1. First Round (Arranging the First 5 Cards) Page Playing the Later Rounds Page Fantasy Land Page 27

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2 Introduction I am Galvin Bay, a Singaporean Professional Poker player and coach, and I have been playing No Limit Texas Hold em for the past 7 years since I play under the handle bmlm at Pokerstars, and Pikaking at Fulpot Poker. I was only recently introduced to the game of OFC Pineapple in May 2015 but I have taken a great liking to it. Even though I do not play the game professionally, I do enjoy analyzing the game and at this point of writing, have accumulated about hours of experience and study for Pineapple. This is going to be a guide for a beginner player who has barely learnt the rules. This guide aims to teach basic poker logic and math and equip the player with the right mental framework to optimise his play and maximize his winnings. There will be some Math, probabilities and EV calculations involved. Some of you might be daunted by them, but at the end of the day, Poker is ultimately a game of Math, and those who shun away from it find themselves no longer able to make a living from this game. I would strongly encourage everyone who wants to attain a higher level of skill in poker to embrace the Math behind each decision making, in their quest to maximize their EV and make as much money as possible. Not everything I say here is going to be perfect or entirely correct, so feel free to disagree. With that said, I hope you enjoy the guide, and do give me your comments and feedback. 2

3 Table of Content: 1. First Round (Arranging the First 5 Cards) Page 4 2. Playing the Later Rounds Page Fantasy Land Page Playing Against Fantasy Land Page Recommended Links Page 34 3

4 1. First Round (Arranging the first 5 cards) In general, if you will make a hand over 50% of the time, you should play for it. If you have a pair among your first 5 cards, you should usually place it in the back row and aim for two pair/trips/fullhouse 3 to a flush makes a flush ~75% of the time on 1st/2nd street 4 to a flush makes a flush 95/97% of the time on 1st/2nd street if all outs are live A gutshot straight draw makes a straight 71/76% of the time on 1st/2nd street if all outs are live An open ended straight draw makes a straight 93/95% of the time on 1st/2nd street if all outs are live In general, always try to aim for the higher royalty. A pair is usually more valuable than a 3 flush. A 3 flush is usually more valuable than a 4 straight. Always try to put the K/Q on top if possible. Fantasy land is worth about 9 points on average A should usually be played in the middle to support a K/Q on top, since it's easier to make an Ace pair rather than a two pair hand. However, the Ace can be placed on top as well for fantasy land, especially if there is no better place to put the Ace. The K can also be placed in the middle if there is a Q on top. 2 6 should be placed in the middle. 7 J should be placed at the back This is to allow us to make small two pairs in the middle and a higher two pair or better hand at the back row and avoid busting We should be aiming for Front: High card Ace pair Middle: One pair Low two pair Back: Two pair+ The guidelines should be adapted accordingly to the situation. These guidelines will generally allow you to reduce your chances of fouling while increasing your chances of winning each row and getting to Fantasy Land safely. 4

5 Examples of First Round Play This hand is absolute garbage. Our best bet is to place the Q on top and hope we somehow do not foul and get to Fantasy Land. The 2 flush should certainly be placed at the back, especially when the 8 is the largest card among the 4 remaining cards. We could certainly aim for a 3388 in the back and a 4477 in the middle and not foul. This hand isn't too good either. I think this is the better configuration compared to K/A/T69 as T69 at the back has very poor playability and the chances of hitting a 7 and a 8 are very low. 5

6 While a pair is usually placed in the back row, this time round the pair doesn't involve one of the flush cards, so we can place the pair in the middle, and the 3 flush at the back. The 3 flush is placed at the back for sure. Arguments could be made for placing the Jack on top since J pair is worth 6 points. But I prefer leaving the top open for an A/K. 6

7 This was played by someone else and it looks like a huge mistake to me. The probability of him completing a straight isn't too high and the king in the middle has poor potential. I would much prefer playing it as /54/KK2. There s a small probability of making a fullhouse at the back and a straight in the middle this way. Making a 5544 two pair combo also wouldn t counterfeit a KK22 two pair at the back. This hand isn't too great and is a little tricky. I probably wouldn't play AJKQ in the back row, since it severely limits us to only a gutshot. My opponent was also in fantasy land, which meant that getting a straight in the back row would almost certainly lead to my defeat. I could potentially make a flush or two pair at the back. I guess I could swap the King with the 9, allowing me for a chance at fantasy land with KKX in the front row. 7

