New Games I've Seen

Quote: gordonm888

Quote: harris

"High Roller Hold'Em" by Galaxy Gaming seems to be being played at a casino in Illinois. You can read more about it here.
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I like this game except that it will be expensive to play (hence the high-roller term in its title) and arriving at a basic strategy will not be quick or easy - I think the game this most resembles is Casino Hold'em because your final wager is either Fold or BET 2x -5x after you have two hole cards and have seen three (of five) common cards. Casino Hold'em has always been difficult to analyze and summarize a strategy for. This game also has some similarities to UTH and Texas Hold'em Bonus; UTH strategy has been well analyzed but its strategy was a major outstanding unknown for some while when the game came out.

HR Holdem

First of all, this is a Texas Holdem variant against a dealer with two unknown random cards and dealer's hand does not have to qualify in any way. This allows us to use standard online holdem calculators to analyze win percentage for various starting hands and post-flop situations in which hole cards and three community cards are known.

The Dealer's advantage is that player must first make equal wagers on the Ante spot and the Bonus spot. These two wagers are lost whenever dealer wins and they only PUSH when Player ties or wins with a hand that is less than a straight. The Ante wager pays 1 with a winning hand of straight or better; the Bonus wager pays 1 with a winning hand of straight or flush, pays 2 with a winning Boat and higher values for 4oak, SFlush and Royal Flush according to a paytable. So these two opening bets create an enormous hole in EV for the player to dig out of.

Of course, the player has advantages. He can make decisions on two wagers:
a) a pre-flop wager where he can FOLD or BET 1X - 3X. This sounds similar to UTH except you cannot check in HRHoldem and once you have BET 1x to 3x you are not done; you are forced to make another decision.
b) there is a post-flop decision in which Player must either FOLD or Bet 2x -5x. If you've had a great flop you cash in with a 5x bet (still realizing that anything can happen). If you 've missed the flop you must decide between FOLDING with at least 3 units already wagered, or BETTING 2 units more on a -EV hand.

PRE-FLOP Decision. HRH will be different that UTH. IN HRH the 1X BET is attractive because it allows you to cheaply buy information on which to possibly bet 5X postflop but alternately on how to make a '2x or fold' postflop decision. Betting 3X preflop may price you out of folding your Post-flop hand.

POST-FLOP Decision: there are still two community cards to be seen and two unknown cards in the dealer's hand, but if your Expected Win Percentage is > 50% you should slam down 5 units and cross your fingers and hope you win. To understand the post flop decision I would probably start by looking at Casino Hold'em strategy as that is for the same situation as the HRH POST-Flop decision (except that in Casino Hold-em the dealer must qualify with a pair of 4s.}

I think I would choose to do a lot of math before playing this game. Making accurate pre-flop and (especially) post-flop decisions are the entire ballgame in HRH.

Collusion comments

I don't know the HRH House Edge and haven't yet done any math. So, I don't really know anything. However, I do count 4 "borderlines" in strategy space.
- Post flop BET 2x or BET 5x
- Post flop: FOLD or BET 2x
- Pre flop: Bet 1x or Bet 3x
- Pre flop: FOLD or Bet 1x

That's four different sets of card combinations that can be close calls between two options. And HRH decisions involve bet sizes that differ by multiple units. These factors could make additional information gained by casual collusion more impactful.
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Thanks Gordon. I think this game will be great for holecarding

Quote: TigerWu

Honestly hope this one catches on. Definitely enjoyed it more than a lot of other carnival games.
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I called the casino and they confirmed that Hi-Lo Mojo is still being played, two-and-a-half months later. I think that's good news for the inventor.

A long time ago I mentioned Run'Em Twice: L&W's clone of Criss Cross Poker. I said it was identical to Criss Cross Poker but it has a new side bet with a ~4% house edge called Ultimate Pairs. I will analyze it later.

Lazy Joker Poker was sent to me by an awesome forum member this morning. I think it’s like DJ Wild but with less possible mistakes since only the joker is Wild : I imagine that deuces being wild forces dealers to think longer or make more mistakes.
I think there is a lot of potential for new games with jokers

I doubt this will be played in casinos any time soon but I wanted to share this website that sent to me by one of the creators via Reddit today.

