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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.
Royal Draw
Last Update: Nov 08, 2006
Royal Draw is a video poker variation by Bally. I noticed it at the Suncoast in Las Vegas on November 7, 2006. The rules are the same as conventional video poker except the player plays the Royal Draw bonus with any four of a kind, in addition to his regular four of a kind win. The bonus round is like another hand of video poker except with a 13-card deck, one each of the 13 cards of a suit chosen by the player. The pay table in the bonus round is the same as the base game, based on the same number of coins bet as the initiating game. Comparing the "9/6" Royal Draw game to "9/6" Jacks or Better, the former will have 3.317 times as many royals.
Proper strategy in the bonus round is to go for the royal, with the exception to always keep a pat straight flush. Following optimal strategy, the return table of the bonus round is as follows.
| Royal Draw Bonus Round Return Table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | Payoff | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| Royal flush | 800 | 436939 | 0.024745 | 19.796025 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 282877 | 0.01602 | 0.801004 |
| Flush | 6 | 16937830 | 0.959235 | 5.755409 |
| Total | 17657646 | 1 | 26.352438 | |
The lower right cell shows the bonus has an average value of 26.352438 times the amount bet. Adding that to the value of a four of a kind (50) results in an average win of 76.352438 for a four of a kind. The following is the pay table for the "9/6" game I noticed at the Suncoast, substituting the average value for a four of a kind.
| Royal Draw "9/6" Pay Table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | Payoff | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| Royal flush | 800 | 473481924 | 0.000024 | 0.019003 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 2172269688 | 0.000109 | 0.005449 |
| Four of a Kind + Bonus | 76.352438 | 47014134108 | 0.002359 | 0.180083 |
| Full House | 9 | 228947750892 | 0.011486 | 0.103372 |
| Flush | 6 | 221544090528 | 0.011114 | 0.066686 |
| Straight | 4 | 255600824868 | 0.012823 | 0.051291 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 1476003456204 | 0.074047 | 0.222142 |
| Two pair | 1 | 2558163543084 | 0.128337 | 0.128337 |
| Pair | 1 | 4214845162188 | 0.211448 | 0.211448 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 10928465803716 | 0.548254 | 0 |
| Total | 19933230517200 | 1 | 0.987811 | |
Here is the "9/6" pay table, breaking down the possible Royal Draw bonus events. Combinations are to 15 significant digits (a constraint I hate in Excel).
| Royal Draw "9/6" Pay Table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | Payoff | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| Royal flush | 800 | 8,360,576,201,390,900 | 0.000024 | 0.019003 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 38,357,169,167,234,400 | 0.000109 | 0.005449 |
| Four of a kind + royal flush | 850 | 20,542,308,743,015,400 | 0.000058 | 0.049609 |
| Four of a kind + straight flush | 100 | 13,299,217,214,068,700 | 0.000038 | 0.003778 |
| Four of a kind + flush | 56 | 796,317,411,118,506,000 | 0.002262 | 0.126696 |
| Full House | 9 | 4,042,678,337,747,120,000 | 0.011486 | 0.103372 |
| Flush | 6 | 3,911,947,123,935,380,000 | 0.011114 | 0.066686 |
| Straight | 4 | 4,513,308,882,827,140,000 | 0.012823 | 0.051291 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 26,062,746,524,426,700,000 | 0.074047 | 0.222142 |
| Two pair | 1 | 45,171,146,253,883,000,000 | 0.128337 | 0.128337 |
| Pair | 1 | 74,424,243,818,728,300,000 | 0.211448 | 0.211448 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 192,970,980,485,123,000,000 | 0.548254 | 0 |
| Total | 351,973,928,109,115,000,000 | 1 | 0.987811 | |
The rest are hypothetical pay tables, which may or may not ever exist in a real casino.
