High Card Flush

Quote: deanandmaria

It was unbelievable. Oddly enough, Planet Hollywood did not generate a W2G for their winner, but M Resort stated that since this was both a 300:1 win and over $600, it met the requirement and they shut the table down until the paperwork was completed.

Nice hit! The M is correct and Planet Hollywood cut that other guy a significant break. But if I was the game designer I would make the 7 card flush pay 250:1 or even 299:1 to avoid this.

Quote: Zcore13

You could make money buying at the low and selling a few days later.

Tough to make money in a few days with the bid/ask spread of 15% of your purchase price. Right now the "Ask" is $0.278 and the "Bid" is $0.235. It will be best to buy shares and speculate on them for a few years.

If High Card Flush is a hit and Galaxy continues to whack down the debt through positive operating cash flow, you should make some money. The boat seems to be turning quite nicely at Galaxy, but the stock is a long term play on the belief in HCF or other new games becoming big additions to their Premium Table Game stable.

High Card Flush will definitely make them some money but the Bonus Jackpot System has the biggest potential upside. If you see press releases of that being accepted in new casinos, buy quickly!

ZCore13

Quote: Zcore13

High Card Flush will definitely make them some money but the Bonus Jackpot System has the biggest potential upside. If you see press releases of that being accepted in new casinos, buy quickly!

ZCore13

You will see this fairly soon!

I need to get my arms around the new BJS system.....on the to do list for G2E in September. I am a bit naïve on its capabilities/competitiveness but a quick learner :-)!

Quote: Paradigm

I need to get my arms around the new BJS system.....on the to do list for G2E in September. I am a bit naïve on its capabilities/competitiveness but a quick learner :-)!

Good product. A link to Galaxy's short blurb on it is here.
As a progressive system, it's very easy to deal, and has perhaps the least amount of dealing overhead for the quickest game pace. It also has a full-featured management reporting system to monitor bet patronage and performance.

Quote: Zcore13

High Card Flush will definitely make them some money but the Bonus Jackpot System has the biggest potential upside. If you see press releases of that being accepted in new casinos, buy quickly!

ZCore13

Is there a Jackpot Progressive for HCF? Is Bonus Jackpot System connected to HCF?

Quote: UCivan

Is there a Jackpot Progressive for HCF? Is Bonus Jackpot System connected to HCF?

It's coming... :)

Not sure if anybody cares about this, but the HCF installation at 4 Queens on Fremont has the straight flush sidebet with the same payable.

Incidentally, I hit a five card SF with 2$ for the dealer, and none for myself. (Dealer requested it there, instead of on ante.)

High Card Flush went live today at my Casino. First installation in the State. We adjusted the paytable to accommodate our huge base of regular customers, giving back more on the low end and taking away from the top prize. Full table all day today...



ZCore13

Quote: Zcore13

High Card Flush went live today at my Casino. First installation in the State. We adjusted the paytable to accommodate our huge base of regular customers, giving back more on the low end and taking away from the top prize. Full table all day today...



ZCore13

That's great to hear, ZCore! Hope it does really well for you there.

I played HCF at Planet Hollywood while waiting on some folks. Shockingly fun. It was simple, not too fast, and not too high a HE.

ZCore is a smart one!

I was at a casino in WA that recently installed HCF. 10:30PM on a Thursday night....table was full of 4 Ladies and 2 Gentleman all in the late 60's/early 70's.....I bet none of them play UTH or any of the other poker derivatives. But there they were, able to pick out cards of the same suit and make a play bet.

Game is as simple as 3 Card Poker....but you get to squeeze 7 cards to see what your hand it....and an 8000-1 side bet pay is possible (or lower as ZCore adjusted it).....and is holding great from what I understand.

HCF is going to be big!!

Quote: Paradigm

ZCore is a smart one!

I was at a casino in WA that recently installed HCF. 10:30PM on a Thursday night....table was full of 4 Ladies and 2 Gentleman all in the late 60's/early 70's.....I bet none of them play UTH or any of the other poker derivatives. But there they were, able to pick out cards of the same suit and make a play bet.

Game is as simple as 3 Card Poker....but you get to squeeze 7 cards to see what your hand it....and an 8000-1 side bet pay is possible (or lower as ZCore adjusted it).....and is holding great from what I understand.

HCF is going to be big!!

That is actually one of the biggest draws of the game. You don't have to know poker to play it. We had female players playing today that had never played a table game before. Just sort your cards into flushes (suits) and play. For such a basic premise, it's actually very good game.


