Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Pinneaple
Pinneaple
1
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 2009. 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 6070 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
Table of Content:
1. First Round (Arranging the First 5 Cards) Page 4
2. Playing the Later Rounds Page 20
3. Fantasy Land Page 27
4. Playing Against Fantasy Land Page 32
5. Recommended Links Page 34
3
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 twopair/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 3flush. A 3flush is usually more valuable than a 4straight.
● 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 twopair 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.
● 26 should be placed in the middle.
● 7J should be placed at the back
● This is to allow us to make small twopairs in the middle and a higher twopair or
better hand at the back row and avoid busting
We should be aiming for
Front: High card – Ace pair
Middle: One pair – Low twopair
Back: Twopair+
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
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 2flush 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
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 3flush at the back.
The 3flush is placed at the back for sure. Arguments could be made for placing the Jack on
top since Jpair is worth 6 points. But I prefer leaving the top open for an A/K.
6
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 twopair combo also wouldn’t
counterfeit a KK22 twopair 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 twopair 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
This is a pretty common hand to have. The 3flush 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 2pair in the middle and back row. The A in front will often prevent
us from getting scooped, since Ahigh 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 2flush.
8
We should go for the gutshot. Placing /359/86 would play kind of awkward , it's not that easy
to make a runnerrunnerrunner straight or flush. Having the 9 in the middle will sometimes
lead to us having a stronger 2pair 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 3flush at the back. This way is clearly better, since having a pair in the back row allows us
for a shot at a fullhouse, and the K in front allows us the opportunity to get to Fantasy Land.
9
This is similar to the previous hand, just that there isn't the alternative of building a 3flush 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 2pair 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
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 2pair in the back row, since we can draw to a flush, a straight, or a stronger
2pair. I actually like the last option best.
11
Very standard to place the King in front. I think it's also standard to place the 8pair 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 2pair combo in the middle.
This configuration allows for 2p+ at the back, and a potential flush/straight/2pair in the middle
row.
12
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
2pair 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
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 2pair 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 2pairs 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
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 2pair 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 3flush will complete a flush at the back pretty
often but a 2flush would often fail. I suppose 87s has pretty nice playability too with some
straightflush potential but that will rarely come.
15
Another classic example of the basic principles of Pineapple play. Q in front for fantasy land,
82 in the middle to make a 1pair or weak 2pair, 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 fullhouse in the back row. The
middle row would also have some added potential. This current configuration is pretty
useless because making 2pair in the middle will often end up with a foul. Classic highrisk,
low reward play.
16
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 twopair at the back. Placing the small pair in the middle also increases our
chances of making a small 2pair combo dramatically, which in turn allows for the pairing of
the Ace in front and a shot at Fantasy Land.
17
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
This is an ultrarisky placement that is suboptimal. 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
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) = 100 62.9% = 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 3card 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) = 100 52.4% = 47.6%
This number also corresponds to the number 48% as shown in the chart below.
20
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 2player direct outs/odds
chart for now. If you want more charts for 3player play, or charts with indirect outs, you can
check out the chart from Solving OFC.
2player chart with direct and indirect outs
http://media.wix.com/ugd/62c239_f084be73576a45559433da76d25cbc93.pdf
3player chart with direct and indirect outs
http://media.wix.com/ugd/62c239_1e1b16d0f7f44dab81eb5bc81c537521.pdf
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
2out 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
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/2pair/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
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 riskreward 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
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 2player, 8/6 on 5th street
http://media.wix.com/ugd/62c239_f084be73576a45559433da76d25cbc93.pdf
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 runnerrunner 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 runnerrunner
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
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 = 100 48.1 = 51.9%
EV(Option 1) = 0.481 (0) + 0.519 (4+8+7) = 9.861
48% 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 * 9 + 0.4 * 7) = 8.2
25
*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) = 100 64.7 = 35.3%
EV(Option 2) = 0.647 (4) + 0.353 (8.2 + 8 + 4) = 9.718
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
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 610 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 48 straight. We also have 3 Ks and 2 As.
Unfortunately, many of these cards are shared. Let’s test a few configurations.
27
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
twopair.
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
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
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
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
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 2pair in the middle and
back rows.
32
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 2pair 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
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 StepbyStep 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