Tag: Poker Game

Two Card Manila And Three Card Manila

Games

Two Card and Three Card Manila are poker games which combine the usage of “hole” cards, which are dealt faced down, and community cards, called “flops”, which are put on the board faced up. There are five community cards, and a hand of Manila is compiled by using two hole cards and three community cards.

Two Card and Three Card are played similar, and they differ only in numbers. We shall first explain how a game of Two Card Manila works, and then add shortly those rules which are unique to Three Card Manila.

Two Card Manila

There is a maximum of eleven players in Two Card Manila. The game is played with a deck consisting of 32 cards: 11 players x 2 cards = 22 cards + 5 community cards + 4 burnt cards = 31 cards. The Ace can be used only as a high card and not as a low card.

Two Card Manila is played with a blind, i.e. a set bet which the players must post at the beginning of the game.

The dealer starts by dealing two cards to each player, faced down. Each player may call, check, raise or fold. Manila games set a limit of up to three raises per round, unless there are only two players in the game.

Then the first community card is placed on the board, face up, and another round of betting begins, Before the dealer puts on the table the next community card and the others that follow, he “burns” a card. (All in all four burnt cards.) Each flop is followed by a round of bets.

The betting:

  • In $2 dollar Manila the sums of the bets for each of the five rounds are $2, $4, $4, $4 & $8, in accordance.
  • In $5 dollar Manila the sums of the bets for each of the five rounds are $5, $10, $10, $10 & $20, in accordance.
  • As can be seen, the amount doubles on the second round, stays fixed for the third and forth round, and doubles again for the last round.
  • To use an example: the blind in a $2 dollar Manila game will be worth $2. In the first betting round (after posting the blinds) the players may either call the $2 or raise by an additional $4, making the bet a total of $6. The highest raise is possible in the last round: $8.

Three Card Manila

In Three Card Manila there are three “hole” cards, though a hand is made up of two hole cards and three community cards, just like in Two Card Manila.

There is a maximum of nine players in Three Card Manila. The game is played with a deck consisting of 36 cards: 9 players x 3 cards = 27 cards + 5 community cards + 4 burnt cards = 36 cards.

Let It Ride Poker

Games

About

Let It Ride Poker, also know as Let Them Ride poker, is a very popular variation of poker, played by many both on land and online. It is based on the game of Five Card Stud Poker, so if you are familiar with Five Stud you will easily understand the rules of Let It de.

The game was originally developed by The Shuffle Master Gaming Company for the purpose of selling more automatic shuffling machines to casino houses. The game was first played in Reno, Nevada, in 1993.

A hand in Let It Ride is compiled of five cards: three which are given to the player and two which are dealer cards. As the dealer cards are revealed, a poker player needs to decide whether to stay in and “let it ride” to the next card, or whether to fold. A hand ranking from a pair of tens or higher is a winning hand. The amount of money won depends on the bets which the player makes. The game is not played against competitors or the house, but rather each player tries to make the correct bets.

One reason that people like playing Let It Ride is that it’s less risky: once you have a pair of tens or better you can simply “let it ride” by placing more bets thus increasing your winning, without jeopardizing your money.

How to play the game

On a poker Table of Let It Ride, each player has three circles located at his seating position. They are marked “$”, “1” and “2”, and there the bets are placed.

The bet in the “$” circle is the minimum bet foe the game. It cannot be withdrawn and will not be given back even if the player decided to fold his hand. The bets in “1” and “2” might be returned according to the moment of folding.

The game begins by putting an equal sum on each circle. Following this, the dealer gives each player three cards.

After that bet was made the dealer gives out three cards, faced down. He deals three cards to himself, discards one immediately, and is left with two face down cards. These two cards will make up the hand of the other players.

The players all look at their cards. If a player thinks his hand is too weak and does not have a high chance of winning, he can ask to take back his “1” bet. That bet is out of the game, and even if that player eventually wins it will not be counted. To take the bet back a player will drag his cards on the poker table (same movement as when taking a hit in a game of Black Jack).

If a player thinks his hand is strong and has a chance of winning, he will want to “let it ride”. This means that he stays in the game with all three of his bets. A player who lets it ride simply slides his cards face down under his bet.

After all the players have made their action the dealer reveals one of his cards. Now a player has four cards, and needs to act again. He can choose to take his “2” bet back or to let it ride. (This action is not dependent on the first action. A player may choose, for example, to take his “1” bet back but for the second round he lets it ride.)

After all the players made their second action, the dealer reveals his second and final card. Each player now has a full hand. A hand ranking of a pair of 10 and higher is a winning hand. The amount won depends on the bets which were left in the circle or taken out of them. There is a clear system of what the pay-out should be.

Payouts!

The ranking of the hands are the same as in regular Poker.

