3-Way Action

Introduction

3-Way Action is a video poker variation in which the player makes up to three bets on three ways to win: (1) the 5-card hand on the deal, (2) the 5-card hand on the draw, and (3) a 7-card hand consisting of the 5-card draw hand plus two more cards from the remaining deck. The game is not to be confused with the table game of the same name, Three Way Action.

Rules

The first coin bet is applied to the 5-card deal bet, the second on the 5-card draw bet, and the third on the 7-card hand. Subsequent coins repeat this cycle. As with most video poker games the highest hands pay disproportionately higher with a max coin bet. The following pay tables are per coin based on max coins bet. The pay tables below are the highest I know to exist, others are indicated in the Return section.

 

 

 

Return

I am aware of five different sets of pay tables, which are listed below according to the combined return over the three bets. All 5-card draw and 7-card draw pay tables are based on optimal strategy.

99.291%

I have observed the following pay table at both the Oasis in Mesquite and the Santa Fe Station in Las Vegas. Be warned that the Santa Fe Station has lots of 3-Way Action games and not all follow this pay table.

97.533%

97.288%

96.917%

94.713%

Strategy

The following strategy is based on the 99.291% combined return game and is not optimal. My program generated an optimal strategy but it was 76,045 lines long. This is my attempt to condense it. Note that there are plays which may seem strange to the video poker player, like 3 to a flush, 3 to a straight, two to a straight flush, and a single 4 or 10. Some common video poker terminology is used. If you are not familiar with some of the terms please see the key, my Jacks or Better optimal strategy.

1. Pat royal
2. Four aces + 2-4
3. Four aces + 5-K
4. Four 2-4 + A-4
5. Pat straight flush
6. Four 2-4 + 5-K
7. Four 5-K
8. Four to a royal
9. Full house with no 5-K
10. Three of a kind aces
11. Full house, with at least one 5-K
12. Three of a kind 2-4
13. Four to an outside straight flush
14. Flush
15. Three of a kind 5-K
16. Straight
17. Four to an inside straight flush
18. Two pair
19. Pair of aces
20. Three to a royal
21. Four to a flush
22. Pair J-K
23. 9/10/J suited
24. Three to a straight flush +0, -1
25. Pair 2-4
26. Four to an outside straight
27. Three to a flush with two high cards
28. Pair 5-K
29. Two suited high cards
30. Three to a straight flush -2
31. Three to a flush with one high card
32. Four to an inside straight with 2-3 high cards
33. Two to a royal 10 low
34. Four to an inside straight with 1 high card
35. Three to a flush with zero high cards
36. Two high cards
37. One high card
38. Three to a straight with two high cards
39. Four to an inside straight with 0 high cards
40. Two to a straight flush
41. Three consecutive cards, zero high
42. Ten
43. Four
44. Toss everything

Methodology

I've been toying with this game since I first saw it in the year 2001. The problem with it is that there are 3,432,502,295,061,840 possible outcomes of each hand. Most initial programs I created would have taken several years to cycle through. However, in 2005 I developed enough short cuts to cut down the analysis time to only 80 days. So after four years of off and on tinkering and almost three months of computer time, I finally cracked this game in August 2005. This section may interest few people but I consider it one of my proudest accomplishments.

Written by: Michael Shackleford