A Potentially Profitable Endeavor?

Several casinos I know of offer UTH, and I find that I enjoy it quite a bit. While I rarely stray from BJ, the relatively low house edge, the social factor and the ability to get points at a decent rate make the game a bit more appealing to me. I was wondering how a bonus would affect the HE. The way the bonus works is this: If a player bets $2 on the trips, ante and blind spots he is eligible for a $25 one time bonus if he receives a full house or better. If the jackpot pool is large enough, this bonus is changed from a one time bonus to unlimited. Is it worth playing trips (assume pay table 4 from the wizard of odds site) to have a shot at the bonus?

Thank ya kindly.

If I am reading this right, the Trips bet pays an extra 25 if you bet 2 and get a full house or better.

In that case, I get a player edge of +28.76% on the Trips bet.

Question: what do you mean by "bet 2 on the blind spots"? Does it mean that you have to check twice, and then bet 2? That's going to affect the overall edge, especially as it's going to affect the strategy on playing vs. folding on the third blind bet.

Quote: ThatDonGuy

If I am reading this right, the Trips bet pays an extra 25 if you bet 2 and get a full house or better.

In that case, I get a player edge of +28.76% on the Trips bet.

Question: what do you mean by "bet 2 on the blind spots"? Does it mean that you have to check twice, and then bet 2? That's going to affect the overall edge, especially as it's going to affect the strategy on playing vs. folding on the third blind bet.

Ah, my apologies for the poor phrasing! A person must bet at least two units on trips, the ante and blind. There are no required changes to playing strategy. Just a minimum of $2 bet on each of the three spots.

You don't have to be a genius to figure out that's an enormous player advantage. Are you sure the casino is offering that bonus? How often do they pay off the $25? A nice way to kill some time and gamble at an advantage if you are already at the casino. If you stay long enough you are practically guaranteed to make money.

My apologies on the slow response. Yes, I'm positive. I was hesitant to assume that they offered anything positive expectation, because it isn't exactly a goldmine as far as other AP opportunities go. That makes sense, and I had a suspicion but wanted to know before making any assumptions. It varies by the day, but if they have a certain amount of money available the bonuses are unlimited. Under that, they offer the bonus as a one time opportunity. Maybe I'll start playing a little less BJ and a little more UTH? Thank you!

Quote: Minty

Ah, my apologies for the poor phrasing! A person must bet at least two units on trips, the ante and blind. There are no required changes to playing strategy. Just a minimum of $2 bet on each of the three spots.

Do you mean this place offers a 1$-min UTH game, and to qualify, you have to bet two units, or 2$, on each spot? Or you have to bet two units, which at the lowest UTH I've seen, would mean a 10$ bet on each spot.

A 25$ bonus on a 2$ UTH game is big; a 25$ bonus on a 10$ game... not as impressive.

Quote: Venthus

Do you mean this place offers a 1$-min UTH game, and to qualify, you have to bet two units, or 2$, on each spot? Or you have to bet two units, which at the lowest UTH I've seen, would mean a 10$ bet on each spot.

A 25$ bonus on a 2$ UTH game is big; a 25$ bonus on a 10$ game... not as impressive.

Valid point. Your first question is the one that fits the situation. Not bad!

The bonus is nice, but I'm wondering how much the 50 cent rake per hand cuts into the profit. Even if it lowers the edge to 0%, I feel that a breakeven game with comps is worth playing. If I'm betting $6 total, the effect is -.083% because the 50 cents is 1/12 of the total right? Or am I mistaken?