I got this in Black Friday sale. For the price, it’s a beautiful tree! I think the manufacturer was strategic with the amount of real looking branches and the more fake branches. When you set it up, yes, you must open all the branches out. The fake looking ones (and by that I just mean the less real looking) are positioned in the center so you can hide the pole with them and then you fan out the real looking branches on the outside. Looks good to me!