How to play Pineapple Poker

One of the more Texas Hold’em like poker variants, Pineapple Poker is played with a standard deck of fifty-two cards in an identical manner to its more famous cousin. If you are familiar with the rules of Texas Hold’em Poker, then the good news is that you will have no trouble whatsoever with Pineapple Poker.

As we say, this game plays a bit like Hold’em but with one notable alteration. This becomes clear at pre-flop where players are dealt three cards as opposed to Hold’em’s two. After checking over their cards, players will select one card they wish to discard before the first betting round begins.

Another thing to note is that in Pineapple, aces make only a standard regular pair. Plus, if you discard an ace it increases the value of the hand. Also, in Lazy Pineapple Poker the extra card can be held on to through all of the betting rounds and only be discarded when the river is dealt.

Just like Texas Hold’em, Pineapple can be played fixed limit, pot limit or no limit and, again like Hold’em, you can use as many or as few of your hole cards as you wish. At the end of the hand, the winner is the player who manages to create the best five card poker hand.

In fact, the only real difference between the two games is that players are dealt three hole cards instead of two. Once you have lost the hole card you don’t want, the game proceeds the same way as regular Texas Hold‘em.

Pineapple Poker Gameplay

The game opens when the player sitting next to the dealer button posts a small blind, before the next player in turn posts the big blind. Then, the dealer deals each player three cards each, all of which are face down. These are the hole cards mentioned above and can also be referred to as pocket cards.

The same player left of the dealer, known as under the gun (UTG), gets the betting underway but in this betting round the players know what they are holding, having discarded an unwanted card. Players check, raise or fold their way clockwise around the poker table until the game enters the flop phase.

The flop is where the dealer reveals the first three community cards face up in the middle of the table for all of the players to use. This precedes the second round of betting which works similarly to the first, but players are now beginning to form their hands.

The next community card reveal is known as the turn and again is followed by another round of betting before play reaches the river, where the final community card is dealt. One final betting round takes place before, assuming there are enough players still in the hand at this point, the game goes to showdown.

At showdown, all players still in the hand show their cards and the player with the strongest five card poker hand is the winner. If there are two players with equal hands, the pot is split right down the middle.

Pineapple Poker Hands

Where To Play Pineapple Poker

Pineapple Poker is easy to find at most online poker rooms. It is always important that you deposit and play at an online poker site that has been fully vetted by the appropriate authorities to ensure your online safety.

But, other than that, you should not have any trouble finding some fast Pineapple Poker action right away.

Of course pineapple poker doesn’t need to be played online and many people enjoy playing this variant with friends as it tends to be a bit less serious compared with Hold’em.

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