ZCore13

It is gaining some momentum: High Card Flush Article

Quote: Paradigm

It is gaining some momentum: High Card Flush Article

Galaxy Gaming certainly knows about marketing.

Agreed and this is a pure marketing article.

But I have been seeing more installs where I frequent and talked to more operators that are interested in seriously looking at the game for a future install.

As the article indicates, it is a game that you can play even if you don't know much about poker. And it has an 8000-1 potential pay side bet (albeit with a 13%+HE, but who looks at that).

This is Galaxy's best premium game offering to date, hands down (I consider Emperor's Challenge a side bet).

Quote: Paradigm

This is Galaxy's best premium game offering to date, hands down (I consider Emperor's Challenge a side bet).

I understand the developer got 20% royalty. Based upon your opinion in the other thread, this number could be a bit lower than expected.

If that is the figure, I might have expected a bit more, maybe 25%. Although it would also depend on cash payment received upon signing and the article does say Galaxy bought the game (read: IP).

The story I still don't understand and would have given me cause for concern is I think the developer had one installation down in Laughlin that had been running for 18 months or so. He (I think it was a he) was not able to parlay that into other installations in Nevada. That may have created some pause for Galaxy when determining what deal was a good one for them. It certainly would have for me.....is he just not trying to get more installs and is the one install just a fluke with that casinos particular crowd?

I think Galaxy also added or improved some of the side bets in the game and that certainly adds value separately from the developer.

Any deal is not exact science and frankly comes down to what a willing buyer and willing seller are ready to accept. Perhaps the developer could have received a better deal but was in a position where he felt he couldn't push the game any farther. Perhaps Galaxy simply wouldn't pay more than that deal and it was a take it of leave it as no one else was interested at the time. Who knows. 20% and a decent up front cash payment isn't a bad deal when you have only one install that is working. What the install did was get you in front of Galaxy and they were forced to take a harder look at the game vs. one that has never been in anywhere.

If it were me, I would have tried to grow the game from one install to three installs to five installs before looking to make a deal particularly with the first table proving the concept at least works in that location. New games have momentum if they are working in multiple locations. It takes some of the fear from an operator that the game is working in other casinos, I like the game, it should work in mine. Then if it doesn't work for some reason, it is an easy fall back position to say they just couldn't see it not working in their location when it was working at these other five places.

If you can give the operator that kind of comfort/fall back position on a failure.....I feel they are much more likely to put in a game that they simply like personally. It has a track record, I like it, I want to put it in....that is much easier than, I like it, I want to put it in, but no one has ever tested this game before. That is when your GM says "you want to put what on the floor?". And even if you convince him/her, now you have a lot riding on the success of the game at your location.....you can't make a lot of those mistakes and stick around :-)

Quote: Paradigm

If that is the figure, I might have expected a bit more, maybe 25%. Although it would also depend on cash payment received upon signing and the article does say Galaxy bought the game (read: IP).

The story I still don't understand and would have given me cause for concern is I think the developer had one installation down in Laughlin that had been running for 18 months or so. He (I think it was a he) was not able to parlay that into other installations in Nevada. That may have created some pause for Galaxy when determining what deal was a good one for them. It certainly would have for me.....is he just not trying to get more installs and is the one install just a fluke with that casinos particular crowd?

I think Galaxy also added or improved some of the side bets in the game and that certainly adds value separately from the developer.

Any deal is not exact science and frankly comes down to what a willing buyer and willing seller are ready to accept. Perhaps the developer could have received a better deal but was in a position where he felt he couldn't push the game any farther. Perhaps Galaxy simply wouldn't pay more than that deal and it was a take it of leave it as no one else was interested at the time. Who knows. 20% and a decent up front cash payment isn't a bad deal when you have only one install that is working. What the install did was get you in front of Galaxy and they were forced to take a harder look at the game vs. one that has never been in anywhere.

If it were me, I would have tried to grow the game from one install to three installs to five installs before looking to make a deal particularly with the first table proving the concept at least works in that location. New games have momentum if they are working in multiple locations. It takes some of the fear from an operator that the game is working in other casinos, I like the game, it should work in mine. Then if it doesn't work for some reason, it is an easy fall back position to say they just couldn't see it not working in their location when it was working at these other five places.