| Royal Draw "6/5" Pay Table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | Payoff | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| Royal flush | 800 | 491939760 | 0.000025 | 0.019744 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 2157022404 | 0.000108 | 0.005411 |
| Four of a Kind + Bonus | 76.352438 | 49643321292 | 0.00249 | 0.190154 |
| Full House | 6 | 163845131004 | 0.00822 | 0.049318 |
| Flush | 5 | 216560104836 | 0.010864 | 0.054321 |
| Straight | 4 | 260290671468 | 0.013058 | 0.052233 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 1559213724564 | 0.078222 | 0.234665 |
| Two pair | 1 | 2172303530532 | 0.108979 | 0.108979 |
| Pair | 1 | 4578690274164 | 0.229701 | 0.229701 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 10930034797176 | 0.548332 | 0 |
| Total | 19933230517200 | 1 | 0.944526 | |
| Royal Draw "7/5" Pay Table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | Payoff | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| Royal flush | 800 | 491854620 | 0.000025 | 0.01974 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 2154468204 | 0.000108 | 0.005404 |
| Four of a Kind + Bonus | 76.352438 | 47005734660 | 0.002358 | 0.180051 |
| Full House | 7 | 228890267460 | 0.011483 | 0.08038 |
| Flush | 5 | 216500514576 | 0.010861 | 0.054306 |
| Straight | 4 | 260261261016 | 0.013057 | 0.052227 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 1475241247320 | 0.074009 | 0.222027 |
| Two pair | 1 | 2556431280000 | 0.12825 | 0.12825 |
| Pair | 1 | 4216659716952 | 0.211539 | 0.211539 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 10929594172392 | 0.54831 | 0 |
| Total | 19933230517200 | 1 | 0.953925 | |
| Royal Draw "8/5" Pay Table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | Payoff | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| Royal flush | 800 | 491854620 | 0.000025 | 0.01974 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 2154468204 | 0.000108 | 0.005404 |
| Four of a Kind + Bonus | 76.352438 | 47005734660 | 0.002358 | 0.180051 |
| Full House | 8 | 228890267460 | 0.011483 | 0.091863 |
| Flush | 5 | 216500514576 | 0.010861 | 0.054306 |
| Straight | 4 | 260261261016 | 0.013057 | 0.052227 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 1475241247320 | 0.074009 | 0.222027 |
| Two pair | 1 | 2556431280000 | 0.12825 | 0.12825 |
| Pair | 1 | 4216659716952 | 0.211539 | 0.211539 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 10929594172392 | 0.54831 | 0 |
| Total | 19933230517200 | 1 | 0.965408 | |
| Royal Draw "9/5" Pay Table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | Payoff | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| Royal flush | 800 | 491856684 | 0.000025 | 0.01974 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 2153793276 | 0.000108 | 0.005403 |
| Four of a Kind + Bonus | 76.352438 | 47005841988 | 0.002358 | 0.180052 |
| Full House | 9 | 228890861892 | 0.011483 | 0.103346 |
| Flush | 5 | 216486883920 | 0.010861 | 0.054303 |
| Straight | 4 | 260255023608 | 0.013056 | 0.052225 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 1475246648808 | 0.074009 | 0.222028 |
| Two pair | 1 | 2556440400816 | 0.12825 | 0.12825 |
| Pair | 1 | 4216746386376 | 0.211544 | 0.211544 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 10929512819832 | 0.548306 | 0 |
| Total | 19933230517200 | 1 | 0.976891 | |
| Royal Draw "8/6" Pay Table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | Payoff | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| Royal flush | 800 | 473481924 | 0.000024 | 0.019003 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 2172269688 | 0.000109 | 0.005449 |
| Four of a Kind + Bonus | 76.352438 | 47014134108 | 0.002359 | 0.180083 |
| Full House | 8 | 228947750892 | 0.011486 | 0.091886 |
| Flush | 6 | 221544090528 | 0.011114 | 0.066686 |
| Straight | 4 | 255600824868 | 0.012823 | 0.051291 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 1476003456204 | 0.074047 | 0.222142 |
| Two pair | 1 | 2558163543084 | 0.128337 | 0.128337 |
| Pair | 1 | 4214845162188 | 0.211448 | 0.211448 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 10928465803716 | 0.548254 | 0 |
| Total | 19933230517200 | 1 | 0.976325 | |
| Royal Draw "10/6" Pay Table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | Payoff | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| Royal flush | 800 | 473734764 | 0.000024 | 0.019013 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 2173028208 | 0.000109 | 0.005451 |
| Four of a Kind + Bonus | 76.352438 | 47036533668 | 0.00236 | 0.180169 |
| Full House | 10 | 229024825812 | 0.01149 | 0.114896 |
| Flush | 6 | 221668234968 | 0.011121 | 0.066723 |
| Straight | 4 | 254739744708 | 0.01278 | 0.051119 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 1476869429076 | 0.074091 | 0.222272 |
| Two pair | 1 | 2559283090740 | 0.128393 | 0.128393 |
| Pair | 1 | 4211166789108 | 0.211264 | 0.211264 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 10930795106148 | 0.54837 | 0 |
| Total | 19933230517200 | 1 | 0.9993 | |
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