How to Play

A Texas Hold'em variant in which each player is dealt three hole cards instead of two and must discard one before (standard), after the flop (Crazy), or at showdown (Lazy).

Pineapple is a community-card poker family that plays like Texas Hold'em with one extra hole card. Each player is dealt three private cards and, at a point set by the variant (standard, Crazy, or Lazy), discards exactly one, ending the hand with the familiar Hold'em two-hole-card structure. Community cards (flop, turn, river) and betting rounds are identical to Hold'em, so players already comfortable with Hold'em pick up Pineapple in minutes. The third card produces stronger starting hands, more action, and (especially in Crazy Pineapple, where the discard happens after the flop) richer post-flop decisions.

Players

Playable with 2 to 10 players at one table. 6 or 7 is ideal: enough action to keep pots live, few enough to avoid card shortages. Heads-up Pineapple is a tight, bluff-heavy duel; full-ring games behave much like Hold'em but with bigger flops.

Card Deck

• Standard 52-card deck, no jokers.
• Standard poker hand rankings apply; Aces are high in straights (A-K-Q-J-10) and low in A-2-3-4-5 wheels.
• Suits are ranked only for forcing a showdown on the dealer button where necessary.
• Community cards live face up in the centre; two of them alongside two of your surviving hole cards form your best five-card hand.

Objective

Win the pot, either by being the last player who has not folded, or by showing the best five-card poker hand at showdown using any combination of the five community cards and your two remaining hole cards.

Setup and Deal

1. Choose stakes. Pineapple is usually no-limit; pot-limit and fixed-limit are also common.
2. The player to the dealer's left posts the small blind; the next posts the big blind.
3. Deal 3 cards face down to each player, clockwise, one at a time.
4. The player to the left of the big blind opens the action.

Gameplay

1. Step 1 (pre-flop betting): Each player in turn may fold, call the big blind, or raise. Standard no-limit or pot-limit raises apply.
2. Step 2 (standard discard): In classic Pineapple, immediately after the pre-flop betting round each remaining player secretly discards one hole card, keeping exactly two. The discarded card is mucked face down and cannot be recovered.
3. Step 3 (flop): The dealer burns one card and reveals three community cards face up (the flop). A second betting round follows.
4. Step 4 (Crazy Pineapple discard): In Crazy Pineapple the discard happens here, after the flop betting round: each remaining player mucks one of their three hole cards.
5. Step 5 (turn): Burn and reveal one more community card (the turn). Third betting round.
6. Step 6 (river): Burn and reveal a fifth community card (the river). Final betting round.
7. Step 7 (Lazy Pineapple showdown discard): In Lazy Pineapple (also called Tahoe) players keep all three hole cards until showdown but may only use two when making their best five. The third card is irrelevant at showdown; it cannot be part of the final hand.
8. Step 8 (showdown): If two or more players remain, the last aggressor shows first; in check-through rivers, the first remaining player clockwise of the dealer shows first. Each player makes the best five-card hand from their two surviving hole cards plus the five community cards. The player whose hand ranks highest under the poker hand rankings listed in the Scoring section wins the pot.

Scoring

• Standard poker hand rankings from high to low: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, High Card.4♠3♠2♠
• Ties in hand category are broken by the highest card and then by kickers.
• Identical five-card hands split the pot evenly; any odd chip goes to the first active seat clockwise of the dealer button.
• Side pots are built whenever a player is all-in; they contest only the chips they could match.

Winning

A hand is won either by being the last player who has not folded, or by holding the best five-card hand at showdown. Cash games continue until players leave; tournament Pineapple is played down to one chip leader, with blinds rising on a timed schedule exactly as in Hold'em tournaments.

Common Variations

• Crazy Pineapple: The single most popular variant; discard one hole card after the flop betting round instead of before. Creates bigger post-flop pots.
• Lazy Pineapple (Tahoe): Keep all three hole cards until showdown but use only two for the final hand.
• Pineapple Hi-Lo (8 or Better): Split-pot variant awarding half the pot to the lowest qualifying 5-card hand (8-high or better using any of the remaining two hole cards).
• Super Hold'em: Keep all three hole cards and may use any number of them at showdown; the rules otherwise match Hold'em.
• Open-Face Chinese Pineapple: A completely different layout game related only by name; players arrange 13 cards into three rows.

Tips and Strategy

• Because three starting cards generate far more strong hands than two, tighten your calling ranges and increase your value raises with top pairs and made pairs.
• In standard Pineapple, decide your discard before you act pre-flop. Once you have committed to calling with a suited Ace and two broadway cards, pick the kicker that wastes the fewest outs.
• In Crazy Pineapple, the flop information transforms the discard into a meaningful decision. Keep both cards that share a suit with the flop when drawing to a flush, and pitch the kicker that gives you no draw.
• Position is even stronger than in Hold'em. Acting last after a Crazy Pineapple discard lets you see three opponents' betting reactions before choosing which of your three cards to keep.
• Beware of top-pair-top-kicker. Pineapple flops connect more often, so one-pair hands win far fewer showdowns than in Hold'em.

Glossary

• Hole cards: The private cards dealt face down to each player.
• Flop, Turn, River: The three, one, and one community cards revealed in sequence.
• Discard: The forced mucking of one hole card in Pineapple (standard: pre-flop; Crazy: post-flop; Lazy: never, but unusable at showdown).
• Burn: The top deck card discarded face down before each community reveal.
• Snow / Bluff: Aggressive betting representing a hand you do not hold; Pineapple discourages pure bluffing because more hands connect with the flop.