  1. Pair of Tens or better / 1:1
  2. Two Pair / 2:1
  3. Three of a Kind / 3:1
  4. Straight / 5:1
  5. Flush / 8:1
  6. Full House / 11:1
  7. Four of a Kind / 50:1
  8. Straight Flush / 200:1
  9. Royal Flush / 1000:1

Strategy

Recommended Let it Ride Strategy

LET FIRST CIRCLE BET RIDE if your dealt cards are:

  • A pair of tens or better
  • Three card straight flush
  • Three card inside straight flush
  • Three card double inside straight flush with two tens or better
  • Ten, jack, and queen
  • Any three cards to a ROYAL FLUSH

LET 2nd CIRCLE BET RIDE if your first four cards are:

  • A pair of tens or better
  • Any four cards of the same suit
  • Open ended straight
  • Four high cards that are tens or better

Strategy 2

On this page we will discuss an optimal let it ride poker strategy. The house edge for Let It Ride is 3.5%, assuming the player is playing optimal strategy, and taking into account rare hands like a Royal Flush or a Straight Flush. Optimal strategy involves knowing when to let your bets ride. You have two decisions to make, i.e. whether to let the first bet ride or not, and whether to let the second bet ride or not. Each decision is governed by a different set of rules, which we will discuss shortly.

Optimal strategy for letting your first bet ride

Let the first bet ride if you have:

  • A winning hand: a Pair of tens or better (high Pair or Three of a Kind).
  • A three card Royal Flush.
  • A three card open ended Straight Flush, with the lowest card being a 3 or higher (don’t let the first bet ride with A/2/3 suited or 2/3/4 suited)
  • Three cards to a Straight Flush, with one hole, and at least one high card (ten or greater), e.g. 7, 8, 10.
  • Three cards to a Straight Flush, with two holes, and at least two high cards (ten or greater), e.g. 7, 10, J.

Optimal strategy for letting your second bet ride

Let the second bet ride if you have:

  • A winning hand: a Pair of tens or better (high Pair, Three of a Kind, two Pairs, Four of a Kind).
  • A four card Royal Flush, Straight Flush, or Flush.
  • A four card open ended Straight.
  • Four cards to a Straight, with one hole, and four high cards.

Never take the bonus bet

In Let It Ride poker you are offered to place a $1 side bet, to be eligible for bonus payouts. Do *not* take this bet, because, depending on the payout table, the house edge can vary from 15% to as much as 30%.

Beware of payout limits

Sometimes a casino imposes a maximum payout limit on each game of Let It Ride. You will never win more than the payout limit, even if you get a Royal Flush. If the maximum payout limit is $60,000, there is no reason to bet more than $20 per bet. If you bet more, let all 3 bets ride, and receive a Royal Flush, you winnings will exceed the maximum payout limit. You can determine your optimal bet size by dividing the payout limit by 3000. If the optimal bet size is lower than the minimum bet size the casino is offering, then go find another casino!

Tips:

LET IT RIDE POKER TIPS: After looking at your three initial cards and the community cards are still hidden, let it ride when you have a pair of 10’s or better. Pull your bet if not. If you have four parts of a flush after the first common card is turned also let it ride. Do not chase after 4 card straights.

Game Example:

EXAMPLE OF A LET IT RIDE POKER GAME: Player has three $10 bets in the circles and is dealt 2 fives and a jack. He pulls his Circle 1 bet back. The first card the dealer turns up is a five. Now the player has three fives (a sure winner) so he lets his Circle 2 bet ride. The dealer’s other card turns out to be a nine. Player didn’t improve his hand but still has a winning “Three of a Kind”. At the 3-1 payout for this hand, the dealer pays him $30 for his $ Circle bet and $30 for his Circle 2 bet. Player wins $60.

Let It Ride Poker Hand Rankings

Hand Description
Royal Flush A hand with A, K, Q, J and 10 all of the same suite
Straight Flush A hand with all five cards in sequence and of the same suit
Four of a Kind A hand with four cards of the same rank
Full House A hand with three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank
Flush A hand with all five cards in the same suit but not all in a sequence
Straight A hand with all five cards in sequence but not all in one suit
Three of a Kind A hand with three cards of the same rank
Two Pair A hand with two cards of one rank and two cards of another rank
Pair of Jacks or Better A hand with two cards of the same rank

3 Card Poker

Games

Three Card poker is a game that can be played with a minimum of three players and a maximum of six players. The game gives an option of drawing cards, and the winning hand consists of three cards only.

How to play

  • The game begins by a face down deal of three cards to each player.
  • This is followed by a around of bets, which may be started by any one of the players around the poker table. The players must call or raise in order to continue playing in the round.
  • Then each player draws two cards, on the draw.
  • This is followed by a second and final round of betting.
  • Once all the bets have been made, the players expose their cards. The ranking of wining hands is identical to the regular ranking of poker hands, though since a hand consists of only three cards then three of a kind is the highest ranking poker hand.

Draw High Poker

Games

Draw High poker is a game that consists of only two betting rounds: one prior to the draw and the second following the draw. After the first betting rounds players may choose to replace some or all of their initial cards with new cards from the deck.

Draw High poker sets a limit on the bets; the betting limit in the second round is double the limit of the first round. Players joining a Draw High poker game need to place antes. A button is used to determine the dealers position.

How to play

The hand and the draws:

  • A hand is compiled of five cards.
  • A player is allowed to draw from the deck up to four cards at a time.
  • If a player wishes to draw from the deck five cards, and replace all his initial cards, he can draw four cards and then after all the other players finish drawing their cards he can draw a fifth card. If he happens to be the last player in the round, then after the four cards are dealt the dealer “burns” a card, and then gives him the fifth card.
  • A player may decide to change the number of cards he requested to draw providing two things. First, that the other players haven’t made an action which was based on the initial number of cards he asked for. Second, that no card was dealt off the deck following the request. This includes the card that the dealer “burns”.
  • After an action has taken place, a player which holds less than a five cards can draw cards to complete a full hand.
  • If after the draw a player does not have exactly five cards, his hand is disqualified.
  • A card that has been reveled will not be given out in a draw.