It's a traditional Jewish game somewhat like blackjack but with a 24-card deck of cards with the numbers 1-12. Hope you like it, this is much better designed than my own website lol

Quote: harris

Lazy Joker Poker was sent to me by an awesome forum member this morning.

The joker in the video looks very different, but cool, I imagine they got it custom-made to demonstrate this game. Would this card be allowed in a real casino? Is there regulation on what the joker has to look like? Can the background color of the card be any color?

Thanks :)

I don't know about regulatory, but from a practical sense there would be issues. This looks custom made and not supplied by a major supplier. It also poses problems from a game protection standpoint, there would be concerns of hole carding being easier.

Quote: zbrownson

This looks custom made and not supplied by a major supplier. It also poses problems from a game protection standpoint, there would be concerns of hole carding being easier.link to original post

It's custom-made but I think it's supplied by a large company: Bee (based on the Ace of Spades visible in the video). I agree that it would make hole-carding much easier. Still I wonder if they could have the joker card depict a DJ (music person) with a jester hat on for the game DJ Wild for example, without changing the background-color of the card.

Quote: harris

Is there regulation on what the joker has to look like?link to original post

Usually a Joker has a picture of a jester on it, with the word "JOKER" on the corner where the suit should be.
Yesterday, I saw a video from Canterbury Park where the "joker" just had an image of a horse on it, and there was a black star where the suit is usually indicated. I guess there is essentially no limit to how different jokers can be, but I assume that other cards are required to show their rank (with a letter) and suit (with a symbol).

I wonder if it would be legal to give the queens mustaches and the kings dresses in order to subvert gender norms. Which I'm sure is a really high priority for Las Vegas' casino corporations.

Gmar ħatima tova

Quote: harris

Quote: harris

Is there regulation on what the joker has to look like?link to original post

Usually a Joker has a picture of a jester on it, with the word "JOKER" on the corner where the suit should be.
Yesterday, I saw a video from Canterbury Park where the "joker" just had an image of a horse on it, and there was a black star where the suit is usually indicated. I guess there is essentially no limit to how different jokers can be, but I assume that other cards are required to show their rank (with a letter) and suit (with a symbol).

I wonder if it would be legal to give the queens mustaches and the kings dresses in order to subvert gender norms. Which I'm sure is a really high priority for Las Vegas' casino corporations.

Gmar ħatima tova
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For some reason, I thought the star index for the joker was Bee specific. I don't have any Gemaco/Paulson or Angels handy to check right now.

The cancelled casino deck seems to have two jesters, where the non-casino (uncancelled) deck has one jester and one guarantee - the guarantee lacking an index. That might be a quirk for the "stinger" back decks; I didn't dig through my pile to find a casino branded deck.

I believe Caesars used to (and may still) use Roman nobility in togas for their court art. When you're ordering custom printed decks, you can get just about whatever you want.

I've just learned about another game that's going to appear at G2E - I don't have information other than the name; I don't believe it's related to any existing table game.

Just eight days before I'll be in Las Vegas :) I will ask card manufacturers at the conference whether there are special rules regarding the appearance of suits, ranks, or jokers.

TCSJohnHuxley is going to be showing a game at G2E. It’s like 3 dice duel / 3 dice Yahtzee but apparently with some influence from Cee-Lo.

This seems like TCSJohnHuxley’s most promising game yet… I don’t think any of their games are played in casinos but I could see this one making it. 50 Cent, the rapper, apparently is involved in this game.

In the article he says that everyone in New York knows the word “headcrack”. Never heard this before but I’ll ask some other people here.

Additionally I saw another independent inventor will be there with a game (not sure what it’s about). The new game I referenced in the previous post will be based on Bourré.

I’m feeling optimistic that this G2E could even have more games than last one!

I saw 9 new games at G2E

Spread Bet Roulette
Parlay Poker
Dragon Turtle Baccarat
Headcrack
Mini Ultimate Texas Hold'Em
Free Raise Hold'Em
3 Dice Football (new version)
Lazy Joker Poker
Bourré Noir

There is a tenth game that is there but has not yet been displayed to my knowledge, called Pocket Rockets Hold'Em.