8 This is a pretty common hand to have. The 3 flush at the back is pretty self explanatory, we place the K on top for a shot at fantasyland, and the 8 in the middle because there is no other row to place it in. Another weak hand here. This hand is built for a shot at fantasy land, with no real potential besides a shot at making 2 pair in the middle and back row. The A in front will often prevent us from getting scooped, since A high is often the best hand for the front row. An alternative way is to place it as J/48/A6, which allows us for a shot at a flush in the back row, but I am usually not putting my hopes up on making a flush from a 2 flush. 8

9 We should go for the gutshot. Placing /359/86 would play kind of awkward, it's not that easy to make a runner runner runner straight or flush. Having the 9 in the middle will sometimes lead to us having a stronger 2 pair combo in the middle row and cause us to foul. There are two common ways to play this hand. The second way is /26/K86, which allows for a 3 flush at the back. This way is clearly better, since having a pair in the back row allows us for a shot at a full house, and the K in front allows us the opportunity to get to Fantasy Land. 9

10 This is similar to the previous hand, just that there isn't the alternative of building a 3 flush at the back row. This is a placement made by a bad player. The superior play would be to place it as /87/AA2. Note that there is no reason to place the 2 in the middle as opposed to the back because we already have AA in the back row, which guarantees that we can make a stronger 2 pair combo at the back compared to the middle row. This also strengthens our middle row such that we have a higher chance at beating our opponent's middle row. If we had 2 2s instead of 2 As, I would build it as A/7/228 instead. 10

11 There are a few possible plays, such as Q/4/AK4, Q/K/44A. I think this play makes sense because it's pretty easy to go for fantasy land here, we just need a Q in the front and support it in the middle with a K or A pair. It shouldn't be too difficult to improve to 2p+ in the back row. Once again, many players would play /2c4c/6h2h8h but the chances of making a straight or flush in the middle row are pretty slim. It's better to go for the safer pair in the backrow. Another option would be to play it as /224/68. It shouldn't be too difficult to make something stronger than 2 pair in the back row, since we can draw to a flush, a straight, or a stronger 2 pair. I actually like the last option best. 11

12 Very standard to place the King in front. I think it's also standard to place the 8 pair in the back row. Since the 5 and the 6 are low cards, we should place them in the middle row. If we had a 9 or a J, we should place it in the back row so that we don't run the risk of fouling when we make a stronger 2 pair combo in the middle. This configuration allows for 2p+ at the back, and a potential flush/straight/2pair in the middle row. 12

13 This hand isn't really great, but at least the player follows the basic principle of placing high cards in front, small cards in the middle and middle cards at the back. Another configuration supporting my basic suggestions. Q in front for fantasy land, A in the middle to support a Q pair for fantasy land, middle cards at the back to make a stronger 2 pair combination. Many players would play it as Q/28/A9 but I think the chances of making the flush are pretty slim. Anyway, going for Fantasy Land offers much higher rewards, which is something that conservative beginners tend to shy away from. 13

14 This also follows the basic principles of card placement. We place 33 in the back to enable for 2p+. 2 and 4 are placed in the middle for a potential weaker 2 pair combo, and the K in front for Fantasy Land. The player in question made a mistake here. 9/Q4/AJ is clearly superior to 9/AJ/Q4 because AJ can make stronger 2 pairs and flushes. Maybe he wanted an Ace in the middle row to support a Q/K pair in the front row but one of the Q is already at the back row which reduces the chances of making Fantasy Land significantly. 14

15 A in front for Fantasy Land, 6 in the middle because it's a low card, and 944 at the back to make a stronger 2 pair or better. I think playing it as A/44/69 could also be good, since the two cards in the back row are stronger than the 4 pair in the middle, though I would much prefer having the 6 and 9 having more playability (something like 9c/8c would be way better) I would prefer to place this as A/3/K87, since a 3 flush will complete a flush at the back pretty often but a 2 flush would often fail. I suppose 87s has pretty nice playability too with some straight flush potential but that will rarely come. 15

16 Another classic example of the basic principles of Pineapple play. Q in front for fantasy land, 82 in the middle to make a 1 pair or weak 2 pair, and 99 at the back to make 2p+. I really don't like this configuration. I think it is much better to play it as /T7/KK8, since it dramatically reduces the risk of fouling and allows for a full house in the back row. The middle row would also have some added potential. This current configuration is pretty useless because making 2 pair in the middle will often end up with a foul. Classic high risk, low reward play. 16

