Earlier this week, poker pro Nikolai Yakovenko, co-creator of the ABC Open-Face Chinese Poker iPhone app, introduced the 2-7 variant of Open-Face Chinese — a.k.a. "2-7 OFC" or "Deuce Pineapple." Today he offers some strategy help for those getting started with the game.
Expanding the OFC Mix
As a mixed games player, I AM GETTING a Pavlovian rush whenever my hand is 
. I draw one, and squeeze a 
for the wheel then peek over to look if my opponent is reaching for chips. There’s something magical about playing a game where the nut-nut hand is available in so often, yet hardly ever enough to make it any less exciting on every occasion it does.
The thrill of 2-7 lowball (played as triple draw, no-limit single draw, and in variants like badeucey, badacey, and even razz-deucey) is that such a lot of hands are almost great, oftentimes only one card clear of the coveted wheel. Repeatedly a player is clearly drawing to this kind of hand, while his opponent is pat with an exceptional hand, betting at the wheel draw to overlook this time around.
Especially heads up, limit 2-7 lowball is among the closest we’ve got to a face-up poker game. That said, it appeared like it was just a matter of time before the sport made its mark on open-face Chinese poker.
The variant is played deuce-to-seven low within the middle and is dealt similar to OFC Pineapple, just with a low hand swapped in. For example:
As in high-only Pineapple, you’re making three hands — a top, a middle, and a bottom hand. Except that here the center hand is played 2-7 lowball, while the highest and bottom hands are high hands.
To make certain that there’s a balance between risk and reward, the center low hand must make a 10-low or better. If not the entire hand fouls. There are points bonuses for creating a nine-low (+1), an eight-low (+2) or a seven-low (+4), and the wheel sends you to Fantasyland.
The top-hand Fantasyland minimum goes as much as kings (
+), since it’s a bit easier to make big hands on top whilst you aren’t needing to make a robust high hand within the middle to boot. For a last twist, for those who make both kings up top and a wheel within the middle, that takes you to 15-card Super Fantasyland.
The 15-card super bonus have been tried before as an advantage for really-hard-to-make hands in high-only OFC, however it especially is smart for a game where you are attempting to enhance both your high and low hand on the same time.
It’s hard to make both on top and a wheel within the middle. Whenever you’re close… opt for it.
Okay, enough rules. Let’s have a Q&A.
Q: There appear to be different OFC variants doping up once in a while. What makes this one special?
Playing for an extremely low hand within the middle is fundamentally different from other variants. Meanwhile, way to well-chosen rules and bonuses, 2-7 OFC still appears like the similar game with fast-paced play, instant regret, about one-third of hands going to Fantasyland, and another one-third that foul.
Q: Where did the “Deuce Pineapple” rules and concept come from?
Like all of the best card games, this game emerged from small tweaks tried by multiple players. But word in the street (i.e., Twitter) is that these specific rules and bonuses were made famous by a few pros at the tournament circuit. I’ll leave it to them to say credit in the event that they so choose.
Q: The center bonuses seem more or less low. What’s up with that?
Yes, for the reason that game keeps the top-hand bonuses from high-only OFC, and it’s easier to make big pairs on top, the sport definitely skews more toward the highest hand. However, don’t get caught needing two low cards at the last draw to make a qualifying ten-low within the middle. You’ll miss two-thirds of the time. Worth it for trips on top… but perhaps not for a smaller bonus.
Q: I BELIEVE a technique section coming on...
That’s not a matter in any respect. But yes.
A Have a look at Some 2-7 OFC Strategy
The game is new. Nobody really knows play, and it’s not really anybody has played various hundred hands of it lifetime — unlike the millions of hands of high-only Pineapple OFC played on my ABC Open-Face iOS app every month.
We’ve just released the Deuce Pineapple variant within the app, however, in order that will soon change. Heuristics will emerge, and numerous strategies and shortcuts will bubble up. Until that happens, you'll be able to practice the sport against our Deuce computer opponent. It plays removed from perfectly, but listed below are a couple of principles that experience stuck out to me thus far.
