The World Series of Poker is about tournaments and bracelets. That is the focus and where everything starts and ends. But, there is a lot more to it than that. There are satellites and cash games. There is seeing people you haven’t seen since the same time last year. There are games that you can’t find any other time of year. And this year there was live Open Face Chinese Poker, and it was hopping.

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Walk into the Pavilion room where the cash games were being played and you couldn’t help but stumble on table after table of OFC. $10 a point to $100 a point games were being announced nonstop and people were playing for hours and hours. I saw one table of four playing for $50 a point at 11:00am and the same four still going at it 13 hours later at Midnight. Who knows how long they had been playing before I saw them and how long they kept going after the fact.

Until I headed out to Vegas for the WSOP, I doubted the long-term viability of Open Face Chinese Poker as a live casino game. I thought it might be too slow and would have to play too big to appeal to the mass market. I was wrong. The players were there and willing to play stakes ranging from $5 a point up to ridiculously large amounts. I never even overheard any complaints about paying time (rake) for the table and dealer, which is virtually unheard of for the regular grumps at the WSOP cash game tables.

The game is booming and was being played by all types: the young internet kids, the live pros, Americans, Europeans, wives and girlfriends of players, young, old, and in between. The cross-section of OFC players was as diverse and varied as any other game being played. And that is a very strong base to build a game on. The appeal seems to hit everyone. The game is fun, complex, and has enough luck involved that most everyone feels like they have a chance, which is what makes poker such an intrinsically great game to begin with.

Open Face Chinese Poker really isn’t poker at all since there is no betting, but the way the game plays gives everyone a chance to win often enough to make it fun. At the same time, it has enough of a skill element that players who can devise and implement well-thought-out strategies can expect to be regular winners over time.

Add to that a game that is simple to play and extremely complex in its intricacies and you have something that may have staying power. It won’t be as big as No Limit Hold’em was and is, but many of the simple and complex analysis that has been applied to No Limit Hold’em fits OFC as well.

Mostly, the game is just fun. If you haven’t played it, give it a shot. It is a much better game for families over the dining room table than poker since you don’t have to have betting to make the game work. Over the next few weeks on Fridays, we will dig deeper into the game and some strategies to get you started, but for now take the time to check out the game, get the basics down, and start having fun with it.

Court Harrington has worked on the business side of the poker industry in roles including tournament reporting for PocketFives, radio hosting for PokerRoad Radio, coaching for the WSOP Academy and privately, and a variety of behind-the-scenes responsibilities for poker media businesses. He also plays in cash games and tournaments. Harrington is currently doing consulting work and exploring business opportunities outside of the poker industry. You can contact him at Court@CourtHarrington.com.

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