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Reason #5 why the Wizard likes Bovada:
Intelligent Bonuses
Many online casinos offer huge signup bonuses, but there’s a catch. Buried in the fine print is that play on the most popular games doesn’t count towards earning the bonus. It’s common for play on blackjack, baccarat, roulette, craps, and video poker to be excluded. In many cases, only slots count.
And that’s if you can even find the terms and conditions. Many casinos put their 100% bonus in big flaming letters but make you hunt all over their site to find the rules.
Bovada allows play on all games to count towards the wagering requirement. It’s that simple. Just no opposite betting. All casinos ought to be as easy as Bovada about this. The bonus offer itself is simple too: on your first deposit, they’ll give you an extra 10%. If you deposit $100, you’ll wind up with $110 in chips or tokens.
Finally, in the unlikely event that Bovada feels you’ve been abusing their bonuses they won’t seize your winnings like most other casinos will. In the worst case scenario they will politely tell you that they will not be offering you any future bonuses, but you are welcome to keep playing and keep everything you have made already.
Casino Hold’em
Last Update: Mar 24, 2010
No registration is required, just one click and you’re in the game.
Introduction
Casino Hold 'Em is a poker variation, similar to Texas Hold 'Em, that is played in Egypt, Russia, South Africa, Holland, Latvia, Estonia, Ireland, Morocco, Malta, Ukraine, Panama, and Romania. It is also available to play online at casinos using Net Gaming, Real Time Gaming, Playtech, and Galewind Software.
Rules
The rules are as follows.
- Play begins with eachplayer making an ante wager.
- Two cards are dealt facedown to each player and dealer. The player may examine his own cards. The dealer will also deal three communinity cards (called the flop) in the center of the table.
- Each player must decideto either fold or call. If the player folds he gives uphis cards and his ante bet. If the player calls, the callmust be equal to two times the ante bet.
- The dealer will thendeal two more community cards, for a total of five. Thedealer will also turn over his own two cards.
- The player hand shall be scored according the highest poker value of the player's two cards and the five community cards. Likewise, the dealer shall use his own two cards and the five community cards.
- The dealer must have apair of fours or better to qualify. If the dealer doesnot qualify then the ante will pay according to the ante pay table below and the call bet will push.
- If the dealer qualifiesand beats the player then the player will lose both theante and call.
- If the dealer qualifiesand the player beats the dealer then the ante will pay according to the Ante pay table below and the call bet will pay 1 to 1.
- If the dealer qualifies and the player ties the dealer then both ante and call bets will push.
| Ante Pay Table | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | Table 1 | Table 2 | Table 3 |
| Royal flush | 20 to 1 | 25 to 1 | 100 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 20 to 1 | 25 to 1 | 20 to 1 |
| 4 of a kind | 10 to 1 | 12 to 1 | 10 to 1 |
| Full house | 3 to 1 | 3 to 1 | 3 to 1 |
| Flush | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 |
| All other | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 |
House Edge
The following table shows the number of combination, probability, and contribution to the return of all possible outcomes under ante pay table 3, which I'm told is the most frequently used. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 2.16%.
| Ante Pay Table | ||||
| Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player wins with royal flush | 102 | 736259040 | 0.000026 | 0.002700 |
| Player has royal flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 100 | 119892960 | 0.000004 | 0.000431 |
| Player wins with straight flush | 22 | 6001122284 | 0.000216 | 0.004747 |
| Player has straight flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 20 | 1089672828 | 0.000039 | 0.000784 |
| Player wins with four of a kind | 12 | 41419896552 | 0.001489 | 0.01787 |
| Player has four of a kind, dealer doesn't qualify | 10 | 909499320 | 0.000033 | 0.000327 |
| Player wins with full house | 5 | 589505037660 | 0.021195 | 0.105973 |
| Player wins with flush | 4 | 505131419580 | 0.018161 | 0.072645 |
| Player wins with straight or less | 3 | 6426670016572 | 0.23106 | 0.693181 |
| Player has full house, dealer doesn't qualify | 3 | 24601676832 | 0.000885 | 0.002654 |
| Player has flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 2 | 168883536432 | 0.006072 | 0.012144 |
| Player has straight or less, dealer doesn't qualify | 1 | 5521376219148 | 0.198512 | 0.198512 |
| Tie | 0 | 678596916580 | 0.024398 | 0 |
| Player folds | -1 | 5009067102600 | 0.180093 | -0.180093 |
| Player loses | -3 | 8839701755612 | 0.317817 | -0.953451 |
| Total | 27813810024000 | 1 | -0.021576 | |
The only pay table fully analyzed is pay table 3, because it takes my computer about a month to cycle through all possible combinations. However, assuming the player was following optimal strategy under pay table 3 but playing under pay table 1 or 2 then the house edge under pay table 1 would be 2.40%, and under pay table 2 would be 1.96%. The actual house edge under pay tables 1 and 2 would be slightly less or equal to these figures.
Strategy
Unfortunately there is noeasy way to quantify optimal strategy for this game. I cansay the optimal strategy player will raise 82% of the time.So only in the worst 18% of hands should the player fold. Ingeneral these are when the player has two singletons in thehole that are low compared to the flop, with little or nochance for a straight or flush.
Side Bets
I am aware of two side bets, known as the AA+ as follows. Both are based on the poker value of the player's two cards and the three flop cards.
In version 1 a flush or higher pays 25 to 1 and a pair of aces to a straight pays 7 to 1. Following is the return table. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 6.40%.
| AA+ Side Bet, version 1 | ||||
| Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 25 | 4 | 0.000002 | 0.000038 |
| Straight flush | 25 | 36 | 0.000014 | 0.000346 |
| 4 of a kind | 25 | 624 | 0.000240 | 0.006002 |
| Full house | 25 | 3744 | 0.001441 | 0.036014 |
| Flush | 25 | 5108 | 0.001965 | 0.049135 |
| Straight | 7 | 10200 | 0.003925 | 0.027473 |
| Three of a kind | 7 | 54912 | 0.021128 | 0.147899 |
| Two pair | 7 | 123552 | 0.047539 | 0.332773 |
| Pair of aces | 7 | 84480 | 0.032505 | 0.227537 |
| Other | -1 | 2316300 | 0.891241 | -0.891241 |
| Total | 2598960 | 1 | -0.064023 | |
Version 2 has the following return table. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 6.26%.
| AA+ Side Bet, version 2 | ||||
| Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 100 | 4 | 0.000002 | 0.000154 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 36 | 0.000014 | 0.000693 |
| 4 of a kind | 40 | 624 | 0.000240 | 0.009604 |
| Full house | 30 | 3744 | 0.001441 | 0.043217 |
| Flush | 20 | 5108 | 0.001965 | 0.039308 |
| Straight | 7 | 10200 | 0.003925 | 0.027473 |
| Three of a kind | 7 | 54912 | 0.021128 | 0.147899 |
| Two pair | 7 | 123552 | 0.047539 | 0.332773 |
| Pair of aces | 7 | 84480 | 0.032505 | 0.227537 |
| Other | -1 | 2316300 | 0.891241 | -0.891241 |
| Total | 2598960 | 1 | -0.062583 | |
Methodology
The above analysis was performed using a brute force combinatorial program that analyzed all 27,813,810,024,000 possible outcomes, and played every hand according to optimal player strategy. It took my computers about a month to crank though the 27.8 trillion hands.
The web site for Casino Hold'em, as well as other games, is www.casinopokergames.com.
There is a good Casino Hold 'Em calculator at beatingbonuses.com.
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