If you can give the operator that kind of comfort/fall back position on a failure.....I feel they are much more likely to put in a game that they simply like personally. It has a track record, I like it, I want to put it in....that is much easier than, I like it, I want to put it in, but no one has ever tested this game before. That is when your GM says "you want to put what on the floor?". And even if you convince him/her, now you have a lot riding on the success of the game at your location.....you can't make a lot of those mistakes and stick around :-)

I don't think the game was there for 18 months. Maybe 12 months if I had to guess. It was at Harrah's Laughlin. Also, both the flush and straight flush side bets were in play prior to Galaxy acquiring it. Galaxy has changed around the layout, but not the game itself.

ZCore13

Thanks Z for those corrections.....I still am curious as to why an install that was working for 6 mos of more couldn't have been turned in to more installs.

Did I get any of the comments about your decision as a DTG correct regarding new games with some installs vs. a brand new game?

In general I think you are right because many DTG's don't put in the effort and don't have the skills needed to determine if a game would be good or not. So their standard answer is "show me some installs". It's the easy way out.

I want to bring a great game to my customers and I don't care if it's done . I'm willing to put in the time to see it, play it, review it, challenge it and lost while playing it. It's all part of the process.

So, yes, in general having the game on the floor in multiple locations will get you in to a lot more places, but there are definitely others out there like me that will put it on the floor if it's good.

ZCore13

Quote: Zcore13

In general I think you are right because many DTG's don't put in the effort and don't have the skills needed to determine if a game would be good or not. So their standard answer is "show me some installs". It's the easy way out.

I want to bring a great game to my customers and I don't care if it's done . I'm willing to put in the time to see it, play it, review it, challenge it and lost while playing it. It's all part of the process.

So, yes, in general having the game on the floor in multiple locations will get you in to a lot more places, but there are definitely others out there like me that will put it on the floor if it's good.

ZCore13

I wish more DTG's are like you. I recall you spoke highly of "Arizona Stud" in the Raving's show last year. Will your casino have it soon, after all it's "Arizona"?

Quote: RoyalBJ

I wish more DTG's are like you. I recall you spoke highly of "Arizona Stud" in the Raving's show last year. Will your casino have it soon, after all it's "Arizona"?

Yes, I really liked the new and improved Arizona Stud. The problem is, where I work now, we only have 10 tables in the Pit. There are a lot of good games out there that I would put in my Pit. Games that I think are more fun than the standard Three Card Poker and Let it Ride choices, especially if I had 20, 30 or 40 tables.

Once my boys are settled into their own permanent lives I'll consider going to a larger Casino, but for now I work with what I have and enjoy it a lot.


ZCore13

Quote: Zcore13

Yes, I really liked the new and improved Arizona Stud. The problem is, where I work now, we only have 10 tables in the Pit. There are a lot of good games out there that I would put in my Pit. Games that I think are more fun than the standard Three Card Poker and Let it Ride choices, especially if I had 20, 30 or 40 tables.

Once my boys are settled into their own permanent lives I'll consider going to a larger Casino, but for now I work with what I have and enjoy it a lot.


ZCore13

ZCore,

You definitely need, say, 2 more tables; one for Arizona Stud, one for One for the Money. Make that 4, and get Lucky Stiff and Switch as well. I know some people who would come down and help rearrange the furniture... ;)

Quote: beachbumbabs

ZCore,

You definitely need, say, 2 more tables; one for Arizona Stud, one for One for the Money. Make that 4, and get Lucky Stiff and Switch as well. I know some people who would come down and help rearrange the furniture... ;)

LOL I'd love to. Maybe after another good year like last year again this year and I can get some expansion going. :) I'd love to jump to 14 tables, but would be happy with 12 to start...


ZCore13

Quote: Zcore13

I don't think the game was there for 18 months. Maybe 12 months if I had to guess. It was at Harrah's Laughlin. Also, both the flush and straight flush side bets were in play prior to Galaxy acquiring it. Galaxy has changed around the layout, but not the game itself.

This is true.
There was nothing wrong with the base game design: concept, the qualifier, and the procedures were all very fine. We (Galaxy) added a 7-card progressive option, and a few additional pay tables, that's basically it. The game simply works, and was good from the get-go.

Of course there is that pesky need to get approved/licensed in AZ issue :).....well at least for those of us not signed up with Galaxy/SHFL

Was getting crushed in the pits at PHo and decided to give this game a try. Got super lucky (twice) and should quit the game forever, because I'll never be up as much as I am right now. Played two sessions, first one hit a 6-card flush, second a 6-card flush that contained a 4-card SF. (Only betting 5-5-10, but whatever :-) ) I do like when the dealer picks up your one-card discard and does a double-take

Very nice. You'd have probably done even a little better at my place. 2-1 payout on 4 card flush instead of 1-1 and 8-1 on 3 card straight flush instead of 7-1.

