Reason #1 why the Wizard likes Bovada:

Excellent customer support

The thing that separates Bovada from the rest is its customer support. Many other online gaming companies outsource their support. It can be difficult getting a response from them, and if you do it is often slow and handled by somebody with little understanding of gambling or even of English. But Bovada’s support is handled by Bovada, and their support staff is actually knowledgeable and helpful.

I’m so confident that you’ll have a good experience with Bovada that if you have a problem getting paid and you can’t resolve it with them on your own, I’ll talk to them myself. I personally have known the Bovada management for about three years and always found them to be professional, friendly, and knowledgeable. I have also personally visited one of their call centers so I could see first-hand how they handle customer issues. (More on my mediation service.)

If you have a problem with any other casino besides Bovada, I can’t help you. I get complaints from players of other online casinos every day who have difficulty getting paid. However that isn’t my job nor my problem. If you play at Bovada after clicking through my site I’ll stand behind you 100%. Any place else and you’re on your own.

Visit Bovada

Bet the Deck

Last Update: Mar 22, 2002

Introduction

Bet the Deck is a table game I found at the Golden Nugget in April, 2005. It is a simple poker variation in which the player bets on the outcome of a 5-card stud hand. The poker hand is composed of four community cards and a fifth card(s) of the player's chosing. Following is a scan of the rule card.

Analysis

Following are the available bets.

Eight or Lower

The Eight or Lower bet wins if all four community cards are all eight or lower. Aces count as low. A winning bet pays 6 to 1. The probability of winning is 13.28% and the house edge is 7.02%.
All Red

The All Red bet wins if all four community cards are all red. A winning bet pays 16 to 1. The probability of winning is 5.52% and the house edge is 6.12%.
All Black

The All Black bet wins if all four community cards are all black. A winning bet pays 16 to 1. The probability of winning is 5.52% and the house edge is 6.12%.

Ace, 2, King

These are three of the ranks available for the card bet. The player chooses one or more of these and is paid according to the poker value of the chosen card and the four community cards. The following table shows what each hand pays, the number of combinations, probability, and return. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 9.33%.

Poker Hand	Pays	Combinations	Probability	Return
Ace, 2, King Bets in Bet the Deck
Five of a kind	250 to 1	1	0.000004	0.000923
Straight flush	125 to 1	8	0.00003	0.003694
Four of a kind	50 to 1	204	0.000754	0.037677
Full house	20 to 1	624	0.002305	0.046098
Straight	15 to 1	504	0.001862	0.027925
Flush	7 to 1	2852	0.010535	0.073743
Three of a kind	3 to 1	8448	0.031205	0.093615
Two pair	2 to 1	15048	0.055584	0.111168
Pair hold card	1 to 1	55440	0.204783	0.204783
Other	Loss	187596	0.692939	-0.692939
Total		270725	1	-0.093312

3, Queen

These are two of the ranks available for the card bet. The player chooses one or more of these and is paid according to the poker value of the chosen card and the four community cards. The following table shows what each hand pays, the number of combinations, probability, and return. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 7.67%.

Poker Hand	Pays	Combinations	Probability	Return
3, Queen Bets in Bet the Deck
Five of a kind	250 to 1	1	0.000004	0.000923
Straight flush	125 to 1	12	0.000044	0.005541
Four of a kind	50 to 1	204	0.000754	0.037677
Full house	20 to 1	624	0.002305	0.046098
Straight	15 to 1	756	0.002793	0.041888
Flush	7 to 1	2848	0.01052	0.073639
Three of a kind	3 to 1	8448	0.031205	0.093615
Two pair	2 to 1	15048	0.055584	0.111168
Pair hold card	1 to 1	55440	0.204783	0.204783
Other	Loss	187344	0.692008	-0.692008
Total		270725	1	-0.076676

4, Jack

Poker Hand	Pays	Combinations	Probability	Return
4, Jack Bets in Bet the Deck
Five of a kind	250 to 1	1	0.000004	0.000923
Straight flush	125 to 1	16	0.000059	0.007388
Four of a kind	50 to 1	204	0.000754	0.037677
Full house	20 to 1	624	0.002305	0.046098
Straight	15 to 1	1008	0.003723	0.05585
Flush	7 to 1	2844	0.010505	0.073536
Three of a kind	3 to 1	8448	0.031205	0.093615
Two pair	2 to 1	15048	0.055584	0.111168
Pair hold card	1 to 1	55440	0.204783	0.204783
Other	Loss	187092	0.691078	-0.691078
Total		270725	1	-0.060039

5 to 10

These are six of the ranks available for the card bet. The player chooses one or more of these and is paid according to the poker value of the chosen card and the four community cards. The following table shows what each hand pays, the number of combinations, probability, and return. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 4.34%.

Poker Hand	Pays	Combinations	Probability	Return
5 to 10 Bets in Bet the Deck
Five of a kind	250 to 1	1	0.000004	0.000923
Straight flush	125 to 1	20	0.000074	0.009234
Four of a kind	50 to 1	204	0.000754	0.037677
Full house	20 to 1	624	0.002305	0.046098
Straight	15 to 1	1260	0.004654	0.069813
Flush	7 to 1	2840	0.01049	0.073432
Three of a kind	3 to 1	8448	0.031205	0.093615
Two pair	2 to 1	15048	0.055584	0.111168
Pair hold card	1 to 1	55440	0.204783	0.204783
Other	Loss	186840	0.690147	-0.690147
Total		270725	1	-0.043402

Joker Bet

The Joker Bet is similar to the Card Bets, except the fifth card is a totally wild joker. The following table shows what each hand pays, the number of combinations, probability, and return. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 4.89%.

Poker Hand	Pays	Combinations	Probability	Return
Joker Bet in Bet the Deck
Five of a kind	50 to 1	13	0.000048	0.002401
Straight flush	30 to 1	164	0.000606	0.018173
Four of a kind	6 to 1	2496	0.00922	0.055318
Full house	6 to 1	2808	0.010372	0.062233
Straight	2 to 1	10332	0.038164	0.076328
Flush	6 to 1	2696	0.009958	0.059751
Three of a kind	1 to 1	82368	0.30425	0.30425
All other	Loss	169848	0.627382	-0.627382
Total		270725	1	-0.048928