Multi strike like video poker, but not the same brand

SO basically I was at a local casino playing some version of multistrike deuces wild, and either I got ridiculously lucky, or the game is beatable.

First off, credits are $0.25 a piece. Max pay enables the multistrike feature, which costs $6.25 total. The rules are basic deuces wild, however there are a few extra things going one. For one, there is the progressive for winning hands, which has goes 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x. Next there is a 1 in 25 chance that you get a free hand. Finally, if you win, the bonus hands are free (not sure if this is how it normally is)...

So to my story, which is filled with some insane luck.

I pump $200 bills into the machine and I start going away at it, playing basic dw strategy. I'm going up and down, losing a little bit. All of a sudden I hit 4 deuces right off the bat (pays 1000:1 initially)...my next hand I get trips, which pushes the 4 deuces to $2000 to 1. If I win 1 more, it goes to $5000:1, and I'm pretty excited. Well I lose.

I'm up a cool 600 or so dollars, and I decide to keep playing. Few hands later, 4 deuces again (helo 2 and drew 2)...this time I lose the first one...only 1000 to 1...darn.

I go and get something to eat, come back...sure as shit another 4 deuces again only 1000:1.

I calculated my total coin in, which was right around $2500, or 400 spins. What are the odds of getting 4 of a kind deuces in 400 spins? I assume I got very lucky.

The thing I noticed however, was that in general it never seemed like I was losing money. You would get those cold streaks, but overall I was gradually gaining cash.

Winning Streak Poker by WMS. You can play it here - click More Games (on the left) and choose Winning Streak Poker (the middle choice in the top box).

Well, you hit 4 deuces 3 times in 400 wagers! Of course you were always winning! :)

With the "free" hand function for every non-loser, you'll see a little less than 2 hands per wager on average. Since you were running well, you probably saw at least 800 hands. If you played standard FPDW deuces strategy (incorrect for this machine, btw), the probability of hitting 4 Deuces 3 times in 800 hands is about 1 in 1571. If your playing appropriate NSUD strategy (quads/boat both pay 4, so you hold 2 pair), the probability lowers to 1 in 2020. So a very nice run!

As for appropriate strategy, it has yet to be fully quantified. *pokes JB* But as a first approximation, you should roughly play the game like MultiStrike poker in reverse. Your first hand should be normal strategy, but with every "free" hand, strategy needs to be more conservative and more focused on getting a paying hand to move the other hands up the multiplier table. I put "free" in quotes, because you pay for it by betting 25 credits for the game instead of 5. Even with the 25 credit wager, I'd still assume the return is higher with the correct strategy than a single line game.

Quote: tringlomane

As for appropriate strategy, it has yet to be fully quantified. *pokes JB*

I have lots of other things to do which take priority, but I will recommend this to the Wizard as a future project. Just figuring out how to compute the return from using perfect play seems like a daunting task. First, the already-winning hands located in the 1x, 2x, and 5x levels would likely affect the strategy based on what they are (for example, a royal flush sitting on the 5x row would be far more valuable than a three of a kind located there instead). Then add in the fact that the streak could theoretically continue infinitely, and the analysis seems a bit overwhelming. I think I have it loosely figured out in my head, but it's not a top priority at this moment.

Quote: JB

First, the already-winning hands located in the 1x, 2x, and 5x levels would likely affect the strategy based on what they are (for example, a royal flush sitting on the 5x row would be far more valuable than a three of a kind located there instead). Then add in the fact that the streak could theoretically continue infinitely, and the analysis seems a bit overwhelming. I think I have it loosely figured out in my head, but it's not a top priority at this moment.

Yeah, unfortunately I was thinking that in my head too. It could be a strategy whose complexity borders on Ultimate X (God forbid). It would definitely be interesting to see a strategy if the game gains enough casino ground. And I wonder if that Triple Triple Bonus paytable came out with it. :D I didn't make it off strip for this last trip, so I failed to see any "My Poker" machines.

Something I noticed that is different about the game I played and the game in the link posted above is a legitimate "free" hand. According to the game help, you have a 1 in 25 chance of getting a free hand from a loser. This free hand was worth zero value, however it would push up your previous winners, or just give you another free shot in instances where it was the first of the streak.

All in all, it was fun and I was pretty certain that the game likely wasn't beatable, but rather I was getting insanely lucky. I couldn't believe how many times I got 4 deuces.

Quote: Triplell

a legitimate "free" hand. According to the game help, you have a 1 in 25 chance of getting a free hand from a loser.

Is there anything online from WMS which confirms this? The demo game on playerslife.com doesn't seem to have any help screens. I have played the online demo quite a bit and don't think I have ever had a losing hand award a free hand. I am keeping a close eye out for that now though.

Quote: JB

Is there anything online from WMS which confirms this? The demo game on playerslife.com doesn't seem to have any help screens. I have played the online demo quite a bit and don't think I have ever had a losing hand award a free hand. I am keeping a close eye out for that now though.

