Online Poker Games

Pineapple and Crazy Pineapple

Pineapple poker is a variation of Texas Hold'em, but players are dealt three hole cards instead of two. In regular pineapple, players must discard one card before the Flop and in Crazy Pineapple, players discard one card after the Flop.

With each player getting eight total cards and choosing which of three starting cards she wishes to keep to make her hand, expect to see big hands such as flushes and full houses win the pots. Pineapple is most commonly played as High-Low/8, which simply means that a high hand splits the pot with a low hand, as long as the low hand is made with five unpaired cards below the rank of 8. Straights and flushes do not count against making the low, so a player could have 6 hearts, 4 hearts, 3 hearts, 2 hearts, Ace hearts and win both the high hand with an ace-high flush and the low hand with a 6,4.

Advanced poker games such as Pineapple and Crazy Pineapple require you to make decisions about which cards to discard either before or after the Flop. Learning to make good decisions by evaluating continuously evolving information is what poker is all about, and a vital skill that can be equally applied to many other situations away from the poker table.

Here are couple of tips to keep in mind when you sit down to play a round of Pineapple or Crazy Pineapple:

*In Crazy Pineapple, because players choose which two of there three hole cards to keep after they see the Flop, expect bigger hands, such as flushes, straights, and full houses, to prevail. In your own hand, keep high connected or suited cards that can make big hands.

*In both games, if a pair comes on the Flop (for example Q,Q,2 or 5,5,9), expect a full house to win the pot. This is especially true if the pair is a high pair because players are more likely to hold high cards in their hands. *In both games, if there is considerable betting before the Flop (as there usually is), expect a player holding a flush or higher to win the pot because the amount of money in the pot usually justifies players calling bets with flush or even straight-flush draws.

*In regular Pineapple, pocket aces (or a pair of aces your opponents don't know you have) and an unsuited ace/king have slightly less value than they do in Texas Hold'em because it usually takes more than a hand with one or two pair to win the pot. If you do hold such a hand, it is best to bet before the Flop in an attempt to reduce the players in the pot. High-pair and two-pair hands are best played against fewer opponents.

*As in many poker games, it is best to draw cards in an attempt to make a nut flush or nut straight (which usually include an ace). Whatever poker game you're playing, when you sit down for the first time keep in mind that you need to clearly understand the rules of the game you're playing, what constitutes a winning hand and a good starting hand, and that poker requires a good decision-making skills.