Joker OFC Pineapple (OFC Pineapple + Jokers) Rules
Overview
Joker OFC Pineapple is OFC Pineapple (Open Face Chinese Poker) played with two Jokers: three players each set 13 cards into a Top, Middle and Bottom row as the cards are dealt, face up and unmovable once placed, and the rows must go from weakest to strongest or the hand fouls. The two Jokers are wild; at showdown they automatically become the strongest cards that don't cause a foul, making big hands, royalties and Fantasyland easier to reach.
Apart from the two Jokers added to the deck, it plays exactly like OFC Pineapple. This page only covers what the Jokers change. Dealing and order of play, the dealer button, how to place cards each round, the three rows from weakest to strongest, hand rankings, fouls, 1-6 scoring, the royalty tables, and Fantasyland entry, card counts, stay conditions and how a Fantasyland hand is played all follow the OFC Pineapple rules.
The Deck
- One standard 52-card deck plus 2 Jokers, 54 cards in total.
- Each of the three players receives the same number of cards as in OFC Pineapple; the deck has plenty of cards, so dealing is unaffected.
How Jokers Work
A Joker = any card that does not already appear in its row. At showdown Jokers are resolved automatically: the Bottom row is made as strong as possible, then the Middle as strong as possible without exceeding the Bottom, then the Top without exceeding the Middle; the same resolution is used against both opponents, and you don't have to choose.
Three rules:
- No five of a kind. There is no "five cards of the same rank" in the hand rankings. The highest hand is still the royal flush.
- No two identical cards in the same row (same rank and same suit).
- Each row decides its own candidates. Only cards already in that row are excluded; cards in other rows, on other players' boards, in discards, or still undealt do not affect the candidates. Which card the Joker finally becomes is still limited by the no-foul rule below.
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| No five of a kind | Middle row AAAA + Joker: the Joker cannot become an A; the best it can be is four Aces with the highest possible kicker. |
| No duplicates | A, K, 8, 3 of one suit + Joker: the Joker becomes the Q of that suit (A K Q 8 3 flush), not the A, because that A is already in the row. |
| Rows are independent | Top row AA + Joker and middle row AA + Joker: both rows can be three Aces at the same time. Six Aces on the table is legal. |
The note under the comparison table on the OFC Pineapple page ("a single deck can never contain six 9s") applies only to the 52-card game. Here, Top 9-9 + Joker and Middle 9-9 + Joker + A-K can both occur; they compare exactly as in that table: the Middle's extra kickers make it higher, so it is not a foul.
Jokers help you avoid fouling
Jokers are resolved on the condition that you don't foul: the three rows must still go from weakest to strongest (Top weakest, Bottom strongest). If resolving a Joker in one row to its strongest card would make that row beat the row below it, the Joker is automatically resolved a little lower so the rows stay in order.
But this only helps with how Jokers are resolved: if the rows cannot be put in order no matter how the Jokers are resolved, it is still a foul.
Royalties and Fantasyland use the resolved hands
- Hands made with a Joker earn royalties as usual, including a royal flush made with a Joker.
- Entering and staying in Fantasyland is also based on the resolved hands. For example, with a Top row of AA + Joker:
- If the Middle row is a straight or better, the Joker becomes an A, making the Top row three Aces (Fantasyland with 17 cards).
- These are regular-hand examples. If you are already in Fantasyland, resolving to three Aces keeps you there with the same number of cards you entered with; it does not become 17.
- If the Middle row is only two pair, the Top row cannot beat the Middle row, so the Joker can only become an unpaired card, making the Top row a pair of Aces (Fantasyland with 16 cards).
You may discard a Joker
A Joker can also be the card you discard; the rules don't forbid it. But a Joker is at least as useful as a regular card in any row, so discarding it is usually a bad deal.
House rules on this page: Pineapple OFC, 3-player table, 54 cards (including 2 Jokers), 1-6 scoring, standard royalty tables, Ultimate Fantasyland (enter with 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 cards; stay with three of a kind in the Top row or four of a kind or better in the Bottom row; the card count stays the same when you stay).