1. Start making the low hand early
Like writing a term paper, don’t wait until the night before to throw together an summary. By far one of the simplest ways to foul in Deuce is to go away too many middle low cards unplayed with one or two rounds left to go.
Everything is context specific, but as noted above if you want to make two low cards at the last draw, you are going to foul two-thirds of the time. If you want one card, you’re not up to one-third to foul. And that may be a lot not up to one-third in case your low draw is live.
Projecting it out for 2 draws left, a hand with one spot left within the middle could be very unprone to foul, a hand with two spots left is moderately likely to foul, but when you want three or four more low cards to qualify, you’re gonna run out of rounds.
So do attempt to make an excellent low. Hold out for a wheel when you can get one, but otherwise just be sure you don’t get caught without some type of low hand, or a least a four-card low draw heading into the last round. Unless you’re drawing to an enormous hand on top, the chance isn’t worth it.
2. Attempt to make aces or kings up top, but don’t forget trips
This is a tough one. In general, aces and kings go up top, as they get you a minimum of +8 bonus points in addition to take you to Fantasyland. But when you don’t get a kind of cards early, leave yourself the potential for backing into top trips, and a straight or flush at the bottom.
These situations are hard to spot, but you'll notice them in case you pay attention.
And an even job out of you, Dr. ABC!
Trips on top don’t are available in often, but with bonuses starting at +10 for 3 deuces — and a hand that takes you to Fantasyland — even a 1-in-3 shot at trips makes for a pleasing value. So don’t be shy about playing that small pair on top for those who can freeroll for trips, and are taking no foul risk to take action.
3. Play aggressively, as it’s still all in regards to the Land
I spoke to a couple serious players with much more Deuce experience than myself, and there has been quite a lot of disagreement in regards to the value of Fantasyland.
That said, it’s still an advantage round worth pursuing. Due to the 10-low within the middle rule you possibly can foul in Fantasyland, that is strange and unwelcome. But this occurs lower than once every 10 hands, and so it’s not substantially different from just creating a very weak Fantasyland hand in high-only Pineapple Open-Face.
When in Deuce Fantasyland, it’s easy to make trips up top or a wheel within the middle, so that you stay in Fantasyland more often. It’s commonplace to stick for 2 or three hands in a row, and I’m sure that when it’s at the ABC app, we’ll have people telling us about about their opponents staying for 6 or seven Deuce hands in a row. The bonus for trips up top add up, so the secret is keep shooting for Fantasyland as you possibly can in high-only Pineapple.
4. Discards are face-down
As the pot-limit Omaha player sitting on 
never fails to remind you, blockers are a specific thing. Your opponent can’t catch the cards that you just discard face down, even though you can’t use them yourself.
The face down discard is a only small a part of high-only Pineapple strategy. You’re glad to catch the cards that your opponent needs, although you throw them away, but it’s rare that you're going to change your play with a purpose to hide information from an opponent.
I think that Deuce OFC strategy can be different. Making wheels and qualifying low hands is a large a part of the sport. In case your opponent needs a for the wheel, and also you catch a four yourself, you need to absolutely throw it away face down if possible.
If he thinks his wheel is live your opponent will hold out for it just a bit while longer, increasing his chances to foul. This matters, especially if it makes the variation between him creating a seven-low (with a six in it), against fouling the entire hand by staying for a wheel. A single live card can swing those probabilities by 20% of more, and whenever your opponent makes a mistake you benefit. So if you’re going for a nine-low already, it can be right to place a worse low card to your hand, simply to toss a wheel card face down out of your opponent.
Deuce Pineapple will attract some poker players greater than others, but it’s a good, well-balanced game without an obvious dominant strategy. I GLANCE forward to exploring the nooks and crannies of this new twist on OFC.
Thanks for reading, good luck, and spot you in Fantasyland!
For more OFC strategy advice click here and follow me on Twittter at @ivan bezdomny.
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