Tournaments
GST Update
Poker Essentials
Resources
  • Home
  • blog
  • how to play a crazy pineapple game
cta-spade
Download the Pocket52 App  and start your poker journey today

🔥 Get full buy-in value on all  your deposits

Updated: May 12, 2023
How-to-play-crazy-pineapple

How to play a crazy pineapple game?

How to play crazy pineapple

As the name suggests, the fun game called Crazy Pineapple is one of the unique variants of card games. This entertaining game has a big fan following and once the players learn its distinct and exciting rules, they never lose an opportunity to play the game online anytime and from anywhere.

Here, in this guide, we will know everything about the crazy pineapple game such as how to play the game, the betting rounds, poker strategies to use and enhance the chances of winning, and a lot more.

What is the Crazy Pineapple Poker game?

Crazy Pineapple Poker is an easy-to-learn game that needs you to follow certain betting rules and gameplay structures. It is quite similar to one of the most popular poker games called Texas Holdem. The main difference is that rather than the players getting two cards to start the hand in the Texas game, they get three in the Crazy Pineapple game. The third card is the one that determines the variation of Pineapple. You can enjoy the game by playing it in the forms such as no limit game, pot limit game, and limit game.

In this game, you are required to discard one of your 3 private cards after the second betting round. Deciding on which hole card to discard is one of the most significant aspects of this game. It also plays a key role in making you the winner of the game. Before going to learn how to play crazy pineapple poker, you must go know the basic rules of this poker variant.

Common forms of Pineapple poker.

Here are the most common variations of Pineapple Poker.

Simple Pineapple

This is the most variation and very simple to play, this is the reason it is called Simple Pineapple or just Pineapple. When you play this version, the player discards one of their cards in the game before the betting round or the flop starts. Then, the game happens just like Texas Hold’em poker rules.

Crazy Pineapple

This is a fascinating and popular version of the poker game, called Crazy Pineapple. In Crazy Pineapple the players need to discard their third card after the flop round and not before the betting rounds. Thereafter, the game is played just like the regular game as mentioned above.

Lazy Pineapple

This is yet another version of the game called Lazy Pineapple. The same is also known as Tahoe. When you play the game of Lazy Pineapple, you need to keep all the three-hole cards with you till the hand of the hand. But players need to use a maximum of two hole cards only to make their winning hand in the game.

Super Hold’em

Though Super Hold’em is one of the variations of Hold’em, it has to do with Pineapple Hold’em too. In Super Hold’em, the players in the game keep all three cards till the end of the hand and can even use the third card to make their best five-card hand. In other words, the players in this game can use all the three of cards to make their final hand. They can also use some of the cards like 3, 2, 1, or no hole cards to make the hand too.

Rules of Crazy Pineapple Poker game

To play the exciting game of Crazy Pineapple, you need to know the following rules:

  • Like many other popular variants of poker, this game also uses a 52 cards deck.
  • The deck is automatically shuffled after every deal when you play the online version of this game.
  • A minimum of two players can play the game.
  • The game starts when the player seated to the left of the dealer button in the game starts posting the blind automatically. The blind is fixed as per the pre-decided level on the table.
  • Every player in the game gets 3 private cards on the table. These cards determine the hand strength and the players need to play the game accordingly.
  • Now, every player can start deciding their actions in the game. The players have an option to check, bet, raise, call, or fold in the different stages of the game.
  • In Crazy Pineapple, they get three starting cards up but when the second round of betting is over, the players need to discard one of their three-hole cards. The decision can be taken based on how flop has changed the sequence of their hands. The players need to be careful of making the decision that which two cards to keep and which one needs to be excluded.
  • It is also essential for you to know that you can use both hole cards or one hole card or for none of the hole cards you have to make the hand combination.
  • This is an important rule to remember in this game, as many players get confused with the game variation of Omaha. In the latter, you need to use exactly two of your private cards and exactly three of the community cards to make your best hand combination. But in the crazy pineapple game, you can decide whether you want to use the two private cards or one private card, or none of the private cards to make the hand combination.

How to Play Pineapple Poker game

Here is how you can play the game of Pineapple poker. The entire gameplay is structured in the step-by-step process below:

The dealer position

  • One player in the game becomes the dealer. The decision of the same is taken by the usual random shuffle and deal.
  • The player getting the highest card in the game usually becomes the dealer.
  • The dealer position is also called the dealer button. The same keeps passing to the left after every hand.

The blinds

  • Like many other games, this game also has a blind concept or a compulsory bet. The player seated to the immediate left of the dealer button needs to place the small blind.
  • The player seated to the left of the person placing the small blind has to pay for the big blind. The small blind is usually half the blind amount of the big blind, and hence the former is called the small blind. The amount of the blind is also pre-decided as per the table limits or stakes in the poker. To cite an example, in a limit game the amount of the big blind is equal to the smaller limit. Also, when you play a 10/20 game, then if the big blind is 10, the small blind has to be 5.
  • If the players are playing a limited game, then the blinds are decided by the house. The amount of the blind is usually a part of the maximum buy-in. The big blind can be 10 if the buy in is 1,000, but not always. The tables that have bigger maximum buy-ins and uncapped buy-ins have different blind amount calculation strategies and rules.

The game starts

  • When the game starts and the bets are placed, then every player gets three-hole cards. The cards are received one at a time.
  • The game starts with the small blind.
  • When the cards are received, then the player needs to discard one of the three private cards.