Fun game when you're hitting.


ZCore13

Quote: Zcore13

High Card Flush went live today at my Casino. First installation in the State. We adjusted the paytable to accommodate our huge base of regular customers, giving back more on the low end and taking away from the top prize. Full table all day today...



ZCore13

Nice! Hope it stays that way.

They got it up at Hollywood St. Louis next to the craps table, I go there when I get under 20 because it's an ante/play game for 5 bucks. Overall though, not a fan. It doesn't help that they all look at me like I'm crazy because I don't do the side bets.

Quote: Zer0

They got it up at Hollywood St. Louis next to the craps table, I go there when I get under 20 because it's an ante/play game for 5 bucks. Overall though, not a fan. It doesn't help that they all look at me like I'm crazy because I don't do the side bets.

Does hollywood let you bet them for as little as a dollar? That's what I did in KC when I tried it. But even at a 1/5th ratio, those side bets drive up the variance a lot.

Quote: tringlomane

Does hollywood let you bet them for as little as a dollar? That's what I did in KC when I tried it. But even at a 1/5th ratio, those side bets drive up the variance a lot.

Pretty sure they have to be in increments of 5, I'll check next time though, if you can do dollars I might go for it but either way this is not my go-to game. Craps, Ultimate Hold 'em and Lunar Poker are infinitely more fun in my opinion.

High Card Flush went live Friday at Harrah's in AC, and by Sunday the dealers and pit bosses at Borgata were talking about it. Both Sunday and Monday nights the table was packed solid, with players waiting behind for open seats. Play was smooth, players were making all the wrong bets and the house was absolutely raking, but players were digging into their pockets for re-buys. The game is addicting. I think players like getting 7 cards at once. I waited around a while but never got near the table.

Having played it online, I think this game is going to get traction and stick around a while.

Quote: Mosca

High Card Flush went live Friday at Harrah's in AC, and by Sunday the dealers and pit bosses at Borgata were talking about it. Both Sunday and Monday nights the table was packed solid, with players waiting behind for open seats. Play was smooth, players were making all the wrong bets and the house was absolutely raking, but players were digging into their pockets for re-buys. The game is addicting. I think players like getting 7 cards at once. I waited around a while but never got near the table.

Having played it online, I think this game is going to get traction and stick around a while.

No doubt. It's got over 100 installs now. Players can't really misplay the game, so optimal and what people really get will be the same. It's a very good game. You'll see people playing it that would normally never play table games.


ZCore13

Quote: Zcore13

No doubt. It's got over 100 installs now. Players can't really misplay the game, so optimal and what people really get will be the same. It's a very good game. You'll see people playing it that would normally never play table games.


ZCore13

Super fun game! I hit a six card straight flush at PH in January for $5500. A guy sat to my right and got a 5 card flush a couple hands later (would have been my hand! lol). Even without the bonus, I like the gameplay, and if you want you can play it with really reasonable house edge. Fun game. I'm taking my wife next trip, looking forward to teaching it to her.

I do have a question I haven't seen addressed: it is possible to get TWO straight flushes, either two 3 card or a 4 card and a 3 card. If you get these, do you get paid on both of them?

Quote: Mosca

I do have a question I haven't seen addressed: it is possible to get TWO straight flushes, either two 3 card or a 4 card and a 3 card. If you get these, do you get paid on both of them?

No. Only the highest paid straight flush you have. Although if you have a 4 card flush and a 3 card straight flush you could get paid for the 3 card straight flush even though you are discarding it.

ZCore13

Quote: Zcore13

No. Only the highest paid straight flush you have. Although if you have a 4 card flush and a 3 card straight flush you could get paid for the 3 card straight flush even though you are discarding it.

ZCore13

Which is awesome, but it's not super obvious when you sit down to play that you can hold onto it by putting it upside down under the bonus bet. Probably took me 2 hours of playing it at PH before someone finally told me that.

I think this would be great for new dealers to help players with actively to grow the popularity.

Quote: bluefire

Which is awesome, but it's not super obvious when you sit down to play that you can hold onto it by putting it upside down under the bonus bet. Probably took me 2 hours of playing it at PH before someone finally told me that.

I think this would be great for new dealers to help players with actively to grow the popularity.

They should. Others players should as well. Its a nice feature of the game. As well as getting paid for a low 3 card straight flush and not being forced to play it against the dealer.