There are a few new side bets too.

I have not played most of the games enough (or at all) but I will note the following observations.

Spread Bet Roulette is just roulette with some added side bets that are 1/2 based on a random number generator and 1/2 based on the spin's actual result. I'm not a fan of incorporating random number generation into table games (just my personal opinion) but I think these side bets are pretty good and interesting.

Parlay Poker is brought by an industry newcomer who recently posted in this forum. It's not really like any other game - which the inventor admits could be a strength or a weakness, time will tell. To give some constructive feedback that might help others, I think there are too many bets (for a new game) which could overwhelm new players.

Dragon Turtle Baccarat is just another copy of Panda 8 and I didn't look closely enough to see if any side bets were original. I don't have much to say about it but I'll investigate the side bets tomorrow.

Headcrack was really crowded the whole time. Sadly I did not get to meet 50 Cent nor did I really get a chance to learn how to play except from a pamphlet that was there. It is like Cee-Lo... which itself is like Craps with 3 dice. The rules seem a little too complicated and the house edge on side bets is a bit high. Still - I really like the concept and think that having a Cee-Lo-based game is a good idea. It plays a bit like the Cee-Lo game on my website except you can bet on the banker (pays 9:10) and 5-5-6 is an automatic win for some reason (never heard of this Cee-Lo rules but there are many variants).

Mini UTH is destined to become popular and spread, I only played one hand and it was awesome. It will get more placements soon so look out for it. Probably my favorite game that I played so far at G2E.

Free Raise Hold'Em I didn't get to play but it looks like UTH meets Free Bet blackjack. Didn't get to play it but I really like the idea - you can bet x3 or even x6 for free - given a good starting hand. I'll have more to say after trying it (hopefully tomorrow).

3 Dice Football was really complicated but honestly I liked it! The side bets are really complicated at a first glance but after playing a little I understood most of them. I'm unsure if this game will ever be in casinos due to the fact that it requires more explanation than Craps but I hope that it gets out there.

Lazy Joker Poker - I apologize to the inventor Mr. Booth for writing online that the game might be "like DJ Wild" when it is not like that. There are a few similarities in how you have to bet a blind, there is a joker, and that you can bet x2 after receiving your cards, but that's it - the game significantly diverges otherwise. It's also more interesting and I believe there is more strategy too though I haven't even tried to figure that out. There is a really interesting mechanic that seems built into the shuffler where only one player gets a joker and the dealer never gets a joker. I wonder how players will react.

Bourré Noir - I played this game a couple times and it seems like it's interesting with lots of strategy. I'm unfamiliar with the original game Bourré (Boo-Ray) but it seems like this game departs a bit from the original which makes it easy to understand for people who have never played the original game like me. There is another really interesting mechanic - if you win the final hand of the game, you get to spin a bonus wheel! From what I understand, bonus wheels connected to screens have only ever been associated with side bets, never a main game.

Overall I am very pleased that people are continuing to innovate in the table games space, and I feel fortunate to now have met basically all of the active table games inventors in the past year-and-a-half in the gambling scene. :)

Additionally, I plan on making the house edges, rules, and strategies public for these games and all future games =)

Buenas noches

So glad to see you in your "happy place". How unexpected is it that this year's conference has an unusually high number of new table games?

Quote: gordonm888

So glad to see you in your "happy place". How unexpected is it that this year's conference has an unusually high number of new table games?
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Not very unexpected for me, I thought there would be around this many, and I think this is comparable to last year

Quote: zbrownson

I don't know about regulatory, but from a practical sense there would be issues. This looks custom made and not supplied by a major supplier. It also poses problems from a game protection standpoint, there would be concerns of hole carding being easier.
link to original post

To follow up, L&W will give these custom decks to any casino that buys this game. Additionally there is no hole carding issue, because in this game it's already known who has the joker.

The card manufacturers I talked to said that strictness regarding card appearance varies by jurisdiction.

Let me give some additional thoughts and also discuss the strategy a bit.

