So ICYMI the 'Spicy Pineapple' app debuted about a month ago, and it appears to be catching on, no doubt partially due to Hellmuth being the #1 rated player there, his Twitch streams and Twitter promos, and high profile players like Cantu, Shaun Deeb, and Abernathy among those into it. Of course it's an excellent game and a major improvement to the Pineapple OFC format, so let's give credit there as well. Does any1 know the origin of this variant?

The rules change, of course, is you play against other players having been dealt the same exact hand. It's cards-down until showdown so it's hidden information. The real beauty of the format, though, from a potential-popularity-explosion standpoint, is it allows more players on the felt than traditional Pineapple OFC. So instead of 3-max, you can play up to 5 on the app, and it seems to me that it wouldn't be any stretch for an online casino to spread it for up to 6 or 7 comfortably. I suppose in some crazy tournament or something you could play simultaneously against any number of other players.

Here are my thoughts/observations on the variation and why it could catch on for realz in the online poker world. I have already talked to a few players who would love to see this in real money online.

1) Multiplayer rake.
2) More money on the table, 'pots' are larger.
3) More social.
4) Tables break less often and table wait times are reduced.
5) The format plays well for tournaments.
6) It's hidden information, less anxiety about solvability.
7) Edge is rewarded with 4+ players to pay you, not just the 1 or 2.
7.5) It seem clear that there is true edge to be found.
8) Consequences of fouling more serious, as you pay out 4x not 1 or 2.
(pts 7-8: skill increase while providing a worthwhile risk-reward scenario).
9) It's lower variance than 3-handed. e.g. you can 'come in 2nd' or even 3rd in a hand, and still be profitable.
10) Can be played as Pineapple, 2-7, Progressive, or whatever.
11) App-specific: 5-handed play had a range of ~80-90 points, 4-handed was ~50, and 3-handed ~30 (iow average high score 5-handed was +40 with low avg about -40). Highest single score I saw was one guy with +255 with JJJ in front.
12. People love this game. Now there's a format online operators can love too.

I got the app about a week ago. Turning 2k pts into 60k in about 15 hours of cash (non-tournament) play was eye-opening to say the least. Tell me why I am crazy to think this should be spread for real money.

Never play it, only saw Hellmuth stream a bit.

More boring as you have less info available. In standard variant (especially 3 handed) you have to adjust to all cards you saw. You have to be flexible and creative.
Here you are much more standard. Say starting dopper is always go to the bottom, while in standard pineapple it could be splitted or even go to the middle when both pairs are small and dead.

More solvable - As you have less info to analyze. Standard pinapple needs server for bot to be good I hope . Here it could be solved by PC bots.

BTW what are the rules for Fantasy Land? How do you play?

I think you're right, it's a bit more boring. But it appears very +ev. I have seen quite a separation in skill levels and accompanying win rate. I have a friend who thinks it'll be too skill-based to keep recs in the game.

All cards are down. It's dealt like Pineapple. You only see other hands at the showdown.

I suppose you can create an 'optimal setting' system/bot, but IMO an effective one is a ways away. You will always need to make adjustments mid-game, and one of the tricks is to guess which branch your opponents have chosen, and whether you will go with them or against them. So does a bot in a vacuum cut it unless you can program in other player tendencies? I think it's important to remember also that, for example, a 2-flush start is approximately a coin flip to get there, and as 2-flush is in every single starting hand, there's quite a bit of variance as the hand plays out. So someone can get crazy and still get there ~1/2 the time - how does that play against an optimally setting bot?

Fantasyland: In this particular app, it is 13-card that is auto-dealt and auto-set. It adds x points to your total score from each player. I believe the problem with a normal Fantasyland is that if 4 players all make it, there aren't enough cards for FL and the other hands. Still, I think the auto-deal could be adjusted to accommodate the rules for Progressive.

There are some concessions, for sure, but the big gain is the number of players, which is completely adjustable.

Just theory curious: Why this trick is needed?
IMHO in this game there is always one "best" way of play speaking of maximizing your own bonus point’s expectation. What is the reason to deviate? Definitely there is a lot of value in "scoop" points, but I guess in most cases you can't consistently win scoop against the hand (consisted from the same cards caught) that have more bonus points in the long run.

Could you please explain your point here? May be with some examples...

Naw this is way more solvable. You don't need to consider dead cards now and just play to maximize expected points.

I am quite busy at the moment and will return with a more in depth analysis. For the time being here are some quick thoughts:

1) Fantasyland EV is 'normalized' in this game as the bonuses are smaller, so overall (vertical and horizontal) hand strength is emphasized, and all equities play importantly with more players at the table

2) Regarding some sort of 'GTO' play, there are always multiple branches and sub-branches to achieving similar points goals

3) You can take looser or tighter lines against players with opposite tendencies

You must have been really busy

I just tried this game and it seems fun. What do others find boring?

Agree that it looks boring and solvable.

A good fix would be to put less emphasis on royalties and more emphasis on winning a street (top, bottom, mid), and gives more rewards for being a sole winner. There needs to be a reason for a player to play contrarian. Kind of like DFS.

Eg. 5 players, all start with a 3-card flush. One player goes contrarian. If the other four make a flush, they normally EACH get 4 royalty pts from the contrarian. I'd propose they have to SHARE those 4 royalty pts. So, instead, maybe players would want to go for a full house on the bottom, and hope they are the only person with a bottom FH.

There's now an extra layer of leveling, having to guess how many people will act contrary, making it a whole lot more interesting.

For me it's very fun for 5-10 minutes, especially tournaments, so I play like every day while go to/from work by tube for example.

But it's boring to play more as it's essentially 1 max and there is very few information available to consider - only cards dealt to you and your own discard, so there is a lot of very standard situation and decisions.

Unlike 2max and especially 3max where there are a lot of information available and much more complicated decisions. Every hand is much more unique in 3 max. So here I could play hours.

BTW when I played HU in the end of the SNG tourney vs good player we rather friequently play hands in the same manner, so 80-90% of hands is 0-0. Which is fun for the first may be 2 hands, but also a bit boring after that.