Texas Hold ’em has been the most popular way to play poker over the last 20 years, with no limits of money to be won and fun to be had, but recently new versions of the game have been popping up, adding an entirely new element to the game we know and love.
Pineapple poker is the new way to play Texas Hold ’em, with many players taking a keen interest. The game isn’t as widely played inside casinos and poker rooms as online, but tournaments are starting to incorporate it into their platforms, giving people more ways to play.
Here is everything you need to know about pineapple poker and the different versions available to play.
The History of Pineapple Poker
There are many varying stories regarding the origins of Pineapple Poker, with many people claiming that the game is a cross between Omaha and Hold ’em. This seems like a natural progression for fans of both of those games.
Others players argue that the game started to become popular in certain Spanish-speaking regions of South America, especially Columbia. The exact origin is still unknown, and the game is also very much undiscovered by a lot of major poker players. Nevertheless, a small dedicated following is slowly boosting the growth of this version of poker.
How to Play Pineapple Poker
There isn’t much in terms of the difference between Pineapple Poker and Texas Hold ’em, as they both follow a lot of similar rules and betting patterns. The key difference starts at the beginning when the dealing commences. Each player is given three cards rather than the traditional two and can choose what they believe is the strongest hand by removing the weakest card. After that, the game continues to be played as a standard Texas Hold ’em game.
All of the same mechanics to play the game are used, such as blinds, river, and flop. In Pineapple poker, the time the players discard decides what style of the game is going to b played. The traditional version has players remove a card before any betting has taken place, determining the two cards that will be used at the beginning of the game.
Pineapple Poker Versions
Crazy Pineapple – Players are given more options with regard to their hands than in the original game. There is no preflop betting this time around, and all three cards are kept. When the flop is revealed, players can bet before any cards have been disregarded and set aside.
Following that, the game continues like any other Hold ’em game. Discarding a card in Pineapple requires some serious consideration. Occasionally, draws can come up after a player has already mucked, and it may have made sense for them to do so.
The challenge is to not remove a card from your hand that has the potential for something better than what you have if you had kept it. This is one of the hardest things to do when playing Crazy Pineapple poker, but it is also one of the most fun.
Lazy Pineapple – In this version of Pineapple poker, each player keeps their third card until the end of the game hence the lazy element as players disregard their card at the very last possible moment. Players are only allowed to play two or three cards in their final hand, giving them much more in terms of choice and option to create the best hand possible. This rule removes a lot of the guesswork compared to other forms of poker, as there are many more options to create a better hand.
Many poker players claim that lazy pineapple removes the fun of the game. Still, players who love it prefer the element of discarding rather than the strategy of bluffing or determining what other plays have in their hands.
Super Hold ’em – Although not a true representative of the pineapple poker games, Super Hold ’em is often put under the umbrella of the Pineapple poker family. Players use three cards until the end, just as with Lazy Pineapple, but in this version, players can use a combination of all three cards after the river is shown. Super Hold ’em has a lot of similarities to Omaha, but players can use one, two, or three of their cards to create the best possible hand in the final showdown.
The difference between Omaha and this is crucial because two players’ cards and three community cards must be used in Omaha. So then, as in a traditional game of Texas Hold ’em, players make bets and place blinds accordingly.