Placing the bets:

  • When there are multi-hands playing a Draw High game, there is a maximum of one bet and four raises.
  • An “opener” is a player who makes the first voluntary bet in a round. In some Draw High tables, in order to be the opener a player needs to have in his hand a pair of Jacks or a higher poker ranking set of cards.
  • After the draw the opener is the first to place a bet. If the opener decides to drop out of that hand, the person sitting on his left will open the second round of bets.
  • The players around the table have the options of checking, opening for the minimum or opening with a raise.
  • Check-raise can be made prior to the draw and also after it.
  • If a player’s chips are sufficient only for paying the ante, he may play for only that sum. If none of the other players opens and another ante is declared, that player can still stay in the game, without having to add more money.

Other miscellaneous rules:

  • If a player wishes to join a game he needs to pay the ante. If there is forfeited money in the pot he will need to wait until that money is taken and only then can he join.
  • Changing a seat between hands is forbidden if it is a game with forfeited money or a game with multiple antes.
  • A player can ask another player or the dealer what number of cards did that player draw. However, if an action has already taken place they do not have to give him an answer. If no action has taken place yet, they must answer.
  • If a player raps on the table, it is understood either that he wishes to pass or that he has a “pat hand” and does not want to draw any more cards. If a player with a pat hand who rapped the table did not notice that the pot had been raised, he is not disqualified and may continue playing that hand.

Kill Pots

Games

To “kill a pot” is not a violent act; it simply means to post an overblind – a blind which is bigger than the big blind. In most games it is a voluntary act.

When placing an overblind a player increases the stakes of the game proportionally. For instance, A “full kill” is twice the size of the big blind. If a player posts a full kill then the betting limits of the game are doubled. A “half kill” is 1.5 times the big blind, and it increases the limits of the game by 1.5.

Kill pot is frequently used in lowball games. It provides the option of joining a game straight away without having to wait for the big blind.

Rules for killing pots

  • One kill can be made for each deal.
  • Kill blinds are part of the pot.
  • In most poker games killing the pot is optional.
  • Some games obligate players to kill pots under certain circumstances. For example, in Hi/Lo split games a player who wins a pot which is larger than a set amount must kill the following pot. In some games a player who has won two pots in a row will be obligated to kill the next pot.
  • A player who must kill the pot needs to do so at his turn during that hand, even if he wishes to drop out of that hand. A player who doesn’t kill when he is suppose to will be allowed to continue playing only after he posts the kill.
  • If a player wants to join in a killed pot game he must commit to killing the following pot.
  • The player who needs to post a kill will be given a “kill button”, a marker that acts as a reminder for killing the pot.
  • A “kill button” does not belong to any of the players:
    A. During the first hand of a new game.
    B. If the player who won the pot left the game.
    C. If the pot was split (so the winners don’t have to kill the next pot).
  • If a player doesn’t know that a pot has been killed and he makes a bet that is lower than the minimum limit, he may withdraw the money and reconsider his moves only if the kill button wasn’t faced-up. If it was, he must add chips to complete the minimum bet allowed.
  • A “leg up” is a situation in which a player has won the previous pot and thus will have to kill the next pot if he wins the current pot.
  • A player who has a “leg up” and leaves the table will still need to kill the pot upon rejoining the game.
  • If player A, who has a “leg up”, wins the pot with player B and it is split between them, player A will need to kill the next pot. If player B was the kill in the prior hand, he will also need to kill the next pot.
  • The first leg, as well as the first pot, have no minimum or maximum pot size limit.
  • A player will have to kill pot after a second pot or second leg if he has won a minimum of one full bet, not including blinds.
  • If in a game of split-pot a player wins the high and the low pot, he will be required to kill the next pot if the pot is five times or more the size of the maximum limit in that game.
  • In some lowball games, players may look at their first two cards and decide according to them whether they wish to kill the pot. Once one player has received a third card, non of the players are allowed to kill the pot. In these games in order to be allowed to kill the pot a player must posses a sum of money which is four times the amount of the kill blind. When this rule is in use the player who kills is last to act in the first round of bets.

Other Poker Variations

Games

We have gone over the basic set of rules, strategies and tips for a number of the most popular variations of poker such as Texas Hold’em, 5 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud, Omaha Poker, Red Dog Poker, Deuces Wild, Poker Pai Gow, Jack or Better Poker, and Caribbean Poker.

There also exist several other variations of poker that are possibly available online. Our information is based on the most well known and popular versions of the game.

Caribbean Poker

Games

About

Caribbean Stud poker is one of the most popular forms of poker played in the Caribbean Island and on cruise ships.

The game is not a competition between players. It is played between a participant and the dealer to see who has the highest ranking hand.

Everyone around the table receives five cards. The dealer places four of his cards faced down and one card faced up. The players need to decide whether to place a bet or fold according to what chances they think they stand of beating the dealer’s hand. When winning a sum will be given to the player in accordance to the quality of his hand.

How to play the game

The game begins with every player placing an ante (a fixed wager).
Then, the dealer gives out five cards to every player, including himself. One of the dealer’s cards is put on the table faced up, and the rest are put faced down.

