Reason #2 why the Wizard likes Bovada:

No-hassle practice games

Most online casinos spend more effort trying to separate you from your money than they do trying to give you a good experience. They have all kinds of popup windows, they usually make you download their software, and if they do offer play-in-browser games then you have to register an account before you can play. And if you register they start sending you emails trying to get you to deposit real money.

But Bovada is different. They have no popup windows at all, and their practice games play right in your browser, with no download, and no registration required. You don’t even have to give up your email address. It couldn’t be simpler: just one click and you’re playing the game.

I wish all online casinos showed this much respect for their players. Other casinos practically ask for your first born child to play for free. Meanwhile Bovada is patient and does not twist anybody’s arm to play for real money. You can play as long as you like for free with no obligation. The real-money games are available if that’s your preference, but if not, you can play the free practice games for as long as you like without hassle.

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3-5-7 Poker

Last Update: Dec 11, 2002

3-5-7 Poker is a simple poker based game slowly finding a home in the casinos. It is actually 3 games in 1, the player can bet on a 3, 5, and 7 card hand and is paid according to the poker value of each.

Rules

Play begins with the player making 2 or 3 wagers. The player must bet on the 3 card and 5 card hand, the 7 card hand is optional. The player may bet any amount on any hand, subject to the table minimum and maximum.

After all players have bet, the dealer will give 3 cards to each player and 4 to himself, face down. Based on his first three cards the player may surrender half his 7 card bet if he wishes, in other words the dealer gets half the 7 card bet and the player gets back the other half.

The following pay tables show what each hand pays for each bet.

3-Card Hand Pay Table
HandPays
Straight flush40 to 1
Three of a kind25 to 1
Straight6 to 1
Flush4 to 1
Pair1 to 1
NothingLoss

5-Card Hand Pay Table
HandPays
Royal flush500 to 1
Straight flush100 to 1
4 of a kind40 to 1
Full House12 to 1
Flush9 to 1
Straight6 to 1
3 of a kind4 to 1
2 pair3 to 1
Pair (6's or better)1 to 1
NothingLoss

7-Card Hand Pay Table
HandPays
Royal flush100 to 1
Straight flush20 to 1
4 of a kind7 to 1
Full House5 to 1
Flush4 to 1
Straight3 to 1
3 of a kind2 to 1
2 pair (10's high or better)1 to 1
OtherLoss

Strategy

The player should never surrender. Since the 7 card hand has the lowest house edge I would recommend betting the most on that, and the least on the 5 card hand.

Statistics

The following tables show the probabilities and return for each hand for all 3 bets.

3-Card Hand Return Table
HandCombinationsProbabilityPaysReturn
Straight flush480.002172 400.086878
Three of a kind 52 0.002353 25 0.058824
Straight 720 0.032579 6 0.195475
Flush 1096 0.049593 4 0.198371
Pair 3744 0.169412 1 0.169412
Nothing 16440 0.743891 -1 -0.743891
22100 1 0 -0.034932

5-Card Hand Return Table
HandCombinationsProbabilityPaysReturn
Royal flush 4 0.000002 500 0.00077
Straight flush 36 0.000014 100 0.001385
4 of a kind 624 0.00024 40 0.009604
Full House 3744 0.001441 12 0.017287
Flush 5108 0.001965 9 0.017689
Straight 10200 0.003925 6 0.023548
3 of a kind 54912 0.021128 4 0.084514
2 pair 123552 0.047539 3 0.142617
pair (6's or better) 760320 0.292548 1 0.292548
Nothing 1640460 0.631199 -1 -0.631199
Total 2598960 1 0 -0.041238

7-Card Hand Return Table
HandCombinationsProbabilityPaysReturn
Royal flush 4324 0.000032 100 0.003232
Straight flush 37260 0.000279 20 0.00557
4 of a kind 224848 0.001681 7 0.011765
Full House 3473184 0.025961 5 0.129805
Flush 4047644 0.030255 4 0.12102
Straight 6180020 0.046194 3 0.138581
3 of a kind 6461620 0.048299 2 0.096597
2 pair (10's high or better) 20598408 0.153967 1 0.153967
Other 92757252 0.693333 -1 -0.693333
Total 133784560 1 0 -0.032795

The next table summarizes the house edge of each bet.

House Edge Summary
BetHouse Edge
33.49%
54.12%
73.28%