Pineapple Rules

Pineapple is a variant of Texas Hold'em. Pineapple is a community card poker game with four betting rounds. Each player is privately dealt an incomplete hand, these pocket cards are placed face down. Then community cards are cards dealt face up at the center of the table, these are shared by all players. The differences compared to Texas Hold'em are that three pocket cards are given to each player and that there is a requirement to discarded one of these after the flop.

In total there are eight cards. One of the cards is discarded after the second betting round. Thereafter Pineapple is played just like Texas Hold'em, before it is not. First off each player receives their three personal downcards, this is followed by a round of betting. Then three community cards are placed simultaneously on the board, again there is a round of betting. Now each player has to discard one of their hole cards. There are no restrictions on what card sholud be discarded but from now on in, each player only has two hole cards left.

The next two board cards are turned one at a time, with a round of betting after each card. Now all four betting rounds are complete. The best five-card poker hand - constructed by any mix of the seven remaining cards - wins the pot. So in order to make a hand a player may use both the pocket cards and subsequentially three of the five community cards. It is also OK to only use only one pocket card. A player can even use all of the board cards and no personal cards to form a hand, this is known as "playing the board".

Sequence of Game Play

1. Dealer One player is the nominal dealer for the hand. The dealers position moves clockwise at the end of each hand; the dealers seat is indicated by a dealers button.
2. Blinds The two players to the left of the dealer, posts the small- and big blind respectively.
3. Pocket cards Each player receives three cards face down (the players own cards are also known as hole cards as well as pocket cards).

4. First betting round The action starts with the player to the left of the big blind, and continues clockwise.
5. Flop Three community cards are turned face up on the table.

6. Second betting round The action starts with the first player to the left of the dealer who is still in the hand, and continues clockwise.
7. Discard One of the pocket cards is discarded.

8. Turn Another (the fourth) community card is turned face up on the table.
 
9. Third betting round The betting advance as before. (In a fixed limit betting structure the bets are now doubled.)
10. River The final (the fifth) community card is turned face up on the table.
  
11. Last betting round The betting advance as before.
12. Showdown If more than one player reaches this stage, all remaining players show their hands. The first bettor or last raiser shows first, and then only those who beat that hand has to show. The highest ranked hand wins the pot. In the case of a tie, the pot is split evenly between the winning hands.

Example

Player As pocket cards

Player Bs pocket cards


Both player A and B uses both their remaining pocket cards to create their final hand. Player As pocket aces combined with the ace on the board makes three of a kind, queen and ten kickers. Player B uses the suit of the poket ace and ten to make an ace-high flush on the river. This time both player A and B probably had an easy choice when discarding. Player B this time had the benfit of having a two pair while also keeping a back door flush draw.

Player As final hand

Player Bs final hand