need help with some new card games

Can anyone tell me if you should make the queens plus bet in crazy four card poker. I played this past weekeend in Vegas and all the other players as well as the dealer were chastising me for not making this bet. I remember reading in the wizards strategy that it adds about 5 % the the house hold. Was I right? The first dealer kept track of my hands and it looked bad for me because my frst two hands were three aces and then a straight, but after that I hit no high paying hands so in the end I came out ahead by not making the bet. When they changed dealers to a weird irritating guy who told me there is no reason to play this game without that bet I agreed with him and promptly left.
My second question has to do with the difference between Texas holdem bonus and ultimate Texas holdem. Is one better than the other? I played the bonus version without making the bonus bet and came out ahead. I played the ultimate version and made the trips bet but not the progressive which was at $65,000 and got my ass kicked. I am new to these games any help will be appreciated. I did study the basic strategy before playing so I was not completely blind.

Quote: MrRalph

The first dealer kept track of my hands and it looked bad for me because my frst two hands were three aces and then a straight, but after that I hit no high paying hands so in the end I came out ahead by not making the bet. When they changed dealers to a weird irritating guy who told me there is no reason to play this game without that bet I agreed with him and promptly left.

Good for you for leaving.

It's typical that other players, and the dealer, will point out hands that would pay the side bet. And that's for ANY game with a side bet. It's rather rare to find a dealer that counts them and verifies that abstaining was the correct play.

It's also unfortunate that you got paying hands right when you first sat down. I bet they didn't let you forget that AT ALL.


Bottom line: I've said it before, and I'll say it again:
Anytime the casino offers a bet for less than the table minimum, ask yourself "Why?"

Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em and Texas Hold 'Em Bonus are the same basic game, just played in different order. The house edge on both is about 2.2%, if you play the correct strategy. UTH usually has a better bonus bet; the Trips bet can be one of the best side bets in the casino with a 1.9% or 0.9% house edge depending on the paytable.

I've hit a straight flush on UTH with $10 up ($900 payout) and it pretty much made my year.

Yeah they did not let me forget it but thanks to the first gal who dealt there was some redemption. The lady next to me complained because I sat down and took her cards so she would have had the 3 aces and the straight. I was also playing spanish 21 and I had a 17 against a dealers ace the wizard said to hit this hand so I did and of course just like he said the know it alls went nuts but fortunately I pulled the 4. Thanks for the reply.

Thanks because I did not know if the trips were a high house hold side bet or a bet I should be making.

When playing three-card poker I very rarely play the Pair-plus side bet. When I do get a good hand, some of the dealers annoying mention that I should have made the side bet. On one occasion I got three 33-1/35-1 (UK) hands within an hour.

On another occasion, someone making a side bet (something like PaiGow) would have won something for other person's royal flush. However as I had taken the bank, the house dealer got the hand and apparently it didn't count - so they weren't very pleased.

Sometimes if a player butts in the appearance is the dealer/player would have got the next/previous hand. Personally I've always hoped the shuffling machine has broken the deck into 3-card hands, but the choice of who gets what is dependent on a timer, and since the time was different (due to player changing-up etc.) the hands given were. At least that's what I say if asked.

The bonus bet on Texas Hold'em is an 8.5 per cent disadvantage. Keep track of the hands played and you will quickly see what a bad wager itis.

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True but the pay table on Texas Hold'em is normally the same, not like UTH. The only difference normally is the 1000 to one payout on aces, which makes almost no difference because it almost never happens.

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