17 This placement also follows the basic guidelines I outlined, but I don't like it. I think A/3/T22 is much better. This current placement relies too heavily on making runner runner stuff on later streets. While I would usually recommend placing the pair in the back row, in this case we happen to have two very high middle cards in the back row, allowing us a high chance of making a stronger two pair at the back. Placing the small pair in the middle also increases our chances of making a small 2 pair combo dramatically, which in turn allows for the pairing of the Ace in front and a shot at Fantasy Land. 17

18 K is used to support the Q's Fantasy Land attempts, and the pair is definitely placed at the back. This is one of the more interesting situations. One could consider /AA/QT9, since QT9 does allow for a straight flush which is worth 25 points. This current configuration gives the player a very high chance at getting to fantasy land. 18

19 This is an ultra risky placement that is sub optimal. The player will most certainly bust in most circumstances and the reward for getting KK and Fantasy Land is probably insufficient to compensate for the huge risk that the player is undertaking. 19

20 2. Playing the later rounds In general, you would still want to stick to the guidelines given for the first round. Try to place Fantasy Land high cards in front, small cards in the middle, and try to make whatever you were going for in the back row. Basic Probability Theory and Direct Outs for Pineapple I ll explain how we derive some of the simpler probabilities for direct draws. Say, for example, that we only had one more draw left one the fourth round, and we are trying to figure out the probability of hitting our spade flush on the river. Let s say that our opponent has 4 of our spades, and we have 5 spades in our hand, leaving 4 more spades left in the deck. With one more draw to go, we are going to be able to take 3 more cards. What is the probability of us drawing to a 5th spade? In a Headsup game being first to act: We can see 9 of our opponent s cards, we have 11 cards on our own board, and another 3 cards in the discard pile, which adds up to a total of 23 cards. Since there are 52 cards in a deck, this leaves a total of 29 unseen cards left in the deck. Probability (Not Drawing Out) = 25/29 * 24/28 * 23/27 = 62.9% Probability (Draw card) = % = 37.1% The probability of not drawing one of our outs on the first card is 25/29. After we draw a blank on our first card, the probability of not drawing one of our outs on the second card is 24/28. When we multiply all 3 probabilities together, we get the combined probability of not drawing one of our outs, which happens to be 62.9%. The probability of drawing one of those cards in our 3 card draw is the complement of 62.9%, which is 37.1%. This number corresponds with the number provided in the chart below. Still not convinced? Try another example. We have 9922 in the back row by the third round and have 2 more draws to go. Our opponent has one of our outs to the 2. We want to calculate the probability of making a full house by the last round. We are second to act this time. We would have seen 9 cards from our opponent s board, and 11 cards from our draws, which gives us a total of 20 cards. This means that there are 32 unseen cards left. We have 2 more draws to go, which means that we get to draw 6 more cards in total. Since our opponent already has one of our 2s, we are left with 3 outs. Probability (Not Drawing Out) = 29/32 * 28/31 * 27/30 * 26/29 * 25/28 * 24/27 = 52.4% Probability (Drawing Out) = % = 47.6% This number also corresponds to the number 48% as shown in the chart below. 20

21 Odds Chart This chart from Open Face Solutions is pretty solid, you can check out that site for more OFC Pineapple strategy material. It makes much more sense to directly derive your probabilities from one of these charts and memorize them because it is not very practical for most people to do the manual calculations. Let s just stick to the 2 player direct outs/odds chart for now. If you want more charts for 3 player play, or charts with indirect outs, you can check out the chart from Solving OFC. 2 player chart with direct and indirect outs 3 player chart with direct and indirect outs The most useful numbers are all highlighted in red. On the first and second street, we typically have a draw to a flush or gutshot straight draw. These draws are a huge favourite to complete by the final round. If we are playing the 4th round with only one more draw to go, then the probability of hitting one of those draws could range anywhere between 20% for a 2 out draw, to 55% for a 6 out draw. For a quick and easy way to remember the probability of hitting one of your outs in the 4th round, multiply the number of live outs by 10%. 21

22 Dead Cards It is important to keep track of all the dead cards on the deck. Knowing how many outs you have left allows you to calculate the probability of hitting one of your draws, and select the decision with the highest EV. Very often, you would have to choose between completing a flush or straight at the back row, versus placing a A/K/Q in the front row. It's also often better to place a smaller card with more live outs, as opposed to a larger card with some dead outs, since the strength of a pair/2 pair/trip combo rarely comes into play and offers no additional royalties. Here I am deciding between placing the J or the 8 in the front row. Despite the J offering much higher royalties (6) than the 8 (3), the chances of drawing a pair in the front row is 3 times higher for the 8 than the J, since there is only 1 live J out left and 3 live 8 outs. A simple EV calculation tells us that playing the 8 yields a higher EV 22