The players look at their personal cards and try to decide whether they have a chance of beating the dealers hand. If a player thinks his chances are low, he can fold. A fold makes the player lose his ante for good. If a player wants to have a go at winning, he must bet double the amount of the ante.

After all the bets are made, the dealer unfolds his cards. If the dealer’s hand is lower than a single Ace and King hand, the players win automatically. They will get back their ante and bet plus a sum equal to the ante.

If the dealer’s hand is higher than an Ace/King single, the two hands will be compared. If the dealer has the higher ranking hand, the player loses both his ante and his raise. If, however, the player has the higher ranking hand, he will get back his ante, plus a sum equivalent to the ante, plus a payoff according to the following chart:

Hand Payoff
Royal flush 100 to 1
Straight flush 50 to 1
Four of a kind 20 to 1
Full house 7 to 1
Flush 5 to 1
Straight 4 to 1
Three of a kind 3 to 1
Two pair 2 to 1
Pair 1 to 1
Ace/King 1 to 1

History

The origin of Caribbean poker is, how surprising, in the Caribbean Islands. It was played both on the Islands and on cruise ships that went to and from the Islands.

When casinos in Las Vegas started playing Caribbean poker, they added the progressive Jackpot bet to attract more players. It has since become part of other gambling scenes, like in Nevada.

Caribbean poker is actually a version of a three card game played in Europe in the 16th century, called “Primera” in Spanish. In Primera players would bet on the rank of their hand, which could have been a pair, three of a kind or three of the same suit (called “flux”, or today flush).

In the !8th century, Primera influenced and was influenced by other famous card games: the English Brag. The German Pochen and the French Poque. It is then that those games became five-card games who use bets and bluffing.

The French who came and settled Louisiana brought the game to America sometime in the 18th century, and from Louisiana it spread along the Mississippi and into the West. Later on it became one of the leading games of classical Western movies.

In America the game was played with a full deck, not including jokers. Descriptions of the game can be found in game books starting from the mid 19th century.

Both the number of betting rounds and the ranking system have altered through the years. Straight and Flush hands were incorporated to the ranking system later than the other hand ranks.

Strategy

The only decision a player has to make in a game of Caribbean poker is whether to fold or raise after he has received his hand. We would recommend to you the following strategy guidelines.

  • If your hand is lower than an Ace/King, fold it.
  • If you have a hand of one pair or higher, call a bet.
  • This is true also if your pair is relatively low. (You stand a 42% percent chance to get a pair every round.)
  • If you have an Ace/King hand or higher plus a card that is similar to the dealer’s face up card, call a bet.
  • If you have an Ace/King hand you should bet and not fold if:
    A. the dealer’s up card matches your card, and is in the ranking range of 2 to Queen
    B. the dealer’s up card is an Ace or a King and you are holding a Queen or a Jack.
    C. the dealer’s up card doesn’t match your cards, is lower than the your fourth highest card and you are holding a Queen or higher.

Statistics chart for Caribbean poker

If you are interested in strategy statistics, take a close look at the following chart.

Strategy Total loss House edge Element of risk
Perfect strategy 1,041,372,912,372 5.22% 2.56%
Three rules of thumb (above) 1,041,417,758,724 5.23% 2.55%
Raise on ace/king/jack/8/3 or better 1,059,715,400,580 5.32% 2.60%
Raise on any pair or better 1,090,272,101,460 5.47% 2.74%
Raise on any ace/king or better 1,132,600,203,540 5.68% 2.67%
Playing blind (raise on everything) 3,310,360,338,060 16.61% 5.54%
Matching rank 1,063,176,931,284 5.33% 2.62%

Chart explanations:
“House Edge”: The ratio of the average sum which is lost to the initial bet. Raises do not count in the ratio.
“Element of Risk”: The ratio of the average sum which is lost to the total sum of bets (including raises).

Notice that in perfect strategy the house edge is 5.224% where as the element of risk is 2.555%.

The Progressive Jackpot Side Bet

Caribbean poker offers the players to place a side bet of $1 dollar, which goes into a Jackpot that can be won if a player receives a hand rank of Flush or higher. This winning sum is called progressive payout schedule. We would advise you to make this bet only when the size of the pot is big enough to make the risk worth your while.

If two players have Royal Flush hands (a very rare occasion), there are two ways to go about it. The first is to simply split the pot between them, fifty-fifty. The second way is to give the Jackpot to the player sitting closest to the left of the dealer, leaving the other player the sum of money that the Jackpot will be re-seeded with by the casino. This sum is not small – it may be $10,000 or even $20,000 dollars.

If two players have Straight Flush hands, the player sitting closer to the dealer’s left will receive 10% percent of the meter and the other player will receive 10% percent of what is left.

One thing is clear: if you can sit closer to the left of the dealer, make a go for it!

Jackpot Side Bet Payoff Chart

Different games have different payoff charts, however all of them progress from paying 10% for a Straight Flush to paying 100% for a Royal Flush.

Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6
Royal flush 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Straight flush 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10%
Four of a kind $100 $150 $500 $500 $500 $500
Full house $75 $100 $100 $150 $75 $100
Flush $50 $50 $50 $75 $50 $75

Casino Chart

These are the casinos that play by the different tables*:

  • Table 1: Ballys, Paris, California, Las Vegas Club, Hilton
  • Table 2: Luxor, Excalibur, Mandaley Bay, Monte Carlo
  • Table 3: Bellagio, Venetian, Rio, Every casino in Atlantic City, Casino Niagara (Niagara Falls, Ontario), Grand (Tunica), Gold Strike (Tunica), Ballys (Tunica), Sheraton (Tunica), Isle of Capri (Tunica), Hollywood (Tunica), Harrah’s (Tunica)
  • Table 4: Harrah’s, Circus Circus
  • Table 5: Flamingo Hilton
  • Table 6: Imperial Palace, Horseshoe (Tunica)

If not stated otherwise, the casino is in Las Vegas.

A Jackpot’s Meter

Jackpots have a “meter”, of usually 70-75% percent. This means, for example, that for every 1$ bet made $0.71 goes to the Jackpot and $0.29 is collected by the casino. This is not the casino’s profit: the payoffs are paid out of the meter, so eventually that money is won back by the players.

When a player with a Royal Flush scoops the pot, the casino will automatically put in the Jackpot $10,000 dollars (know as the “seed”). The meter enables this action.

It is important to remember that though 25-30% percent of every bet is collected by the house, the house will need to seed the Jackpot only on the rare occasion of a Royal Flush. (In all other situations winning players will receive only part of the Jackpot.)

Payoffs Chart

This chart shows different payoff tables. (The letter J refers to the Jackpot meter.)

  • Table 1: (598,600 + 7.6 * j) / 2,598,960
  • Table 2: (723,400 + 7.6 * j) / 2,598,960
  • Table 3: (941,800 + 7.6 * j) / 2,598,960
  • Table 4: (1,256,700 + 7.6 * j) / 2,598,960
  • Table 5: (848,200 + 7.6 * j) / 2,598,960
  • Table 6: (1,069,500 + 7.6 * j) / 2,598,960

Average Return Jackpot Meter Chart

This chary shows the Jackpot level in comparison with different rates of return.

Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6
25% 6,729 -9,692 -38,429 -79,863 -26,113 -55,232
30% 23,827 7,406 -21,331 -62,765 -9,015 -38,133
35% 40,926 24,505 -4,232 -45,666 8,084 -21,035
40% 58,024 41,603 12,866 -28,568 25,182 -3,936
45% 75,123 58,702 29,965 -11,469 42,281 13,162
50% 92,221 75,800 47,063 5,629 59,379 30,261
55% 109,319 92,898 64,162 22,727 76,477 47,359
60% 126,418 109,997 81,260 39,826 93,576 64,457
65% 143,516 127,095 98,358 56,924 110,674 81,556
70% 160,615 144,194 115,457 74,023 127,773 98,654
75% 177,713 161,292 132,555 91,121 144,871 115,753
80% 194,812 178,391 149,654 108,219 161,969 132,851
85% 211,910 195,489 166,752 125,318 179,068 149,949
90% 229,008 212,587 183,851 142,416 196,166 167,048
95% 246,107 229,686 200,949 159,515 213,265 184,146
100% 263,205 246,784 218,047 176,613 230,363 201,245
105% 280,304 263,883 235,146 193,712 247,462 218,343
110% 297,402 280,981 252,244 210,810 264,560 235,442
115% 314,501 298,079 269,343 227,908 281,658 252,540
120% 331,599 315,178 286,441 245,007 298,757 269,638
125% 348,697 332,276 303,539 262,105 315,855 286,737

Tips

Many Caribbean Poker players incorrectly advise that A-K-J-8-3 is the borderline hand for raising on an ace/king. The advice they give is to raise with this hand or better and fold with less, ignoring the dealer’s up card. In fact it is unwise to ignore the dealer’s up card. If you had this hand and the dealer had a queen showing your expected loss would be 1.17108 units, which is much worse than losing 1 unit by folding.

Many question have been asked about ‘playing blind’ or always raising regardless of what your hand is. This is not an advisable strategy if you don’t have a qualifying hand! The dealer will qualify 56.3% of the time, thus the expected return by raising when you have nothing is .563*(-3) + .437*(+1) = -1.252 which is much less than the -1 you would have by folding.

 

Jack Or Better

Games

About

The object of Jacks or Better is to obtain a five-card poker hand that contains a winning combination (see the pay table on the machine).

The better your hand is, the bigger the payout. You choose how many and which of your cards are to be replaced. You may replace your cards only once.

How to play

The player aims to get the best hand possible. The payoffs are marked right on the face of the Video Poker machine. Betting is pretty straightforward. On any given machine you can typically choose $0.25, $0.50, $1, or $5 games. And the bets are 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x (or maximum bet) whichever game you’re playing. So if you’re playing a $1 game, you can place bets of $1, $2, $3, $4, or $5.

If you bet 5 coins, all winning hands are paid out multiplied by a factor of 5 (except for the royal flush). This is a bonus amount designed as an incentive to play five coins. And those players who don’t play the maximum coins are just setting up the best payoffs for those who do.

It is very important to know that the payoff ratios vary from game to game. Jacks or Better may pay 25:1 for Four Of A Kind. These ratios do not necessarily reflect the true odds, so knowing your game helps you play smarter.

