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Reason #3 why the Wizard likes Bovada:
Excellent Odds
In my opinion many online casinos are too stingy when setting the odds on their games. They think they will make more money that way but I believe they are misguided, because when players lose too quickly it’s not fun, and those players might not come back.
Bovada is one of the few casinos that understands this. They offer generous odds to let you play longer and get you a better chance of winning. Among their generous offerings are Full-Pay Jacks or Better returning 99.54%, six other video poker games paying over 99%, single-zero roulette, and my favorite, Pick ’em Poker, returning 99.95%!
Kudos to Bovada for not being afraid to give their players a good gamble.
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.
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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%.
Ace, 2, King Bets in Bet the Deck Poker Hand Pays Combinations Probability Return 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%.
3, Queen Bets in Bet the Deck Poker Hand Pays Combinations Probability Return 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
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 6.00%.
4, Jack Bets in Bet the Deck Poker Hand Pays Combinations Probability Return 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%.
5 to 10 Bets in Bet the Deck Poker Hand Pays Combinations Probability Return 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%.
Joker Bet in Bet the Deck Poker Hand Pays Combinations Probability Return 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
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