Hands Per Hour/Side Bets

As I've posted previously, I work in one of the properties in Black Hawk, Colorado. Until recently, we had a straight-up three card poker table. It wasn't uncommon for me to whip out 20 hands every 30 minutes on this game. I would say that number has been reduced to 10, possibly less with the advent of the progressive side bet and the 6 card bonus. I'm constantly changing nickels for singles. Furthermore, the large majority of players bet $1 on the side bet. Assuming no one wins, on a full table, that's a whopping $6 per hand on the 6 card bonus bet.

My question is how is the 6 card bonus bet beneficial to the house? Sure, it has a house edge of 8.56%, but the normal pairplus bet comes close at 7.28%. Let's say I dealt 20 hands in 30 minutes on a table with three players, all betting the $5 minimum on both the pair plus and ante. (Wasn't sure how to factor in the "play" bet as theoretically it can be folded every hand) My math says that is $600 worth of action. ($30 in bets*20 hands)

Now, let's assume I get a very generous 13 hands out due to having to make change and due to the fact Shufflemaster's new touchscreen units are not friendly. Let's also assume that everyone is betting the $5 maximum on the 6-card bet, which rarely happens. In that same 30 minute stint, I come up with a total of $585 worth of action ($45*13 hands). How was this move beneficial to us? I understand its another 'side bet' which is beneficial to he house in any situation, but when it cuts into your HPH, I don't see how the change helps out the bottom line.

It reminds me of the company I worked for years ago that loved Caribbean Stud because it had a high house edge. When we pointed out that the $500 average drop the game had rendered that house edge useless, their comeback was "but it has a high house edge!"

Quote: PGBuster

It reminds me of the company I worked for years ago that loved Caribbean Stud because it had a high house edge. When we pointed out that the $500 average drop the game had rendered that house edge useless, their comeback was "but it has a high house edge!"

There! You see! You do understand what is going on with perfect clarity!!

Think of if from the PLAYER's viewpoint. I'm getting comp points at the computer-inspired rate before the house put in this fancy side bet and progressive stuff. No matter how fast this trained monkey is at making change it slows things down, no matter what this side bet stuff is taking more and more time, so I who just sit here at the basic game am getting comps without my money being subjected to a house edge as often as it used to be. The house edge is still high but the hands per hour is way down, yet they've not adjusted the comp rate.

The only thing that matters is table win. Tell them to look at the bottom line. Harrah's numbers on 3CP skyrocketed when they added the million dollar bonus bet.