Strategy

Keep any hand that already pays. Possible exceptions, in decreasing value, are:

  • Hold four card Royal Flushes to make Straights or Flushes.
  • Four card straight flushes, inside or outside.
  • High card Pairs rank here.
  • Three card Royal Flushes.
  • Four card Flushes.
  • Low Pairs rank here, trying to build Three Of A Kind.
  • Four card Flushes.
  • Four card Straights. Hold inside Straights only if you’ve got three or more high cards (J, Q, K, A).

Follow this general strategy in order of preference:
Keep any two suited high cards. Discard unsuited high cards.

Four mixed-suit high cards:

  • Keep any three suited, toss the unsuited.
  • Otherwise, keep them all.

Three unsuited high cards:

  • Keep all three of K-Q-J.
  • With A-K-J or A-Q-J, discard the A.

Keep any two unsuited high cards.
Keep any single high card.

Tips

The first thing to note is that the game face shows you the payoff for each betting level. Invariably playing maximum bet pays off better, overall, than any of the lower multiples. Smart players pick the betting level they are comfortable with and choose their game accordingly.

Those players who don’t play the maximum coins are just setting up the best payoffs for those who do.

if you are comfortable with a $5 bet, then pick a $1 machine and play at maximum bet for $5. In either case, you are getting the best payoff odds you can for that game.

Pai Gow Poker

Games

About

Pai Gow poker is a poker game which combines poker and the game Pai Gow, which used to be played with special dominos and dices. Pai Gow is an ancient Chinese game, full of symbols and fascinating enigmas. Games combining poker and Pai Gow seem to have started forming in the mid 19th Century. Only a hundred and more years later, in the 80’s, has Pai Gow poker appeared in Californian card-rooms. The Las Vegas casinos adopted the game the following year, and casinos elsewhere have followed since.

Pai Gow is a “one on one” game, in which a player does not play against the other players around the table but against the dealer. Each player, including the dealer, receives seven cards. With these he must make up two hands, one hand consisting of five cards and the other consisting of two cards. The aim in the game is to have two hands that are higher ranking than the dealer’s two hands.

The ranking of hands is Pai Gow is similar to the regular poker ranking. The game is played with 52 regular cards plus one joker. The joker can function as a limited “wild card”: it can either replace an Ace or replace any card that completes a hand to be a straight, straight flush or royal flush. Pai Gow is played on a Black Jack sized table. There is a maximum of six players to a game.

Perhaps due to its Far Eastern roots, Pai Gow is a relatively slow game, different from most speedy casino games. It is a game easy to learn and know well. You don’t need to have large amount of money to join a Pai Gow game. It is a game of low money risk: you will never lose huge sums of money in Pai Gow. On the other hand, your winnings will not be huge as well.

How to play the game

The game of Pai Gow starts off with a wager. Every player places the chip in front of his seat.

Then the dealer gives out seven cards to each of the players and to himself. To decide which player is first to get the cards either a dice or a random number is used.

Once a player has his seven cards, he needs to break them up to two hands: a five-card hand, called the “high” or the “back”, and a two-card hand, called the “low” or the “front”. The high hand is ranked like in regular poker, with one exception: an Ace-5 straight is considered the second highest ranking straight (the first being Ace – 10 and the third King – 9). The low hand can either be a pair or singles, with 2-3 as lowest rank and Ace-Ace as highest rank.

The players must organize their hands in such a way that the five-card hand ranks higher than the two-card hand. For instance, if a player receives a pair of three and a pair of eight he may not make his two-card hand a pair of eight. If a player does not follow this rule, his hands will automatically lose.

After the players finished organizing their cards, the dealer turns over his cards and organizes them in accordance to a set of rules called “the house way”.

Each player compares his two hands to the dealer’s two hands. There are several possible outcomes:

  1. If both of the player’s hands are higher than both the dealer’s hands, he wins the game.
  2. If both of the player’s hands are lower than both the dealer’s hands, the dealer wins and the player loses his wager.
  3. If the player wins one hand and loses the other it is called a “push”, and no money will be won or lost.
  4. If one or both hands tie, it is called a “copy”, and the dealer wins the hand.

If two hands are four of a kind, the hand with the highest ranking four of a kind card is the winner. For example, if the banker has a Jack four of a kind and the player a King four of a kind, the player’s hand wins.

If two hands are a full house, the hand with the highest ranking three of a kind is the winner. For example, if the dealer has three Aces and a pair of 8 and the player has three Queens and a pair of 10, the dealer’s hand wins.

Because many hands are push hands, casinos don’t make much money from Pai Gow games. One way of tackling this “disadvantage” is by setting a 5% percent commission, paid to the house at every winning hand. Some casinos will deduct that amount on the spot, so the player will automatically receive 95% of his winning pot. Other casinos keep records of winning hands and charge a player only after he leaves the poker table.

An Example of a Pai Gow Hand

Using an example of a hand might help understanding how the game works and what are the possible strategies when playing it.

Let’s say that you are dealt the following cards, as shown in the picture:
Ace of Hearts, joker, 9 of Clubs, Queen of Hearts, 10 of Clubs, Queen of Diamonds and King of Hearts.

