Rabbit Hunter now at Sunset Station

I saw that some members of the forum mentioned this game a few months ago, but I saw it at the casino for the first time here in Vegas over the weekend at Sunset Station. The following is a simple breakdown of the game I found from another website (http://discountgambling.net/2011/01/13/rabbit-hunter-stud/):

"(The Bonus bet is technically “optional”, but since it returns 136%, you should always bet an amount here equal to the Ante.) The Tens Up Bonus bet cannot be larger than the Ante Bet. The players and the dealers each receive five cards. After looking at your hand, you may either 1) fold the hand, and lose your Ante and Tens Up bets, or 2) call the hand with a 1x Play bet equal to your Ante, or 3) call the hand with a 1x Play bet AND pay an additional 1x fee to receive one additional card (“rabbit hunt”). When you pay for the additional “rabbit hunt” card, your resulting six-hand card is used for both the Tens Up Bonus bet, and for your showdown hand against the dealer. After everyone acts, the dealer turns up his hand. The player wins the Tens Up Bonus bet for any hand greater than a pair of Tens, according to the paytable below, regardless of the dealer hand. If the dealer doesn’t qualify with Ace-high or better, the Ante bets push (no action). If the dealer qualifies, then the Ante plays for even money against the dealer hand. The Play bet always receives even money action against the dealer hand (no qualifier).

The basic strategy for the game is very simple, according to the following rules:

Always draw to improve your hand to any straight flush, flush, or straight (includes gutshot straight draws).
Draw if your hand is Three-Of-A-Kind (do not draw if you already hold a full house)
Draw if your hand is two pairs.
Draw if your hand is a low pair (under Tens), but not if your hand is a high pair.
Play with Ace-high or better, else fold if not drawing.

where “draw” means to pay the 1x (= Ante) amount for the extra (6th) “rabbit hunt” card.

For the following Tens Up Bonus Paytable, the house edge is only -2.25% of an Ante. That’s an especially good deal, since most games with an optional bonus bet usually cost at least 2-3% of the Ante on the main game, AND another 2-3% of the bonus bet. Here, you get to play the Tens Up Bonus Bet and the main game against the dealer hand for a combined cost of -2.25% of an Ante. Furthermore, unlike other ShuffleMaster games like Ultimate Texas Hold’Em and Crazy 4 Poker, you don’t have to make a Blind Bet (or Super Bonus Bet) that only pays a high qualifying hand. So, I’d say the cost is half that of Ultimate Texas Hold’Em, and Crazy 4 Poker (when played with the optional bonus bet).

Tens Up Paytable
Royal Flush 300
Straight Flush 100
Four-of-a-Kind 50
Full House 30
Flush 10
Straight 7
Three-of-a-Kind 5
Two Pairs 2
Pair Tens thru Aces 1
nothing -1"

I am not sure I buy everything this guy is saying about the game, so I thought I would post it to the forum for feedback and to see if anyone else has done an analysis of this game regarding strategy and/or house edge.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

Quote: SONBP2

I am not sure I buy everything this guy is saying about the game, so I thought I would post it to the forum for feedback and to see if anyone else has done an analysis of this game regarding strategy and/or house edge.

No analysis here, but I believe Ameristar Council Bluffs was one of the first casinos to try this game out. (They actually field test a lot of games, like Four Card Poker and Texas Shootout.) Ameristar as a property group then installed it in Kansas City and St Charles, though I don't know how long they lasted there. CB got rid of it to make room for MS Stud and another BJ table, as they were closing the pits upstairs.

I watched the game for a bit, and it does seem like players have a good chance at winning (with less variance than red hot MS Stud). This reminds me of a game called Player Win Poker, which never got off the ground. I think the bonus was set higher, which was harder to hit. Also, there was a "Player Pot" similar to Flop, though the dealer got action on that bet. I played it one time at Majestic Star and said no more!

It's a Shuffle Master game that Roger Snow developed.

Damn. Roger is everwhere. LOL

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I have posted the icon used for the game. In my opinion, certain demographics will not sit down simply because of this violent image. The image places a ranging bunny in the cross-hairs of a rifle scope. As a metaphor for the associated poker rule, it is mixed up.

*Singing to the tune of Ride of the Valkyrie from Die Walkure of the ring series by Richard Wagner*

Kill the wabbit,
Kill the wabbit,
Kill the wabbit!

A big band I'm in has Gordon Goodwin's "Hunting Wabbits" in the book. Give a listen (this is the Goodwin band, not mine..)
Hunting Wabbits
edit: the piece is only 6:30 min. long; not sure why the video says 9:20.

Quote: teliot

I have posted the icon used for the game. In my opinion, certain demographics will not sit down simply because of this violent image. The image places a ranging bunny in the cross-hairs of a rifle scope. As a metaphor for the associated poker rule, it is mixed up.

What is the over/under on how many days before PETA starts picketing the casino ??

Quote: buzzpaff

Quote: teliot

I have posted the icon used for the game. In my opinion, certain demographics will not sit down simply because of this violent image. The image places a ranging bunny in the cross-hairs of a rifle scope. As a metaphor for the associated poker rule, it is mixed up.

What is the over/under on how many days before PETA starts picketing the casino ??

It's got a lot of placements already - are those (mostly midwestern) casinos being picketed?

Once again someone has taken my post as serious. I apologize. SORRY

You know, many restaurants in Mexico City that feature a kind of meat tend to depict live animals in their signs. That strikes me as cruel in some ways. There's a place that sells goat "barbacoa, and the sign shows goats, live, sittig in a cauldron. That's positively disturbing.

Quote: buzzpaff

Once again someone has taken my post as serious. I apologize. SORRY

LOL! didn't exactly take you seriously, but your suggestion isn't exactly outside of the realm of possibility, either. I mean, we're talking about some unreasonably reactionary people, and the words "rabbit" and "hunter" are right there in the name!

The Paytable for Motor City Casino in Detroit is 500-100-50-30-9-7-5-2-1. They increase the Royal from 300:1 to 500:1, and decrease the Flush from 10:1 to 9:1. Someone reported elsewhere that another paytable at some casinos has the Royal at 500:1, and the 3-of-a-kind reduced from 5:1 to 4:1, leaving the flush at 10:1. If anybody has House Edge info on the differences, please let us know. I'm also curious what the House Edge is on the Two-Way Bad Beat side bet.

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