As shown below, after running the “rhc port-forward $appname” command, you would need to connect to the ip address of 127.0.0.1 and port that shows up next to it to connect to the service you want to reach, such as postgresql. In the below example, i would connect to 127.0.0.1, port 5432. If you already have something running locally on the postgresql port, it will select another port and display it in the table. But the connection will be forwarded to your openshift gear and postgresql on your gear.
Corey-Red-Hat:~ cdaley$ rhc port-forward rt2
Checking available ports ... done
Forwarding ports ...
To connect to a service running on OpenShift, use the Local address
Service Local OpenShift
---------- -------------- ---- ---------------
httpd 127.0.0.1:8080 => 127.7.74.1:8080
postgresql 127.0.0.1:5432 => 127.7.74.2:5432
Press CTRL-C to terminate port forwarding
You can refer to the OpenShift Developer Portal for more information about using the PostgreSQL cartridge here: https://developers.openshift.com/en/databases-postgresql.html