Blazing Bullseye

Introduction

Blazing Bullseye began a field trial at the Venetian on December 11, 2020. It is difficult to compare to any other game, except Saigon 5 Card. Despite rather complicated rules, it is simple game of chance.

Rules

1. A single 52-card deck is used.
2. Each card has a point value, the same as baccarat, as follows:
   • Aces = 1 point
   • 2 to 9 = pip value
   • 10's and face cards = 0 points
3. The main wager is called the "Main." Besides that, there are side bets titled Tie, Suits, and Bullseye.
4. After wagering is closed, the dealer will deal the player and himself five cards each. The dealer cards are dealt face down.
5. The player will separate his cards into a three-card hand and a two-card hand.
6. The total points in the 3-card hand must have a total evenly divisible by 10, which is required to "qualify."
7. If a 3-card hand can be achieved with a total evenly divisible by 10, then the 2-card will be scored as follows, from highest to lowest:
   • Ace of spades and any face card
   • A pair, following poker order of aces highest down to twos lowest.
   • Two mixed face cards.
   • The terminal digit of the total points of the two cards (as in baccarat)
8. After the player has set his hand, the dealer will do the same, I presume maximizing the two-card hand where the three-card hand qualifies.
9. If the player does not have a qualifying three-card hand, then the Main bet loses.
10. Otherwise, if the dealer does not have a qualifying three-card hand, then the Main bet will push.
11. Otherwise, if the player has the higher two-card hand, then the Main bet shall pay according to the two-card hand, as follows:
    • Aces of spades and any face card — 5 to 1
    • Any pair — 3 to 1
    • Two mixed face cards — 2 to 1
    • All other wins — 1 to 1
12. Otherwise, if the dealer has the higher two-card hand, then the Main bet shall lose.
13. Otherwise, if the player and dealer have equally-ranked two-card hands, then the Main bet shall push.
14. The Tie is a side bet that pays 8 to 1 if the Player and Dealer have equally valued hands, including both not qualifying in the three-card hand.
15. The Bullseye is a side bet that pays based on the number of face cards in the player's hand, as follows:
    • 5 face cards pays 200 to 1
    • 4 face cards pays 20 to 1
    • 3 face cards pays 10 to 1
16. The Suits is a side bet that pays based on the number of number of cards in the player's longest suit, as follows:
    • 5 suited cards pays 20 to 1
    • 4 suited cards pays 5 to 1
    • 3 suited cards pays 1 to 1

If the rules are still unclear, the following images show the rack card and pay tables on the felt.

Analysis

The following tables show my analysis of the four bets available in Blazing Bullseye. The math on the Bullseye and Suits was quite easy, but the other two required a customized program. I am not aware of any other analysis of this game, so please consider the results unconfirmed at this time.

The following table shows my analysis of the Main bet. The lower right cell indicates a house edge of 6.15%.

The following table shows my analysis of the Tie bet. The lower right cell indicates a house edge of 9.64%.

The following table shows my analysis of the Bullseye bet. The lower right cell indicates a house edge of 5.25%.

The following table shows my analysis of the Suits bet. The lower right cell indicates a house edge of 4.86%.

Written by: Michael Shackleford