Spread Bet Roulette
Spread bet is not actually new, I just hadn't seen it before.

Parlay Poker
The creator is very passionate and interesting, I think he did a great job considering this is his first game, but to be honest I think the existing game needs a little revision and simplification before a casino accepts it. I do believe that a game with a roulette-type table layout made of cards definitely has some potential but I am not sure exactly how to go about that.

Dragon Turtle Baccarat
This game does have an interesting progressive where every player gets their own card and makes a 5-card poker hand. There are also some original side bets: Any 8 over Any 6; Natural 9 over Any 6; and 3-Card 9 over 3-Card 6 which pay 25, 50, and 200:1 respectively. The math is very easy and I can solve this later.

Headcrack
No additional thoughts other than that I think the side bets have a little too much house edge. Also if you are the only one playing, it's a little confusing that you are rolling both the "banker" and "player" roll. If this game comes out in real life, I'll do the math.

Mini Ultimate Texas Hold'Em
Yeah definitely my favorite game that I played. The strategy is to triple down when you have a 10 or above as your first card (38.46% of the time). Not sure what the 2x strategy is but I assume you do it with a hidden pair. I think we should solve this together since it is already out and coming to more properties soon.

Free Raise Hold'Em
Got to try out this game! There are two-forms of dealer qualification which is slightly annoying to the player and dealer but I really like the game otherwise. There are silver x3 free bet tokens and golden x6 free bet tokens which are pretty cool in my opinion. I didn't get to hear anything about the strategy sadly but I will definitely look into it if this game is released.

3 Dice Football (new version)
Yeah this game definitely needs to be simplified further before actually being released. I do like the different-colored dice / movement mechanic but the layout appears too intimidating to beginners. I actually really liked playing it but just because I like something does not mean players and casino will like it. Or visa versa. For example I would never play Breakout Blackjack because it seems like playing with no strategy would not be fun for me... but I can recognize that casinos and players will love it.

Lazy Joker Poker
The kind employees at Light & Wonder told me that the strategy is probably to bet x2 with sevens or better. Going to check this later... especially if the game comes out somewhere soon (I imagine it will).

Bourré Noir
Still unsure what the strategy is but you should probably keep your best cards for the end because the average multiplier on the final spin is pretty high. It's going to be extremely hard to find the strategy of the game without knowing the exact weights of the spinning wheel. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. Hopefully the State of Nevada will put the multiplier weights in a PDF when the game is approved.

Quote: harris

There is a tenth game that is there but has not yet been displayed to my knowledge, called Pocket Rockets Hold'Em.

This game was apparently created a bit ago but is in the process of being re-formulated.

Also I saw Zach Brownson briefly presented a new game but I don't know if it's time to talk about it unless he wants me to write about it here. He is a really prolific inventor with lots of ideas.

Finally, the legendary Geoff Hall arrived at the end of the last day and showed us his new blackjack game. You might be wondering what this game is about. Well you'll be able to play it on my website very soon!

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I've done the side bet math for 50 Cent Headcrack. I'll publish the main bets very soon too.

There are two types of ways for the casino to run 50 Cent Headcrack side bets... they can either be "until a bet is resolved" or "just based on one roll". There is a 1/2 chance (108/216) of a bet being resolved on a given roll.

In the SINGLE ROLL version...

The 1-2-3, Trips, and Headcrack (4-5-6) side bets all have a 1/36 (6/216) chance of winning. They pay 30:1 [31 for 1] therefore 31/36 is the RTP for these bets - more precisely the RTP is 86.11% so the house edge is 13.89%.

The 5-5-6 bet will win 1/72 of the time, paying 60:1 [61 for 1]. Therefore 61/72 is the RTP - more precisely the RTP is 84.72% so the house edge is 15.28%.

The Cover All bet will win 7/72 of the time, paying 8:1 [9 for 1]. Therefore 63/72 is the RTP - more precisely the RTP is 87.5% so the house edge is 12.5%.

Four or Better will win 19/72 of the time. If 2:1, the RTP is 79.17% - if 5:2 it's 92.36%.

In the multi-roll version, the chance of winning is double for each side bet. calculating the odds should be easy I don't feel like writing it out right now since I have better things to do on my birthday.

