It has been awhile since there has been a new game in the poker scene. Open faced Chinese is the refreshing new twist on Chinese poker, and it is exploding in the high stakes realm of poker players. It’s what most big named pros are tweeting about when they speak of super high variance, sick bad beats, and finally achieving their first “fantasy land.” Open faced Chinese or OFC, is backed by a slew of high profile pros like Shaun Deeb, Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and many others.

So what is OFC? It is a variant of Chinese poker in which five cards are dealt to each player, and the person left of the button sets their hand first face-up, followed by the next person in order. After the initial five cards are set, each player is dealt one card at a time to fill in the rest of the hand in a Chinese poker 3-5-5 format, in which each hand must be progressively stronger from top to bottom. If the hand is miss-set the person receives a foul and the hand is automatically lost. Because this variant is so new, there is a lot of speculation on how to correctly devise a strategy. These concepts are important in becoming a good OFC player: paying attention to live and dead cards, using position, adapting to others play, and understanding the importance of fantasy land.

Live and Dead Cards

Paying attention to live and dead cards is of the utmost importance in becoming a successful OFC player. Without paying attention to the dead cards, (cards in other people’s hands), trying for a flush when the entire needed suit is dead, or attempting to complete a full house when the outs are in another hand, can be disastrous. When keeping track of cards, it will be easier to figure out what others can make, how to set a hand with a higher probability of strength, not fouling, and whether or not to play safe or aggressive.

Position

Having position is of course a very important concept in a lot of poker games, and OFC is no different. Having position means having more information than the person out of position to set a hand. When setting in position, make sure not to set dead cards in areas that require strength, and use the top for strength onlyif the bottom and middle have enough strength to support a strong top. Going for a strong top immediately will have bad results.  (Will talk about this later) It is important that before setting the initial five cards that the cards set on the bottom are mostly live, as the bottom is for the strongest possible hand, and live cards are going to be very valuable in making a strong hand. It’s not as difficult as in stud to remember dead cards, as the cards are there for everyone to see for the whole hand, so there is no need to memorize them, but don’t make a lazy mistake.

Adapting to Opponents’ Play

Whether or not to play safe or aggressive will depend highly on what others are setting. If there is a chance a player will be able to successfully play a small pair on top, two pair in the middle and a flush on the bottom, it is unfortunate, as this is a very strong hand and often will be able to win a majority of points. However, there are times where strategy can be changed to adapt to other players. The times to play aggressively are when there is a good chance of losing the hand even if it is completed because of everyone else’s stronger hands. Also, when dealt a chance at a good royalty it is often worth going for if it means a lot of extra points. This idea is based heavily upon which cards are obtained, however. Playing safe usually means that someone or more than one person is going for an aggressive hand and has a large chance of fouling, so that even though the hand set is weak, it will still win by default of others fouling. Most players new to OFC will go for high variance hands, and playing safe against these players will serve to be very profitable.

Fantasy Land

Setting the top is tricky. It depends highly on what others have set, and whether or not there has been a decision to go for “Fantasy Land.” Fantasy land is an element that changes basic strategy quite drastically. When a player sets QQ+ on the top, they go into fantasy land, in which they get to set their next OFC hand as a normal Chinese hand, while everyone else still sets in OFC manor. Once in fantasy land a player can stay in fantasy land if they achieve a full house or greater in the back. Generally going for fantasy land off the bat if dealt a pair of queens will be very tough to fill the rest of the hand without fouling. So, as a precaution, it is better to set from the bottom up, even when dealt QQ+ at the start. The exception to this is if there is another high pair in the starting hand, like QQKKA, in which case fantasy land is much more appealing, and possibly the “correct” play. Figuring out what the “correct” play is a daunting task as it depends highly on the dead cards and the situation at hand. Generally using good judgment in what cards are to come, combined with what strength of hands is needed to win points, will accomplish the “correct” play at the time. The advantage in being able to set a fantasy land hand, could justify going for it in some likely –EV spots. This too should be judged carefully by all the possible factors such as: Will this overwhelmingly foul the hand? Is there a safer way to set which will guarantee points in the hand? How strong is everyone else’s hand? If the answers lean towards setting for fantasy land, then go for it. Be careful however of tilt, as just in any other poker variant, tilt rearing its ugly head in OFC can mean lots of gambling mistakes attempting to get into fantasy land, which could end up costing a very large downswing.

Practicing these concepts while playing with friends for fun is the best way to learn how to compete in real money games, as there will be many chances this WSOP (which is just on the horizon!) for the amateur player to get involved in OFC. OFC has been exploding for a while now, and I don’t see it disappearing anytime soon, it seems to be the new “let’s gamble!” game which will definitely attract tourists and weaker players, making it a great tool in a poker player’s arsenal to make some good money.