Raise it Up Stud

Introduction

Raise it Up Stud is a poker-based game by Shufflemaster. I first heard about it in September, 2012, when it appeared at the Pala casino near San Diego.

The game is a cross between Let it Ride and Ultimate Texas Hold Em. As in Let it Ride, the player is paid based only on his own cards. The dealer does not get a hand. As in Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, the player has a chance to raise, and the earlier he raises, the more he can wager. Following are the complete rules.

Rules

1. Play starts with the player making equal Ante and Blind wagers. The player may also make an optional Pairplus side bet.
2. The dealer gives the player three cards.
3. Dealer places three community cards face down.
4. Player may make a raise bet equal to three times his Ante or check.
5. First community card is turned over.
6. If the player did not raise already, then the player may make a Raise bet equal to two times his Ante or check. If the player already raised, then the player may not raise again.
7. Second community card is turned over.
8. If the player did not raise already, then the player may make a Raise bet equal to his Ante or fold. If the player already raised, then the player may not raise again.
9. Third community card is turned over.
10. Dealer will determine the five-card poker value of each player hand left, between the player's three cards and the three community cards.
11. The Ante, Blind, and Raise wagers will be paid according the pay tables below.
12. The Pairplus bet will be paid according to the player's initial three cards and the Pairplus pay table below.

Strategy

The following basic strategy was created by Stephen How of Discount Gambling. According to his simulation, it results in a house edge of 3.70%, which is 0.20% higher than optimal strategy. In this strategy, a "high card" is 10 or higher.

Make 3X Raise with:

• Any pair.
• Three high cards.
• Two high cards with one gap or less.
• Three suited cards with two gaps or less.
• Three suited cards, two of them high.

Make 2X Raise with:

• Any pair.
• Any straight or flush draw.
• Three suited cards and three high cards (they do not need to be the same three cards).

Make 1X Raise with:

• Any flush draw.
• Any pair.
• Outside and double-inside straight draw.
• Inside straight draw with at least one high card.

Analysis

The following table shows the number of combinations of all possible player decisions and final hands. The lower right cell reflects a house edge of 3.50%. This is the ratio of the expected loss to the Ante wager.

On average, the player will make the large raise 24.60% of the time, medium raise 17.32%, small raise 22.77%, and fold 35.32%. The average final wager is 3.31 units. Thus, the Element of Risk (ratio of initial wager to total wager) is 3.50%/3.31 = 1.06%.

Pairplus

The player may also make a side bet, which pays based on his first three cards. It follows the same pay table as the Pairplus bet in Three Card Poker. The following return table shows the house edge on the Pairplus is 7.28%.

Outside Links

• Raise It Up Stud Hole-Card Play: How to play if the dealer flashes the next card.
• Raise It Up: Analysis at Discount Gambling.

Written by: Michael Shackleford