Regarding the side bets, one thing that is really starting to tick me off is players confusing payouts with odds. At Mississippi, one guy kept saying after every hand that the 3 Card bonus bet was the best bet on the table. While watching High Card Flush, another watcher was telling me that the Straight Flush side bet was where all the money was. Both pointed to the pay table and said, "Because of the odds." I've played carnival games long enough to know that you keep your mouth shut and talk about your dog, or kids, or the weather. But that is really starting to bug me.

Quote: Mosca

Regarding the side bets, one thing that is really starting to tick me off is players confusing payouts with odds. At Mississippi, one guy kept saying after every hand that the 3 Card bonus bet was the best bet on the table. While watching High Card Flush, another watcher was telling me that the Straight Flush side bet was where all the money was. Both pointed to the pay table and said, "Because of the odds." I've played carnival games long enough to know that you keep your mouth shut and talk about your dog, or kids, or the weather. But that is really starting to bug me.

This is true at any table game with a payscale. That's how these games are able to gain traction like they do.

I often tell players regarding Pai Gow Poker or any similar game with a high-house-advantage payscale, "This game is the chocolate cake of gambling. You don't do it because it's good for you, you do it because you like it."

If you play Pai Gow Tiles at the Rio, you can be dealt to by the inventor of this game. I'm ashamed to admit I forgot his name. Really nice guy. I wonder if he's still working there after 100 installs . . .

Game is at Bally's A.C. too.

Quote: teddys

If you play Pai Gow Tiles at the Rio, you can be dealt to by the inventor of this game. I'm ashamed to admit I forgot his name. Really nice guy. I wonder if he's still working there after 100 installs . . .

Game is at Bally's A.C. too.

Mr. Mike Pertgen, if I'm not mistaken.

I played this game recently at both Bally's and Harrah's AC. Overall an enjoyable game for $5 min, and if you like squeezing cards, you'll get a lot of excitement from this game.

If you play Badugi/Badeucy/Badacey, you'll like this game as well.

Quote: Zcore13

No. Only the highest paid straight flush you have. Although if you have a 4 card flush and a 3 card straight flush you could get paid for the 3 card straight flush even though you are discarding it.

ZCore13

Great game. I play it a lot at the Casino Lac Leamy in Gatineau, PQ. I've been playing for a few weeks and have gotten 3 six card flushes (no straights).

Oddly enough, they don't seem to allow for 2 flushes to be played. On a number of occasions, I've had a small straight flush (3, 4, 5) as well as a higher regular flush (A, K, 6) which of course was a different suit than the small SF. They told me I had to play one or the other - so in each case, I played the small SF as it was guaranteed a payout.

Does that seem right? Does the casino reserve the right to change the rules? I'm guessing they do. Either that or the dealer or pit boss really didn't know the answer so they might have guessed. I think it might have been the latter because they didn't seem really confident on their answer.

Quote: sherman

Great game. I play it a lot at the Casino Lac Leamy in Gatineau, PQ. I've been playing for a few weeks and have gotten 3 six card flushes (no straights).

Oddly enough, they don't seem to allow for 2 flushes to be played. On a number of occasions, I've had a small straight flush (3, 4, 5) as well as a higher regular flush (A, K, 6) which of course was a different suit than the small SF. They told me I had to play one or the other - so in each case, I played the small SF as it was guaranteed a payout.

Does that seem right? Does the casino reserve the right to change the rules? I'm guessing they do. Either that or the dealer or pit boss really didn't know the answer so they might have guessed. I think it might have been the latter because they didn't seem really confident on their answer.

They can have house rules that differ from the standard rules suggested by the distributor. My guess would be that they are just not allowing it to be played correctly and they don't really know it.

I would ask them to see the rules or ask them to review them. They can also ask their rep if there is no mention of it in their rules.


ZCore13

Thanks very much for the quick reply. I think you're right about them not allowing it to be played correctly. I'll definitely talk to them about it the next time I'm there. Thanks again

In order to keep the rules simple, playing only ONE flush is allowed. The player makes the decision. Selecting the sure win is always the good strategy.

Quote: UCivan

In order to keep the rules simple, playing only ONE flush is allowed. The player makes the decision. Selecting the sure win is always the decision.

A player should not be forced to make an additional bet to play against the house with a terrible hand (2 3 4 of spades) to be able to collect their straight flush bonus.

A player should also not be forced to play a lower ranking flush against the house while discarding a higher one, basically giving away their ante/raise wager to collect the straight flush side bet.

That is a bush league way of treating a player.

ZCore13