Hickok 6-card Poker

On his website, Andy Block claims that in 1993 Foxwoods spread a table game called Hickok 6-card Poker. He claims that this game had a 6% PLAYER advantage. (http://www.andybloch.com/bio)

Is this true? What was this game? It seems hard to believe that any casino would spread a game with that much of a player edge (even if it was unintentional). I assumed that they'd do some kind of basic testing to know what the odds were.

Anyone know anything more about this game?

This explains the basics

Q: What's the difference between "Hickok 6-card poker" and Let it Ride poker?

A: In both Let It Ride and Hickok, the players were dealt 3 cards each to start. In Hickok, there would be 3 community cards by the end, whereas in Let It Ride there are only 2 community cards. The rules in Hickok allowed the players to double, play, or surrender (getting half his bet back, but giving up any chance to win) after getting their first 3 cards. Then 2 of the 3 community cards were dealt, and the players had the option to buy the 3rd community card for 1/2 the original bet, or they could give up or get
paid based on their 5-card hand. (The money for the 3rd card was not returned.) Then the dealer dealt the 3rd and final community card and paid off or collected the remaining hands, according to this table:

1 Pair of tens or better
2 Two pair
3 Three of a kind
4 Straight
5 Flush
6 Full house
20 Four of a kind
50 Straight-flush
200 Royal Flush
300 Five aces

Foxwoods played the game with a 52-card deck plus a single joker which counted as a fifth Ace (which couldn't be used to make a flush). The game was also dealt face-up, so you could see all the other players' cards to help make your decisions.

pulled it from http://www.professional-poker.com/interviews/andy-bloch/beating-foxwoods-casino.htm

I have actually played the game. last post is correct. Ive had the A-A-8-8 black with the 9-Hearts for a very nice win (Jackpot was the 9-Diamonds, the so-called "Dead man's hand"). I've never seen a study of the game, but I know the Joker was only a 5th Ace when I played. Amazing post actually, thought no one even heard of it.

N&B

I can't verify that story, but it wouldn't surprise me. There have been lots of similar stories. Stanford Wong tells a similar story of a game called "Ying Yang Yo" in one of his books. At the Sahara in Vegas they offered baccarat with a 0% commission on a banker for about a day before advantage players killed it. Some casino in Biloxi offered bets on the 3 and 17 in sic bo at 80-1 (12.5% player advantage) before that got killed within a day. Internet casinos are even more known for such errors.

I thought I had found such a game when I noticed Triple Action Hold 'Em at Binion’s Horseshoe on May 1, 2009. After going home and working out the odds, I thought I had a huge advantage! The problem was I didn't know they used a partial deck until I came back the next day with thousands of dollars. After a few hands I realized that the game used aces to eights, so I went back home to recalculate the odds. With the modified deck the house edge is 3.63%.

I was there when they first introduced this game at Foxwoods and I loved it. I was playing it one night and the dealer said that the game was being shut down at the end of the month, that the guy who had the rights to the game was going to Vegas and taking it with him. I know it's a long shot but has anyone seen this game out in Vegas? I go out there several times a year and would love to play it again.

Quote: jackw

I was there when they first introduced this game at Foxwoods and I loved it. I was playing it one night and the dealer said that the game was being shut down at the end of the month, that the guy who had the rights to the game was going to Vegas and taking it with him. I know it's a long shot but has anyone seen this game out in Vegas? I go out there several times a year and would love to play it again.

I remember the game at Foxwoods. It was Andy Bloch who figured out how to beat it and the MIT guys were regulars there. There was a girl also.

Oops, didn't see the original post from five years ago.