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How To Play Poker – Crazy Pineapple Basics

By Deanna Couras Goodson

Crazy Pineapple is a second-generation variant. What does that mean? Pineapple is a Poker game that is like Texas Hold ‘Em in that a player is dealt some hole cards. In this case – three instead of two as in Texas Hold ‘Em. Then, there are 5 community cards dealt in succession – flop, turn and river. The player must discard one of those hole cards, however, before the flop.

In Crazy Pineapple, the discard occurs after the flop. It gives the player an added advantage. They have seen 3 out of the 5 community cards and can make an educated guess as to which 2 card will give them the best overall hand. It’s Crazy, y’all.

To confuse you even more – some casinos and home games will even allow Crazy Pineapple to be played as a hi-lo game. Generally speaking, however, the best strategy for Crazy Pineapple is to make the best possible hand that you can. In this article, we’ll only focus on the high version of the game.

Here are some basic points to remember:

1) The average winning hand in Crazy Pineapple is better than in Texas Hold ‘Em. You do have an extra hole card to pick from. Of course, so does everyone else – REMEMBER THAT!

2) You have to discard one of those hole cards after the flop. Yup! You can’t keep all three. It can be a difficult decision sometimes. For example, say you get JJA in your hand (unlikely – but hey, you can dream, right?). The flop comes, J, 10, K. Do you keep the set or try to draw the Queen on the turn or the river to complete your gut-shot straight?

Okay. What if you had a flop of A,2,4? You’re still holding your JJA. The decision is probably easier, right? Get rid of one of those jacks and go with the stronger pair. Unfortunately, another J comes on the turn and you lose to a guy with three 2s. You’ll kick yourself although you made the best decision with the information you had at the time. That leads me to my next point:

3) Because Crazy Pineapple can get well, so crazy – you have to watch out and keep your emotions in check. It can get emotionally charged, especially if you throw away the best card. Try not to let it get you down; or, you’ll find yourself on Tilt pretty fast.

And we all know what happens when a player is on Tilt, right?

4) Think about the best combination possible pre-flop. Just because you don’t have to make a decision ‘til post-flop, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t run all the possibilities in your mind. You have to be on your toes.

And no, three of a kind is NOT a jackpot starting hand in Crazy Pineapple. In fact, it’s one of the worst you can be dealt. Other hands that can get you into trouble include – top pair. Think about it? If everyone else is dealt three cards and discards one, there are only so many cards left in the deck. That gives people a better chance to get something better than what you’re holding. Top pair will lose more often than it will win in Crazy Pineapple. It will also lose more often than it will win in Texas Hold ‘Em.

Overall, Crazy Pineapple is a fun game that gives you more control in the decision-making process. It is simple to pick up for those already familiar with Hold ‘Em; yet, it can unnerve people too. If you can master the information in this article, you can be pretty sure that it’s your opponents who will be the ones struggling, not you. In poker – that’s always a good thing!

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Learn how to play Texas Holdem

Learn how to play Lowball

Learn how to play Razz

Learn how to play Omaha High

Learn how to play Omaha Hi-Lo

Learn how to play 5 Card Draw

Learn how to play Crazy Pineapple

Learn how to play Seven Card Stud