I might be wrong about the last one, if I misunderstand the game. I also have the pamphlet from TCS which claims to have the average house edge for various sets of side bet tables...however I am 99.99% sure the data is wrong. I'll show why tomorrow.

Headcrack Main bets:

Tie: RTP = 1100/1296 (84.88% RTP, 15.12% house edge)
Shooter: RTP = 1264/1296 (97.53% RTP, 2.47% house edge)
Banker: RTP = 1266.6/1296 (97.73% RTP, 2.27% house edge)

So it seems like the Banker bet is the best bet but Shooter is very close.

Quote: harris

L...
Dragon Turtle Baccarat
This game does have an interesting progressive where every player gets their own card and makes a 5-card poker hand. There are also some original side bets: Any 8 over Any 6; Natural 9 over Any 6; and 3-Card 9 over 3-Card 6 which pay 25, 50, and 200:1 respectively. The math is very easy and I can solve this later....

Never fear, BURT is here! (Edit: output has been determined to be slightly off and corrected in a later post)

I get slightly different results

Any 8 Over 6: 78.211% RTP (21.789% house edge)
Natural 9 Over 6: 91.537% RTP (8.463% house edge)
3-Card 9 over 3-Card 6: 91.200% RTP (8.800% house edge)

Interesting... I wonder why we are off by a small percentage on 2/3 of the side bets

I uploaded my code here.

Any 8 over 6 already exists and the RTP on the Wizard's website aligns with mine so I am going to assume that Baccarat Universal Research Tool is not as accurate as the Baccarat Harris Research Tool unless someone proves otherwise.

The Player bet and Tie bet are off by 0.01% too btw.

Quote: harris

I get slightly different results

Any 8 Over 6: 78.211% RTP (21.789% house edge)
Natural 9 Over 6: 91.537% RTP (8.463% house edge)
3-Card 9 over 3-Card 6: 91.200% RTP (8.800% house edge)

Interesting... I wonder why we are off by a small percentage on 2/3 of the side bets

I uploaded my code here.
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I was wondering how I could have monkeyed that up, and it turns out that in my haste I only declared the variable for the last of those bets with sufficient precision to be used in a hybrid CA of this kind. Mine does it in 0.203 seconds.



Thanks for the catch! Any other discrepancies are likely due to the way I'm rounding and formatting the output.

The Mini UTH rules are now online. This game continues to grow.

I'm guessing that the 2x strategy might include some high suited inside straights like KQ or QJ.
1x strategy will be interesting... I'm guessing you should probably always fold at the end if you have a five or below and don't have a special hand. Maybe six or below.

Quote: harris

The Mini UTH rules are now online. This game continues to grow.

I'm guessing that the 2x strategy might include some high suited inside straights like KQ or QJ.
1x strategy will be interesting... I'm guessing you should probably always fold at the end if you have a five or below and don't have a special hand. Maybe six or below.
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So unlike regular UTH you have to use the card in your hand. So a suited AKQ on the board would not be a mini royal for all the players. Is that correct?

Correct

Quote: Hunterhill

Quote: harris

The Mini UTH rules are now online. This game continues to grow.

I'm guessing that the 2x strategy might include some high suited inside straights like KQ or QJ.
1x strategy will be interesting... I'm guessing you should probably always fold at the end if you have a five or below and don't have a special hand. Maybe six or below.
link to original post

So unlike regular UTH you have to use the card in your hand. So a suited AKQ on the board would not be a mini royal for all the players. Is that correct?
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Yes, that seems to be the rule. I think that makes the odds of making all the hand categories unique to this game.

It also makes this game almost a one-card game. The odds of pairing your hole card or making a straight or flush are symmetric with the dealer. But in the event of two high card hands, or a pair on the board, the higher hole card decides the winner.

What's the pre-flop strategy for making a 3x Play bet? Remember, the Play bet pays off when you win no matter whether the dealer qualifies. So, I think you make a 3X bet on 8-A. You Bet 3X on 8 because it has a better chance of making a straight then a Dealer's A,K and 2. And check on an 8 when you look at your neighbor's card and he has an undercard or an 8.

