OBJECTIVE OF PINEAPPLE: Form the best hand with hole cards and community cards to win the pot at the final showdown.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-8 players
NUMBER OF CARDS: 52-card deck
RANK OF CARDS: A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
TYPE OF GAME: Casino/Gambling
AUDIENCE: Adult
INTRODUCTION TO PINEAPPLE
Pineapple is a poker variant with similarities to Texas Hold’Em and Omaha Poker. However, players in Pineapple start with three hold cards as opposed to two cards. This is typically a game that is played in people’s homes- NOT in the casino. However, it can be found on online venues with a variety of limits. It is typically played as a limit poker game, but it can be easily transformed into a no-limit of pot-limit structured game.
THE RULES
The set-up of Pineapple follows the Texas Hold’Em structure exactly, except players receive three cards as opposed to two. This is followed by a pre-flop betting round, betting begins with the player sitting to the left of the dealer.
Reminder, as in Texas Hold’Em, players must put out the blinds. The player directly to the left of the dealer is the small blind and the player to their left is the big blind. Both these players must place a bet before they receive any cards.
Before the flop is dealt, players must discard one hole card. After, the flop, the turn, and the river betting rounds proceed in the same exact manner as Texas Hold’Em.
During betting, players may fold, call, or raise:
- Fold – The action of surrendering your cards to the dealer and sitting out the hand. If one folds their cards in the first round of betting, they lose no money.
- Call – The action of matching the table bet, which is the most recent bet that has been placed on the table.
- Raise – The action of doubling the amount of the most recent bet.
The player with the highest ranking hand after the last round of betting (after the river) wins the full pot. To learn about how poker hands rank, click here.
VARIATIONS
Crazy Pineapple
Crazy Pineapple is played almost identically to normal Pineapple, but players keep their first cards for the pre-flop and flop betting rounds.
Players discard one card before the turn.
Lazy Pineapple
Lazy Pineapple or Tahoe Pineapple bears the name because players do not have to discard until the betting is all done, before the showdown.
Hi-Lo
Any of the following forms of Pineapple, including the traditional one, can be played Hi-Lo 8 or better. Hi-Lo games split the pot between the highest ranking and the lowest ranking hands.
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