The player seated to the left of the big blind can take the following action:

  • Folds: The player can fold when they do not want to pay for the pot, as they may not have strong hands. This is also called discarding the complete hand.
  • Calls the big blind: Calling is an action that means that the player wants to match the game.
  • Raise: If the players feel that they have got strong hands then they may want to raise the size of the pot. By Raising, they can enhance the bet amount. This can be done by adding more money to the pot.

Now, the gameplay continues from the left. The game goes on till every player in the game has folded or called the recent bet.

Stages in the game

Like many other poker games, even this game is divided into several rounds. The rounds in the Crazy pineapple that you must know about are:

The flop

In this round called the Flop, the dealer deals three cards to all the players face up on the table. These are called community cards. These cards are open cards that can be used by all players in the game. They can combine these cards with their private cards to make the best five-card poker hand combination.

If you are wondering poker hand ranking or poker hand strengths, then be informed that like many other games, the crazy Pineapple poker game also uses the same standard poker hand ranking to determine the strength of the player’s cards and know the final winner at the showdown. As per the version of the pineapple game, the players can use their hole cards to make the best hand.

It is also important to note that the first player to the left of the dealer needs to start the next round of betting. This player can either check or bet. The game continues similarly to the left.

The Turn

Now that the flop betting round is finished, the dealer deals one more card face up. This card is also called the turn card in the turn round.

This completes another round of betting.

The River

After the completion of the Turn round, the final community card called the river is put face up on the table beside the other four community cards. The final round of betting which is called the river is played.

After the final round of the river, the player would have made a combination of the five cards using the community cards as well as their hole cards, as per the game variation. In Crazy pineapple, the player can use two private cards and other community cards to make their best five-card hand.

Showdown

The game remains identical to Texas Hold’em. When the turn and river are dealt and the betting rounds are over, then comes the showdown, for the players left in the game. The players can create any combination of their hole cards and the board or community cards on the table, to make their best five-card hand. The person who makes the best hand wins the pot.

Pot Limits

Like Texas Hold’em, even Pineapple games can be played in the formats of limit, pot-limit, and no-limit games. In the no-limit variation, unlike Hold’em where getting all in pre-flop makes you the observer in the game, in Pineapple if you have all in pre-flop, there are many more decisions to be taken to make you the winner in the game.

High-Low Split

If you have played several games of Crazy Pineapple online, but now you want to make the game more thrilling and a little crazier, then play Crazy Pineapple High-Low split. The players will have to decide on the flop whether to go for a high split or a low split in the game. This makes the game more fun, sweaty, and exciting.

Crazy Pineapple Poker Strategy

The best part about Crazy Pineapple Poker is that it is not a predictable game where most players know what they need to do, like Texas Hold’em. In Crazy Pineapple all the plays are kept open, and the players can enjoy playing various hands in many different ways. The game allows you to get creative and devise your own strategies. You can thoughtfully play the game and know where your opponents are heading to.

Having said that, there are still some basic tactics that you can follow while playing the game.

  • As you know, the game of Crazy Pineapple is usual before the flop. At the time of flop, the game takes the turn when you need to choose your starting hand. You must know that by the river, the game again becomes Texas Hold’em, which means that high hands such as aces and kings are the strongest cards in the game.
  • But these hands don’t have to win in Crazy Pineapple like they do in classic Texas Hold’em. So, be careful.
  • The hands that have three broadway cards such as suited aces and pairs along with other suited cards are strong in Crazy Pineapple.
  • In this game, the position is also very important.
  • A calm and tight approach will take you toward winning the game. Try to play as many hands as you can if you are in the best position.
  • Select your starting hands carefully to make the deal a profitable proposition.
  • This is an action-packed game that offers more incentive when you play tight.
  • Keep an eye on the other players in the game and keep looking for the situations when you can stack your opponents with your holdings.
  • When the flop is dealt with, look at all the options you can make, and decide which one will make the most sense.

Conclusion

To become the master of this game, you will have to dedicate sufficient time to practice the game well. The more you practice, the easier it will be for you to master the dynamics of the game. You may play this online poker game in a freeroll poker tournament or cash tables.

Play many more exciting games on Pocket52.com. You can also download the Pocket52 app and enjoy an incredible gaming experience.

FAQs

What is the difference between pineapple poker and Texas Hold’em?

The two games are quite similar but still not the same. One of the main differences is that in Hold’em, you get two cards at the start, and in Pineapple poker, you get three cards. In the former, you cannot throw any card but in pineapple poker, you need to discard the third card after the flop. The third card in the Texas game provides you with more detail and also shows a card that cannot be in your opponent’s hands.

How to win in the Crazy Pineapple poker game?

To win in the Crazy Pineapple poker game, you need to form the best five-card combination out of your hole cards and the community cards on the table, as per the standard Poker Hand strength rule or rankings.

How to play the Crazy Pineapple poker game?

Each player in the game gets 3 hole cards. After receiving the hole cards, there is a standard round of betting like Texas Holdem. After the second round of betting or the flop, the players need to discard one of their three-hole cards. Now, two more community cards are provided in the next two rounds of betting. The players remaining till the end of the game need to make the best 5-card hand at the showdown. The player who makes the best combination wins the pot.

What are the 4 actions in the Crazy Pineapple poker game?

The four actions include:

Call, in which the player matches the highest bet amount in the betting rounds.
Raise, in which the players can increase the bet amount in the betting round.
Check, which the players wish to continue the game without placing any more bets. This action can be done by a player in case they matched the highest bet or if no other player has opened the betting round.
Fold, in which the player can leave the game and surrender the hole cards.

Share it with friends