Post-Flop you usually only have a decision when your hole card is 2-8. I think you almost always check unless you have a made hand - you should bet 2X with a pair involving your hole hand, or a flush or better. Maybe you BET 2X when your hole card is an 8, and the flop has two overcards especially if one of the community cards is a 9. And bet 2X with an 8 in the hole when the flop is an over pair, i.e., 99-AA.

I want to highlight a side bet I saw at G2E, brought by a newcomer to game inventing name Brigid who has been dealing for decades. I talked to her and her sons at the convention and they were all very nice.

It's called "Sums Up" and it's a blackjack side bet where you win if the value two cards added up matches the value of the dealer's hand. For example I would win if I had a 3 and 4 in my hand while the dealer was showing a 7. There is a 5-item pay table which I don't remember off the top of my head but I can find it if anyone is interested. I think the side bet will be very easy for dealers.

While I am not going to assume that this the first ever side bet invented by a woman, I think it's good that we are finally getting some gender equality in the table games invention space. Gambling and card games are both very male-dominated spheres; I hypothesize it's because men are more into risk-taking biologically.

The gender inequality in casinos is mostly caused by social norms. I guess young women are taught to stay away from gambling and related sins.

By the way, I invented a new Pai Gow Tiles game but have no idea about how to patent it. Any information about this part?

Quote: aceside

The gender inequality in casinos is mostly caused by social norms. I guess young women are taught to stay away from gambling and related sins.

By the way, I invented a new Pai Gow Tiles game but have no idea about how to patent it. Any information about this part?
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Maybe this was true in the past, but I basically never heard anything bad about gambling as a kid - I think people stay away from it even without being told if it’s just never introduced to them by a family member or friend.

The main perceived issues growing up were fentanyl, school shootings, and sexual harassment / assault, never gambling. Maybe it’s because gambling isn’t a particularly big thing in San Francisco.

You cannot patent your Pai Gow tiles game but if you have a cool name like Panda Koi Pai Gow you can copyright that.

Quote: harris

Quote: aceside

The gender inequality in casinos is mostly caused by social norms. I guess young women are taught to stay away from gambling and related sins.

By the way, I invented a new Pai Gow Tiles game but have no idea about how to patent it. Any information about this part?
link to original post

Maybe this was true in the past, but I basically never heard anything bad about gambling as a kid - I think people stay away from it even without being told if it’s just never introduced to them by a family member or friend.

The main perceived issues growing up were fentanyl, school shootings, and sexual harassment / assault, never gambling. Maybe it’s because gambling isn’t a particularly big thing in San Francisco.

You cannot patent your Pai Gow tiles game but if you have a cool name like Panda Koi Pai Gow you can copyright that.
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Where there is a Chinatown, there is gambling! In my generation that is X the big problems were drinking, drugs, suicide. The trick was to master the first two without approaching the third. Sexual harassment was OK as long as you brought enough for everyone and none of the girls felt left out.

The lack of distaff representation at table games I believe is because some games are perceived as math and as aggression, and ladies don't like being involved in that with men. All girls at a table makes it something different, and it doesn't apply to all games. You'll see a lot of girls at a roulette wheel for example, that's not seen as mathy or competitive. And of course a lot of Chinese ladies at the baccarat table, often outnumbering men.

Actually, I’ve invented two versions of Pai Gow Tiles games, for both Americans and Europeans. I have named them as follows:

1. Texas Pai Gow Tiles;
2. Marco Polo Pai Gow.

However, I really want to patent these two games to gain a profit to compensate for the funds I have lost to casinos.

Quote: aceside

Actually, I’ve invented two versions of Pai Gow Tiles games, for both Americans and Europeans. I have named them as follows:

1. Texas Pai Gow Tiles;
2. Marco Polo Pai Gow.

However, I really want to patent these two games to gain a profit to compensate for the funds I have lost to casinos.
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Some people say that there are infinite universes in the multiverse but I don't think any universe exists in which you're going to be able to get white people that aren't members of this forum to play a pai gow tiles game.