You have the following options of compiling two hands:

  1. Back: Pair of Aces (using the joker), pair of Queens and a 9. Front: A king and a 10 (high cards) With this combinations you have a good chance of beating the back hand but a low chance of beating the front hand. The chances you have of losing the game or winning the game are both relatively low.
  2. Back: Pair of Aces (using the joker), King, 10, 9. Front: Pair of Queen. With this combinations you have a good chance of beating the front hand but a low chance of beating the back hand. Again, the chances you have of losing the game or winning the game are both relatively low.
  3. Back: 9-King Straight (using the joker as queen) Front: Ace and Queen With this combinations you have an excellent chance of beating the back hand band a pretty good chance of beating the front hand. This would probably be your best shot.

Pai Gow Strategy

  • Players that are use to regular poker and play Pai Gow poker tend to forget that in this game you win the pot only if both your front and your back hands are winning hands. Getting all excited over having a royal flush is nice, but if your two-card hand is 2 and 3, you will not win the pot. If, for example, you have a pair of 8 and a Jack three of a kind, they should be split up between the two hands, even though by doing so you lose a full house hand.
  • When having the option of making two average ranked hands or one strong hand and one weak hand, the second option might be wiser to take. This way you are playing it safe, because chances are it will be a push, and you won’t lose your money. Go for the two average hands, the bigger the chances of losing that hand.
  • A pair in the low hand and a three of a kind in the high hand will usually win the game. The higher these cards rank, the smaller the chances that the dealer hands will beat your hands.
    On average, a player who plays ten hands of Pai Gow will win three hands, lose three hands and push four hands. (This assuming that he knows how to play the game correctly!)

More about Pai Gow

The Dragon Hand

A possible twist to the game is to use a “dragon” hand. The dealer deals out a hand to an empty seat. Any player may choose to take that hand and play it. That player plays both hands, and by doing so he increases his possible gains as well as his possible loses.

The Banker

Pai Gow offers the option of having a player be the banker. The other players, including the dealer, play their hands against the banker’s hands. The banker scoops the pot in case of a tie, pays from his own money to winning players and collects any lost bets.

Sometimes the role of banker in a Pai Gow game is rotated amongst the players. If there are six players playing (a full table) plus one dealer, each player will get to be the banker every seventh play. Other games deal out the banker position by zigzagging back and forth from the dealer to the players. A player cannot act as banker if he did not play at least one hand where the dealer was the banker. Some casinos offer the option of “co-banking”, a player and a dealer who bank together, splitting between the costs and the prizes.

The banker is the person with the highest odds of winning money. His advantage over the other players is clear: in a “copy” situation, he will win the pot. However, the banker is also the player who risks the most money. In order to become a banker a player must have enough money so that he is able to pay off everyone’s bets.

House Edge Chart

Possible Outcomes in Pai Gow Poker

Outcome Probability
Player wins both 28.55%
Tie 41.47%
Banker wins both 29.98%

Pai Gow Poker Index Values Chart

This chart shows the chances of different hand combinations of winning the game.

5-Card Hand 5-Card Index 2-Card Hand 2-Card Index
9 high 0.0002 2-Mar 0.0007
10 high 0.0018 2-Apr 0.0021
Jack high 0.0081 3-Apr 0.0034
Q-5 0.0086 2-May 0.0046
Q-6 0.0108 3-May 0.0057
Q-7 0.0154 4-May 0.0068
Q-8 0.0209 2-Jun 0.0079
Q-9 0.0247 3-Jun 0.0089
Q-10 0.0257 4-Jun 0.0099
Q-J 0.0257 5-Jun 0.0108
K-5 0.0265 2-Jul 0.0118
K-6 0.0299 3-Jul 0.0128
K-7 0.0374 4-Jul 0.0138
K-8 0.0479 5-Jul 0.0149
K-9 0.0586 6-Jul 0.0164
K-10 0.0654 2-Aug 0.0178
K-J 0.0671 3-Aug 0.0187
K-Q 0.0671 4-Aug 0.0196
A-6 0.071 5-Aug 0.0206
A-7 0.0829 6-Aug 0.0222
A-8 0.1019 7-Aug 0.0259
A-9 0.1245 2-Sep 0.0292
A-10 0.1453 3-Sep 0.0301
A-J 0.1575 4-Sep 0.0309
A-Q 0.1608 5-Sep 0.0319
A-K 0.1608 6-Sep 0.0335
pair of 2’s 0.1729 7-Sep 0.0376
pair of 3’s 0.2048 8-Sep 0.0472
pair of 4’s 0.2377 2-Oct 0.0543
pair of 5’s 0.2716 3-Oct 0.0553
pair of 6’s 0.3067 4-Oct 0.0563
pair of 7’s 0.3432 5-Oct 0.0574
pair of 8’s 0.3842 6-Oct 0.0591
pair of 9’s 0.4274 7-Oct 0.0632
pair of 10’s 0.4691 8-Oct 0.073
pair of jacks 0.5125 9-Oct 0.0921
pair of queens 0.564 J-2 0.105
pair of kings 0.6184 J-3 0.1062
pair of aces 0.6852 J-4 0.1073
two pair 3’s high 0.7503 J-5 0.1085
two pair 4’s high 0.7543 J-6 0.1102
two pair 5’s high 0.7601 J-7 0.1142
two pair 6’s high 0.7676 J-8 0.1232
two pair 7’s high 0.7767 J-9 0.1414
two pair 8’s high 0.7867 J-10 0.1729
two pair 9’s high 0.7969 Q-2 0.1931
two pair 10’s high 0.8074 Q-3 0.1945
two pair jacks high 0.8146 Q-4 0.1957
two pair queens high 0.8203 Q-5 0.197
two pair kings high 0.8257 Q-6 0.1989
two pair aces high 0.8261 Q-7 0.2027
three 2’s 0.8286 Q-8 0.2109
three 3’s 0.834 Q-9 0.2269
three 4’s 0.8393 Q-10 0.2551
three 5’s 0.8446 Q-J 0.2994
three 6’s 0.8499 K-2 0.3268
three 7’s 0.8552 K-3 0.3285
three 8’s 0.8609 K-4 0.3302
three 9’s 0.8665 K-5 0.3323
three 10’s 0.8718 K-6 0.335
three jacks 0.8771 K-7 0.3398
three queens 0.8823 K-8 0.3487
three kings 0.8876 K-9 0.3641
three aces 0.8909 K-10 0.3895
straight 2-6 0.903 K-J 0.4291
straight 3-7 0.9105 K-Q 0.4858
straight 4-8 0.9176 A-2 0.5196
straight 5-9 0.9211 A-3 0.5217
straight 6-10 0.9246 A-4 0.5242
straight 7-jack 0.9316 A-5 0.5272
straight 8-queen 0.9385 A-6 0.5312
straight 9-king 0.9453 A-7 0.5378
straight ace-5 0.9522 A-8 0.5483
straight 10-ace 0.9623 A-9 0.5647
flush 6 high 0.9658 A-10 0.5892
flush 7 high 0.9659 A-J 0.6248
flush 8 high 0.9662 A-Q 0.6744
flush 9 high 0.9668 A-K 0.7409
flush 10 high 0.9682 pair of 2’s 0.7899
flush jack high 0.9705 pair of 3’s 0.8116
flush queen high 0.9744 pair of 4’s 0.832
flush king high 0.9804 pair of 5’s 0.8512
flush ace high 0.9974 pair of 6’s 0.8693
full house 0.9984 pair of 7’s 0.8884
four of a kind 0.9995 pair of 8’s 0.9083
straight flush 1 pair of 9’s 0.9268
five aces 1 pair of 10’s 0.9439
pair of jacks 0.9593
pair of queens 0.9726
pair of kings 0.9839
pair of aces 0.9945

