Dear Mark,
I just saw a new game called "Four Card Poker." I do not believe you
have written anything on the game yet. Is the game anything like Three Card Poker?
Also, any chance of a quick summary of the game? Dominic B.
The game, Dominic, is akin to Three Card Poker, but as the name signifies,
you use four cards instead of three. Other key differences are that there is
no dealer qualifying hand and the player can raise up to three times his ante.
Oh yeah, the kicker: the dealer gets one extra card to form his best hand.
The object of the game is for the player to form a four-card poker hand higher
than or equal in rank to the dealer's hand. Players use their best four of
five cards dealt against the dealer's best four of six cards.
There are three ways to play. The game allows the player to wager against the
dealer, to wager on the value of his own hand against a pay table with a bet
called Aces Up (see below), or to wager both against the dealer and on the value
of his own hand.
After each player at the table places an initial "ante wager" in a
designated area of the layout, the dealer deals both the player and the dealer
five cards face down. A sixth "dealer" card is then revealed face
up.
After each player examines his cards, he or she then has the option to fold
the hand and forfeit the ante wager, or to place an additional "play wager"
ranging from an amount equal to the player's ante bet up to three times the
ante wager.
After all betting decisions have been made; the dealer will turn over his cards
and select the best four of six cards, then compare that best four-card hand
to each player's best four-card hand. If the dealer's hand is higher, the player
loses both the Ante and any raise wagers. If the ranking of the player's hand
is higher than, or equal to, the dealer's hand, the happy player wins and is
paid even money on both the ante and the play wagers. The following is the ranking
of hands from lowest to highest: high card, pair, two pair, straight, flush,
three-of-a-kind, straight flush, four-of-a-kind. To boot, Dominic, players who
place an ante wager and a play wager win a bonus payout on the ante wager for
three specified high value hands: 25 to 1 for four-of-a-kind, 20 to 1 for a
straight flush, and 2 to 1 for three-of-a-kind.
Four Card Poker also features an optional side wager (similar to the Pair Plus
in Three Card Poker) called the "Aces Up wager." If the player's hand
contains a pair of Aces or better, the player wins the Aces Up wager. The Aces
Up bet can be placed independently or in conjunction with the ante wager and
play wager. Its outcome is determined independently of the outcome of the player's
ante wager and play wager. Players receive Aces Up payouts regardless of the
dealer's hand. Payout odds for a winning Aces Up bet range from a minimum of
1 to 1 for a pair of aces up to 50 to 1 for four-of-a-kind.
A simple, yet effective basic strategy is to fold with less than a pair of deuces,
raise one unit with a pair of threes through a pair of nines, and raise three
units with a pair of 10s or greater.
Yo, Dom, two reasons why I'm not a fan of this game. First, I ain't givin' an
extra card to anybody, face up or not, and worse, it crosses my 2%
casino edge threshold. Look for more on the odds of the different wagers, plus
strategies unlike the one above that ignores the dealer's up card in a future
column.
Gambling quote of the week: "A drunken monkey can be as successful
at slots as a sober Einstein." Bob Dancer, gaming author