23 EV(Play 8) = Probability of drawing a 2nd 8 * Royalties = 3 units * 3 points = 9 EV(Play J) = Probability of drawing a 2nd J * Royalties = 1 unit * 6 points = 6 Estimating EV of our various options EV calculations are very similar to that in No Limit Hold em. We try to estimate the probability of making a particular hand, and multiply that to the estimated amount that we win if we hit our hand (mostly in royalties). We can also make some slight adjustments if we think we will win a particular row or even scoop the hand, but these sorts of calculations are often a little too complicated. Example 1: Here we have to choose between TcTd/ /, /Tc/Td, /TcTd/, /Tc6c/. We can deduce that playing TT in the front row is far too risky and offers a poor risk reward ratio, since TT doesn t even take us to fantasy land. TT in the middle row ensures that we only need to hit a flush at the back to avoid fouling. Completing the back row flush seems a little too conservative when we have 6 more outs with 2 more draws left, which means that we have a 23

24 72% chance of hitting our flush draw in the back even if we do not completing it right now. With 8 outs live for the club flush in the middle, we have an 83% chance of completing it with 2 more draws left. In order for us to not foul, we have to make both flushes in the back and middle row. EV(Playing Tc6d in the middle row) = Probability of making both flushes * Total royalties = 0.58 * 12 = 6.96 *Refer to the chart on page 5 of Solving OFC 2 player, 8/6 on 5th street EV(Playing Tc mid, Td back) = guaranteed back row flush royalty of 4 * probability of no foul = 4 * (probability of flush mid + probability of Probability of drawing a pair (5 live outs to a T/7/J) = 65% Probability of drawing runner runner flush = 63% When we avoid fouling, we lock in 4 points of royalties for the back row flush. If we improve to a middle row flush, we still get the 8 points. If we get a pair instead, we get 0 points worth of royalties. It s a lot more difficult to estimate the payoff here, but with a 8/7 runner runner draw with a 63% chance of completing, and the fact that we can always fall back on pairing the middle card, it is probably better to complete the back row flush first. Placing 2 clubs in the middle might be better if there were more dead clubs. 24

25 Example 2: All 3 cards help our hand This is another one of those difficult spots, where all 3 cards do help improve our hand. Now which is the best option? Note that in this example, I am up against a Fantasy Land hand, so it is probably better to take larger risks. Option 1: Q front, 5 mid We guarantee ourselves 7 points for the Q pair in front, and maybe another 8 points for Fantasy Land. We would have seen 14 cards and 38 cards are left unseen. If we foul, we forfeit all possible royalties. Probability (Miss draw) = 30/38 * 29/37 * 28/36 = 48.1% Probability of drawing a heart in the last draw with 8 live outs = = 51.9% EV(Option 1) = (0) (4+8+7) = % of the time, we miss our draw and foul, we will also get scooped. 52% of the time, we hit our draw, we probably will not get scooped. Option 2: 5 mid, 9 back We guarantee ourselves 4 points for the flush in the back row. We have 3 more outs to the Ace, and 2 more outs to the Q. On average, if we hit out of these 5 outs, we get a royalty of (0.6 * * 7) =

26 *60% of the time we draw an Ace and get 9 points, 40% of the time we draw a Q and get 7 points Probability (Miss draw) = 33/38 * 32/37 * 31/36 = 64.7% Probability (Hit draw) = = 35.3% EV(Option 2) = (4) ( ) = Option 3: Q front, 9 back This is clearly the worst option of the 3. While this play guarantees locking in our flush and Q pair royalties, we are very likely to foul because we only have 3 outs left to a J/5, and we also have a small chance of drawing a pocket pair. While the EV of Option 1 is higher than the EV of Option 2, I did not include the additional amount of points lost against a scoop. But if we opt for option 2, there is a pretty high chance that we do not get scooped and lose an additional 3 points. This means that option 2 is superior to option 1. 26

27 3. Fantasy Land Playing Fantasy Land is pretty straightforward. You test a few different configurations, calculate the royalties paid for each row, and pick the option with the greatest total number of points. Don't forget to include the possibility of remaining in Fantasy Land in the next round, which gives an average of around 6 10 points (different pros have varying opinions on the EV of Fantasy Land), if you do manage to form trips in the front, or 4 of a kind or better in the middle and back. Make sure you check the various possibilities thoroughly. I usually arrange the cards in different ways, starting with looking at the number of trips and pairs I have, followed by arranging the cards according to suit. Finally I arrange them in increasing order to check for straights. The royalties for making a big pair i front are still very high, higher than making a full house in the back, even without additional points for entering Fantasy Land, so do not blindly build the strongest possible hand in the back and neglect your middle and front rows. Example 1: Here we see that we have 6 hearts and a 4 8 straight. We also have 3 Ks and 2 As. Unfortunately, many of these cards are shared. Let s test a few configurations. 27

