s) at the end of each round.
Scoring in OFC
In OFC, there are two ways to score: by winning one or more hands against your opponent(s), or by making certain special hands that earn bonus points.
Winning Hands
To win a hand in OFC, your hand must be stronger than your opponent’s hand(s) in that particular row. For example, if you have a stronger five-card hand than your opponent’s five-card hand in the top row, you will win that row and earn one point. If both players have identical hands in any given row, that row is considered a push and no points are awarded.
Bonus Points
In addition to winning individual rows, players can earn bonus points for making certain special hands. These hands include:
– Royalties: A royalty is a hand that contains a certain combination of cards. For example, a hand that contains three of a kind in the top row, a pair in the middle row, and a single ace in the bottom row is considered a “royalty” and earns bonus points. The exact number of bonus points awarded for each royalty varies depending on the rules being used.
– Scoops: If one player wins all three rows against their opponent(s), they have “scooped” their opponent(s) and earn an additional point.
Scoring Open Face
Now that you understand how to score OFC in general, let’s take a look at how to score Open Face specifically. In Open Face, players must arrange their cards face up on the table, one card at a time. This means that each player can see each other’s cards as they are being played.
Because of this, scoring Open Face can be more complicated than scoring regular OFC. To score Open Face, players must follow these rules:
1. Players must first arrange their cards into three separate hands as normal: two five-card hands and one three-card hand.
2. Once all players have arranged their hands face up on the table, each player scores their own hands as normal (i.e., by comparing them to their opponents’ hands).
3. After scoring is complete, players then compare their top five-card hand to every other player’s top five-card hand, their middle five-card hand to every other player’s middle five-card hand, and so on.
4. Points are awarded based on how many opponents’ hands each of your hands beats.
For example, if your top five-card hand beats two out of three opponents’ top five-card hands, you will earn two points for that row (one point for each opponent beaten). If your middle five-card hand beats only one opponent’s middle five-card hand, you will earn one point for that row.
In Open Face, bonus points are still awarded for making royalties and scoops as normal. However, because players can see each other’s cards as they are being played, it can be more difficult to make certain hands (such as flushes or full houses) than it is in regular OFC.
Conclusion
Scoring Open Face in Chinese Poker may seem complicated at first, but once you understand the basic rules of OFC and how scoring works, it becomes much easier to follow. By following the rules outlined above and keeping an eye out for bonus hands, you’ll be well on your way to becoming an expert at this fun and engaging card game.