Deuces Wild Poker

Games

About

The object of Deuces Wild is to obtain a five-card poker hand that contains a winning combination. The better your hand is, the bigger the payout (see the pay table on the machine). You choose how many and which of your cards are to be replaced. You may replace your cards only once.

Note: in Deuces Wild, the “deuces” are wild – this means that any deuce (ie the two card) stands for any card (just like a joker), hence the name of the game.

How to play

The player aims to get the best hand possible. The payoffs are marked right on the face of the Video Poker machine. Betting is pretty straightforward. On any given machine you can typically choose $0.25, $0.50, $1, or $5 games. And the bets are 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x (or maximum bet) whichever game you’re playing. So if you’re playing a $1 game, you can place bets of $1, $2, $3, $4, or $5.

If you bet 5 coins all winning hands are paid out multiplied by a factor of 5 except for the royal flush. This is a bonus amount designed as an incentive to play five coins. And those players who play less than maximum coins are setting up the best payoffs for those who do.

Strategy

Hold any 5 Of A Kind or Royal Flush.
If you’ve got four 2’s keep them!

If you’ve got three 2’s:

  • Hold any made 5 Of A Kind or Royal Flush
  • Otherwise, keep the 2’s and discard the rest.

If you’ve got two 2’s:

  • Hold any made Straight, Five Of A Kind or Royal Flush.
  • Hold any 4 of a Kind.
  • Hold any 4 of a Royal Flush.
  • Otherwise, keep the 2’s and discard the rest.

If you’ve got a single 2, keep any made hand EXCEPT:

  • Hold four card Royal Flushes over made Straights, Flushes and Straight Flushes.
  • Keep four card Straight Flushes of all types.
  • Hold three card Royal Flushes.
  • Do NOT keep two pair, keep only one.
  • Hold four card Flushes.
  • Hold four card Straights.
  • Hold three card Straight Flushes, including gaps.
  • Hold four card inside Straights.
  • Hang on to two card Q or J high Straight Flushes.
  • Discard two card Royal Flushes.
  • If you’ve come this low, discard everything and try again.

Some players are reluctant to throw away five cards, but that is a most important strategy. You want to make room for additional card(s) that could be a deuce(s), and holding that Ace or King is not going to help you if the next hand coming up could be four or five 7’s.

Hard nut Jacks or Better players will throw away complete hands-5 cards only 3% of the time, while Deuces Wild players almost 20% of the time.

Inside straights should be held, if presenting the best possible return from your initial five cards dealt. Therefore, a 5, 6, 8, 9 hand can produce a 7 or wild card in Deuces Wild. Approximately every 5000 hands will hit four deuces – a secondary jackpot that will allow you to pocket some winnings in this game.

Tips

Invariably playing maximum bet pays off better, overall, than any of the lower multiples. Smart players pick the betting level they are comfortable with and choose their game accordingly.

If you are comfortable with a $5 bet, then pick a $1 machine and play at maximum bet for $5. In either case, you are getting the best payoff odds you can for that game.

It is very important to know that the payoff ratios vary from game to game. These ratios do not necessarily reflect the true odds, so knowing your game helps you play smarter.