Four Card Poker - (Poker Variant)


Licence type - Licence required
Trial originated at -

Grosvenor Casinos Ltd
Statesman House
Stafferton Way
Maidenhead
Berks SL6 1AY
Tel: 01628 504000

Licensee / proprietor -

Shuffle Master Inc

Date placed on trial 15th July 2011
Licensee contact details

1106 Palms Airport

Las Vegas NV 89119-3730 – USA
Tel:- 1(702) 897 7150
Email:- [email protected]


Basic Outline of sidebet rules / how to play


1. The game is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards shuffled before each hand. There are three possible options, a Player may either:-

 

• just wager against the Dealer (“Ante”),

• just wager on the value of their hand against a pay-table (“Aces Up”) or

• place both an Ante and an Aces Up wagers.


2. Poker hand rankings apply in the following order, from highest to lowest:-


• Four of a Kind

• Straight Flush

• Three of a Kind

• Flush

• Straight

• Two Pair

• Pair

• High Card


3. If a hand does not contain a pair or better, the hand that contains the highest ranking card(s) wins. Ace is high, other than for a low straight of A,2,3,4.


4. Players may place either an Ante wager, and Aces Up wager or both.


5. The Dealer deals five cards, face down, to each Player and six cards to themselves, five face down and the last one face up.


6. If the Player has made an Ante wager, they must then choose whether or not to place a “Play” wager, in order to continue in the game. This may be for an amount between one or three times the value of their Ante wager. If they do not wish to place a Play wager, their Ante wager will lose. The Aces Up wager will normally lose as well (NB other than in the highly unlikely circumstances where a player has at least a pair of Aces but elects not to Play. Whilst unlikely, it is therefore possible for Aces Up to win without a Play wager. However, it is the Player’s responsibility to alert the Dealer in such circumstances).


7. The Dealer will then reveal their own hand, arranging the six cards from highest to lowest in front of them, being their best four card hand from the six. The Dealer’s lowest two cards will not count and will be moved back from the best four. In the event of a contest between High cards, only the best four cards will count.


8. The Dealer always qualifies. In the event of an exact tie between the best four cards, the Player always wins.


9. The Dealer will arrange the Player’s cards to form the best four card hand, to determine whether it beats the Dealer’s. Winning Ante and Play wagers are paid odds, as below.


10. The Aces Up wager is paid according to a pay table (as below). The most commonly used pay table is Table 6.


11. The Player wins on the Aces Up wager with a pair of aces or better, regardless of whether their hand beats the Dealer.


12. Certain hands earn a bonus on the Ante wager, according a pay table (see below) regardless of whether the hand beats the Dealer. If the Dealer hand otherwise beats the Player, the bonus still pays out.


13. If the Dealer’s hand wins, and the Player’s hand does not qualify for an Ante bonus nor is it a winning Aces Up hand, the Player will lose all three wagers.


Usual Odds Payable


Winning Ante and Play wagers are both paid even money.


Winning Poker Wagers on final Game

 


Aces Up Pay Table
Hand Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6 Table 7
Four of a Kind 50-1 50-1 50-1 50-1 50-1 50-1 50-1
Straight Flush 40-1 40-1 30-1 30-1 40-1 40-1 40-1
Three of a Kind 9-1 7-1 9-1 7-1 8-1 8-1 7-1
Flush 6-1 6-1 6-1 6-1 5-1 6-1 5-1
Straight 4-1 5-1 4-1 5-1 4-1 4-1 4-1
Two Pair 2-1 2-1 2-1 2-1 3-1 2-1 3-1
Pair of Aces 1-1 1-1 1-1 1-1 1-1 1-1 1-1

Automatic Bonus
Hand Pay Table 1
Four of a Kind 25-1
Straight Flush 20-1
Three of a Kind 2-1

House Edge details


Ante - 3.3971% (based on a “simplified strategy” of raising 3x on a pair of tens or higher, 1x on a pair of 3’s to 9’s and folding all other hands).


Automatic bonus -1.58%.


Aces Up depends on the Pay Table used (see below).


ACES UP HOUSE EDGE
Pay Table House Edge
1 1.98%
2 2.58%
3 2.78%
4 3.37%
5 3.89%
6 4.24%
7 6.15%