On a more practical note, games are not patentable but I also don't think anyone will steal your games. You have to spend tens of thousands to get your game accepted by GLI and various state governments.

Quote: harris

Headcrack Main bets:

Tie: RTP = 1100/1296 (84.88% RTP, 15.12% house edge)
Shooter: RTP = 1264/1296 (97.53% RTP, 2.47% house edge)
Banker: RTP = 1266.6/1296 (97.73% RTP, 2.27% house edge)

So it seems like the Banker bet is the best bet but Shooter is very close.
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Dear everyone, I am really sorry, I misread the pamphlet, the Tie bet has a 7.41% house Edge or 92.59% RTP!
1200/1296, not 1100/1296. This bet pays 11:1, not 10:1.

Quote: harris

I've done the side bet math for 50 Cent Headcrack...
I also have the pamphlet from TCS which claims to have the average house edge for various sets of side bet tables...however I am 99.99% sure the data is wrong. I'll show why tomorrow.
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Why would the 5 to 2 payout have a higher house edge than the 2 to 1 payout?

I'm doing some intense Mini UTH research late at night

Just because you have a pair doesn't mean you should bet x1

Imagine having 2Spade and the board is 2Diamond 3Spade 3Heart

Yeah you have a pair but the dealer will have a better three card hand with that same pair.

More results coming soon...

Quote: harris

I'm doing some intense Mini UTH research late at night

Just because you have a pair doesn't mean you should bet x1

Imagine having 2Spade and the board is 2Diamond 3Spade 3Heart

Yeah you have a pair but the dealer will have a better three card hand with that same pair.

More results coming soon...
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This is a conventional situation in Texas Hold;em. Say you have a low pair in the hole, then you make two pair on the flop. If you make three pair on the turn or river and your hole cards are the lowest of the three pairs, it is said that your hand has been 'counterfeited' because your hand is now worthless.

So the player's hand you describe for Mini-UTH has been counterfeited.

I think you should bet x1 with a "6" sometimes, for example if the board shows "Ace of Diamonds" "Jack of Hearts" and "Eight of Clubs"

The dealer won't have a special opportunity to make a straight or a flush

I can say pretty confidently that you should not bet x1 with a "2" "3" or "4" in your hand unless they form a straight or flush.

I could write some code to really solve this but I'm a bit lacking in motivation right now. If Light & Wonder wants to collaborate (I know they're reading this) maybe we could find the strategy together. Going to enjoy my Columbus Day weekend first regardless.

I made a simple program to help me find the x1 strategy. If the math is correct, I think you should always bet x1 if you have a "7" or above - haven't found any counter-examples yet at least.

There are three tables but I'm not sure they will affect the final strategy (just like in Double Hook Poker)

I have the entire Mini UTH strategy results now.

Regarding the x3 strategy, I confirm that Light & Wonder's strategy of betting x3 with a "10" or better is correct!

Regarding the x2 strategy, you should always bet if you have a secret pair, or a flush/straight.
Otherwise the strategy gets a little more complex... for example if you have 7H you can x2 if 8D/JH are showing. I think having a same-suited high card in the middle or a community pair sometimes helps you.

Anyways next to the x1 strategy.
Not going to figure it all now tonight... or maybe ever.
I will say that you should not "always bet with a seven or above". There are some niche situations where you should even fold with a nine if the dealer has multiple opportunities for a flush and for a straight at the same time. You should probably only bet with a 2, 3, or 4 if you have a secret pair or flush.

Interestingly, if you have 5C with the community hand showing 6C 8D JD, the EV is the same whether you fold or play. If faced with a situation like this in real life, I would play instead of folding ;)

I do not feel like analyzing any other games that I saw at G2E until they appear at a casino in real life.

Quote: harris

A long time ago I mentioned Run'Em Twice: L&W's clone of Criss Cross Poker. I said it was identical to Criss Cross Poker but it has a new side bet with a ~4% house edge called Ultimate Pairs. I will analyze it later.
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The table is

Pair of Aces 30to1
Ace & Face (Suited) 20to1
Ace & Face (Unsuited) 10to1
Other Pair 5:1

4.52% house edge, 95.48% RTP