I'm fairly sure the online game does not give a "free hand" for any losing hand. But it's possible they added this in for the real money version to give an extra boost for the game's return. You wouldn't happen to recall the paytable for this game, would you Triplell?

The pay tables were different. First off, a straight payed more than a flush. I can't remember the exact numbers, but I know none of them had the same value. I was getting slaughtered in the online game and I found out why: If you get a 5+ streak, the money that goes off the end doesn't deposit into your credits...you just lose it.

Quote: Triplell

The pay tables were different. First off, a straight payed more than a flush. I can't remember the exact numbers, but I know none of them had the same value. I was getting slaughtered in the online game and I found out why: If you get a 5+ streak, the money that goes off the end doesn't deposit into your credits...you just lose it.

In the online demo, the prizes for extra hands are banked and you get paid for them all when the streak ends. Monitor the "Total Won" figure to the left of the 2x hand - you'll see its amount increase accordingly whenever a hand is pushed off the 10x row.

If oneone sees this game in Vegas, please let me know.

Quote: Wizard

If oneone sees this game in Vegas, please let me know.

This article seems to say they'd be in Stations in Vegas and Caesars' properties elsewhere, when they're in casinos.

Quote: FarFromVegas

This article seems to say they'd be in Stations in Vegas and Caesars' properties elsewhere, when they're in casinos.

I got an email from Horseshoe Hammond on Monday saying it was coming there. When I am in Chicago around New Year's maybe I can get over there to see.

Quote: JB

In the online demo, the prizes for extra hands are banked and you get paid for them all when the streak ends. Monitor the "Total Won" figure to the left of the 2x hand - you'll see its amount increase accordingly whenever a hand is pushed off the 10x row.

There was (and maybe still is) a bug with that. A few months ago, wins pushed off the 10x row weren't always banked on the online demo.

Quote: tringlomane

There was (and maybe still is) a bug with that. A few months ago, wins pushed off the 10x row weren't always banked on the online demo.

I think it's been fixed. I've been playing it a lot (too much!) and it seems to pay me correctly. Curse you, JB (if I'm allowed to say that!) for giving me digital crack!

it gets banked, but it doesn't deposit when it is done. I've checked and double checked...

Quote: Triplell

it gets banked, but it doesn't deposit when it is done. I've checked and double checked...

Interesting, because it does for me. When the streak ends, the banked prizes and the prizes for the four hands in the 1x/2x/5x/10x rows are deposited into the balance.

im assuming youd keep hand likes 278TrX to and a 2 with 3 to a flush on lower hands. and even if a fullhouse pays 4x instead of 3x you might still only keep one pair.

Anyone willing to share their MyPoker name?

Quote: Triplell

it gets banked, but it doesn't deposit when it is done. I've checked and double checked...

I just won 290, but it only credited me with the 90 on the board. You're right.

Quote: FarFromVegas

I just won 290, but it only credited me with the 90 on the board. You're right.

Yup, he is right - I stand corrected. Here is what just happened to me:

1. Started with 1000 credits:



2. Three of a kind on hand #1:



3. Jacks or Better on hand #2:



4. Jacks or Better on hand #3:



5. Three of a kind on hand #4:



6. Jacks or Better on hand #5. 10x the prize for 3 of a kind = 150 credits was banked because hand #1 was pushed off the 10x row:



7. Jacks or Better on hand #6. 10x the prize for Jacks or Better = 50 credits was banked because hand #2 was pushed off the 10x row:



8. Hand #7 was a loser. The banked amount plus the four on-screen hands is 150+50+50+75+10+5 = 340 credits, as shown in the "Total Won" area, but the ending balance should be 975+340 = 1315, not 1115. The 200 credits which were banked prior to hand 7 did not get deposited into the credits:

I just wish the real game in the casino doesn't have this bug. But I somehow tend to believe it also has.

Quote: pokerface

I just wish the real game in the casino doesn't have this bug. But I somehow tend to believe it also has.

Triplell seemed to imply that only the online version has the bug. I can't imagine that they, or the regulators who tested the game, would overlook this on a real machine which accepts and pays real money.

Well, if it was the same person wrote the same software (quite possible), then there is a good chance that the same bug exists.

Quote: pokerface

Well, if it was the same person wrote the same software (quite possible), then there is a good chance that the same bug exists.

Triplell also said that free hands for non-winners were given on average once every 25 hands according to the real money rules screen. This isn't in the online demo game as well. So they have been debugging/tinkering the real game most likely and ignoring the demo. But I do think it looks bad on them with this glitch, even if it's just a free demo. If that happened to me, I would be immediately complaining to a slot director asking for my banked winnings and calling the gaming commission.

Quote: Wizard

If oneone sees this game in Vegas, please let me know.

I haven't seen them in Las Vegas, but I saw them in Atlantic City, today. Showboat put in four of them.

It's inevitable these crazy video poker games will have bugs in early testing versions, but at the same time the credit accumulation problem is a very easy fix and I can't believe a software engineer could have messed this part up in a real machine. I'd like to see a report from someone who plays one or more of them at the AC Showboat. I'm guessing all will be OK.