World Series of Poker

Introduction

World Series of Poker (subtitled "Final Table Bonus") is a video poker variation by WMS. I have seen the game at Bally's, Caesars Palace, and Harrah's in both Vegas and Laughlin. The game plays like ordinary video poker, except the player can make an extra bet to qualify for the "Final Table Bonus." Following are the specific rules.

Rules

1. Player starts by making two separate but equal bets. One bet bet I'll call the "video poker" bet and the other the "bonus" bet.
2. The video poker bet shall play the same as standard video poker.
3. After the draw in video poker a "Bonus Hand" consisting of two additional cards shall be dealt from a separate 52-card deck.
4. If there is exactly one ace in the bonus hand, any winnings from the video poker hand will be tripled.
5. If there are two aces in the bonus hand, any winnings from the video poker hand will be multiplied by nine.
6. If the bonus hand is a pair of jacks or better then the player will play the Final Table Bonus. If the bonus hand is less than a pair of jacks it is still possible to play the bonus (see rule 16).
7. In the Final Table Bonus the player will face up to nine opponents, one at a time. The player will start out in tenth place. For each opponent the player beats he shall move up one place. The player shall win according to the place he attains at the end of the bonus round.
8. In double bonus, any four of a kind in the video poker hand win will be doubled if the player also attains the bonus round. In double double bonus, any four of a kind in the video poker hand win will be quadrupled if the player also attains the bonus round.
9. The player's bonus hand shall be the player's hole cards against the first opponent. The player may choose to accept these cards or replace them with two random cards from a fresh deck. The player may also trade in his second hand but the third hand shall be final. In other words the player may trade in his hole cards up to two times.
10. After the player has accepted his initial two-card hand, the opponent will be given two cards from the same deck.
11. Three community cards (known as the "flop") will be dealt, then a fourth (called the "turn"), and then a fifth called the "river." As this happens, the game will update the probability of winning for both of the two participants.
12. Both player and opponent will make the best five card poker hand using any combination of his own two hole cards and the five community cards. The higher poker hand wins.
13. If the player beats or ties the opponent he will advance to the next opponent. With all subsequent opponents the first set of hole cards will be dealt from a freshly shuffled deck.
14. The player will keep playing until he beats nine opponents or loses trying.
15. If the player's bonus hand is less than a pair of jacks he may earn a "free seat" in the bonus round. The probability of a free seat bonus round depends on the particular game. As in an earned bonus, the player's first set of hole cards will carry over from the bonus hand.
16. If the player loses with a four of a kind or higher the player shall win a "Bad Beat Bonus" of 10,000 times the bonus bet. It is my interpretation of the game rules that use of the two hole cards is not required for the bad beat bonus.

 

 

 

The player may choose from a menu of six games. Five are indicated below. These pay tables are based on those observed at Harrah's in Laughlin. Other pay tables are available from WMS, the game maker.

Pictures

In this picture I bet 10 coins, the 5-coin win for the pair of kings is tripled to 15 because I got an ace in the bonus hand.

 

 

In this picture I face my first opponent in the bonus round. My pair of jacks in the bonus hand carries over as my first starting hand. The lower right corner of the screen shows I can accept this hand (which I should) or trade it in for a random two-card hand.

 

 

Return

 

In the 97.30% version of Jacks or Better the probability of a free seat is 1 in 850, as told to me by WMS gaming.

The following is the return table for the video poker bet.

 

The following table shows the return for the various components of the overall game.

 

 

On the menu this game is titled "Four of a Kind Poker," although the pay table was the same as that of Bonus Poker. I was not told the free seat probability but based on WMS literature on the game I estimate the probability to be 1 in 700.

The following is the return table for the video poker bet.

 

The following table shows the return for the various components of the overall game.

 

 

On the menu this game is titled "2X Four of a Kind." I was not told the free seat probability but based on WMS literature on the game I estimate the probability to be 1 in 950.

The following is the return table for the video poker bet. The probabilities do not match those for conventional 7/5 Double Bonus because the four of a kind multiplier would cause the optimal strategy player to put a greater weighting on the four of a kinds. The strategy used for the table below is based on four of a kind pays of 162.90, 81.45, and 50.90.

 

The following table shows the return for the various components of the overall game.

 

 

On the menu this game is titled "4X Four of a Kind." I was not told the free seat probability but based on WMS literature on the game I estimate the probability to be 1 in 900.

The following is the return table for the video poker bet. The probabilities do not match those for conventional 8/5 Double Double Bonus because the four of a kind multiplier would cause the optimal strategy player to put a greater weighting on the four of a kinds. The strategy used for the table below is based on four of a kind pays of 421.72, 168.69, 84.34, and 52.71.

 

The following table shows the return for the various components of the overall game.

 

 

I was not told the free seat probability but based on WMS literature on the game I estimate the probability to be 1 in 627. Deuces are only wild in the video poker game, not the bonus hand or bonus.

 

The following table shows the return for the various components of the overall game.

 

 

I was not told the free seat probability but based on WMS literature on the game I estimate the probability to be 1 in 504. I assume that there are no jokers in the bonus hand or bonus game.

 

The following table shows the return for the various components of the overall game.

 

Strategy

Except for double bonus and double double bonus the video poker strategy is the same as conventional video poker. In the two games with a four of a kind multiplier the player should play slightly more aggressively to get four of a kinds than the pay table suggests. The real for of a kind values are indicated above for both of those games.

The bonus round strategy changes as the player moves up through the opponents. This is because the player is conflicted between advancing to the next opponent and attaining the bad beat jackpot. The earlier in the bonus round the greater the relative value of the bad beat bonus. Thus, earlier in the bonus the player will be slightly more inclined to keep marginal hands.

The following table shows the bonus round strategy when in 10th place.

 

 

The following table shows the bonus round strategy when in 9th place.

 

 

The following table shows the bonus round strategy when in 8th place.

 

 

The following table shows the bonus round strategy when in 7th place.

 

 

The following table shows the bonus round strategy when in 2nd to 6th place.

 

 

Bad Beat Probabilities

The following table shows the probability of a bad beat for any given starting hand.

 

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Scott at Online Poker Room Reviews for the bad beat probability table above. I would also like to thank WMS gaming for their cooperation answering questions about the rules and guidance in the mathematical analysis.

Written by: Michael Shackleford