28 This configuration gives 6 points for the full house in the back, and 4 points for the straight in the middle. The front is pretty vulnerable against a pair or Ace high though. This configuration gives 8 points for the K pair in the front, and 4 points for the flush in the back row. The front is almost guaranteed to win, the back is alright, and the middle will sometimes lose to two pair. There was another configuration which would have been even better but I was collecting hand histories for this guide so I missed out on it. The additional card was 4c, which means that I could have arranged my hand as KdKsAc/4c5s6s7c8h/Ah4h5hKhTh. This would earn me 4 points in the back row for a flush, 4 points in the middle row for a straight, and 8 points in the front row for a K pair, which adds up to 16 points in total. 28

29 Example 2: Right off the bat, we see that we have 2 made flushes right away. We also have 3 Js, 2 Ks and 2 5s. Once again, let s test for different configurations. This is what many players would actually play. The bottom row offers 6 points of royalties for the full house while the middle row offers 8 points for the flush, giving us a grand total of 14 points. Another possible configuration. This gives us 4 points in the back row for the flush, nothing in the middle, and 8 points at the top for a grand total of 12 points. 29

30 This placement gives us 4 points for the flush in the back row, 8 points for the flush in the middle row, and 8 points for the K pair in the front row, for a grand total of 20 points. Example 3: 15 points for the straight flush in the back row. We also get to remain in Fantasy Land, which gives us around 9 points on average. 4 points for the flush in the back row, and 4 points for the straight in the middle, for a total of 8 points. Clearly playing the straight flush is far superior. 30

31 Example 4: This configuration gives us 2 points in the back row for the straight and 4 points in the middle row for the straight. Total points = 6 points. The front and back rows are medium strength. This configuration gives us 4 points for the flush in the back row, and 4 points for the straight in the middle row. Total points = 8 points. The front row is weak and will often lose. This configuration gives us 7 points in the front row for Q pair, 2 points in the back row for the straight. Total points = 9 points. Our front row is pretty strong, our middle and back rows are considered medium strength. All things considered, this is probably the best configuration. 31

32 4. Playing against Fantasy Land When your opponent is in Fantasy Land, he will be making stronger hands than usual. You will be playing with yourself more or less, but the main adjustment that I would be making is to take bigger risks than usual, since playing conservatively and making weak hands will typically result you in getting scooped anyway. It's often worth taking a gambit and building a pair in front since players in Fantasy Land are less incentivized to build big pairs in front without the benefit of getting to Fantasy Land the next round if they have QQ+. This would often allow you to win the front row, pick up a few points worth of royalties, and avoid getting scooped. Example 1: A Risky Gambit. I am up against an opponent in Fantasy Land. My opponent is usually going to make a massive hand in the back row. I think that going for the straight by placing the 8 at the back isn t going to be great. Placing the 8 in the middle is even more suicidal, as completing the flush with 3 more draws to go is a pretty long shot at this point. I decide that my best shot was to gamble and go for KK in the front row, and hope to make 2 pair in the middle and back rows. 32

33 After placing the 3 and 8 in the middle and back row respectively, I draw 3s/7d/9d. I have to choose between going for the straight in the back and trips in the middle, and placing the 7 in the back and the 9 in the middle. This decision seems clear cut to me. Trips in the middle and a straight in the back gives me a total of 4 points, whereas placing the 7 in the back and attempting to go for 2 pair both in the middle and back row at the same time seems much less unlikely. I miraculously survive and get to Fantasy Land in the next round. 33

34 Recommended Links Galvinbay.net Do check out my website for more free and paid strategy content Fulpot Poker The site I play OFC Pineapple at. If you do choose to register an account here, please use the agent code gosubay. 20 Rounds Yakovenko s Step by Step Strategy Guide for Pineapple OFC Poker This guide offers some basic insights on how to play Pineapple in basic spots RunItOnce Poker Training Site. I strongly recommend watching Jennifer Shahade s videos for more advanced concepts and live play. OpenFaceOdds A site with some good free strategy material for Pineapple For more information, feel free to contact me at galvin.bay@gmail.com 34