Making the best hand I could on the bottom was my first focus when I started playing Open Face Chinese Poker. Then, I quickly learned that if I could get a high card up to the top, I could often win that line pretty easily. It took me a little longer to realize that while I was focusing on the bottom and top hands, I was often using the middle as a dumping ground for cards I didn’t want in the other lines.

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Inadvertently, this ended up working out okay and as my ability to understand and evaluate the game continued to grow, I began to understand how to utilize the middle to get even more benefit out of it and increase the overall strength of my OFC game.

In the middle, there are three hands that are the most common: high card, one pair, and two pair. Every once in a while, you will see trips or a royalty (straight or better) in the middle, but it is relatively rare. However, with the double value of royalties in the middle, there are some situations where it is well worth gambling to have a shot at them. Often with the nature of royalty hands, you can give yourself a shot without threatening your hand.

Let’s get back to the common middle hands. Knowing you are likely to make just a pair or maybe two pair in the middle, you should plan accordingly from the start. A majority of my hands start with a plan that includes trying to make a big pair in the middle or trying to get a small or medium pair made early and then backing into two pair down the road.

With a hand that has three spades that I am going to put on the bottom and then an offsuit six and four, I’m going to put the two off cards in the middle and be willing to pair them as soon as I draw a four or six. With at least a couple of overs and a lot of draws at a flush, I’m not concerned about having a pair in the middle before I have anything on the bottom. If I end up not being able to beat a pair of sixes on the bottom, I was likely getting scooped no matter what I did.

By doing this, it leaves my top hand fully open to develop and gives me the chance to get value out of low cards. This strategy also keeps these cards out of the other two hands that I am really trying to turn into something.

Say I pull a four on my first draw and pair the middle and then get an offsuit king on my next draw. I can confidently put the king up top and start to pressure my opponent to have to figure out a way to beat a king up top or give up on their top hand.

The next draw is the seven of spades, which goes on the bottom, giving me four to a flush and yet another overcard to my pair in the middle. This leaves me with room to work in the middle and top lines to keep from fouling and protect my chance at a royalty. Depending on the other cards out and the strength of your opponent’s hand, you have to decide when to pull back and play a pair on the bottom, giving up your shot at the royalty but ensuring your hand doesn’t foul.

If you pull the flush early, then you have a shot at backing into a really big hand by making two pair in the middle. You’ll also have a draw or two left at pairing the king and whatever other card may have made it to your top hand.

Next week, I’ll go through my general strategy when I have a hand with bigger cards and how I approach the middle hand in that scenario.

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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