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Hi Lo

Introduction

Hi Lo is a simple card game offered by Playtech live dealer casinos. It is very similar to the game High Low, but there are enough rule differences to be worthy of a distinct page. The idea behind both games is a random card is drawn and the player bets on whether the next card will be lower, higher, equal, as well as certain proposition bets. The main difference between the two games is this one, Hi Lo, has no tens in the shoe.

Rules

  1. Six* 48-card decks are used. Each deck consists of every rank excepts tens.
  2. The winning card from the previous hand is exposed.
  3. The following table shows the bets available and what they pay on a "for one" basis.

    General Pay Table

    Bet Pays
    2,3,4,5 2.89
    6,7,8,9 2.89
    J,Q,K,A 2.89
    Heart or diamond 1.92
    Club or spade 1.92
    King or ace 5.78
    Ace 11.56
    Lower Varies
    Snap** 12.06
    Higher Varies
  4. The odds on the Lower and Higher bets depend on the rank of the exposed card, as shown in the following table. Wins are shown on a "for one" basis.

    Higher and Lower Pay Table

    Exposed
    Card    		 Lower
    Pays    		 Higher
    Pays
    2 1.05
    3 11.56 1.15
    4 5.78 1.28
    5 3.85 1.44
    6 2.89 1.65
    7 2.31 1.92
    8 1.92 2.31
    9 1.65 2.89
    J 1.44 3.85
    Q 1.28 5.78
    K 1.15 11.56
    A 1.05
  5. Three cards will be burned and the next one shall be revealed as the winning card.
  6. That winning card is used as the revealed card for the next round and the process repeats itself.
  7. A continuous shuffler is used with the cards from the previous round immediately placed back in the shuffler.

Notes:
* I could not find anywhere in writing that six decks are used. However, plugging six into my spreadsheet results in returns closest to the advertised 96.45% and the least disparity between the return of the Lower, Snap, and Higher bets.
** The Snap bet wins if the next card is equal in rank to the exposed card.

Analysis

The following table shows the expected return on the Lower and Higher bets and which bet has the greater return by the exposed card. Note that the odds favor the higher win in every case where there is a choice.

Higher and Lower Return Table

Exposed
Card		 Lower
Return		 Higher
Return		 Best
Bet
2 96.59%
3 96.67% 96.17% Lower
4 96.67% 96.33% Lower
5 96.59% 96.33% Lower
6 96.67% 96.59% Lower
7 96.59% 96.33% Lower
8 96.33% 96.59% Higher
9 96.59% 96.67% Higher
J 96.33% 96.59% Higher
Q 96.33% 96.67% Higher
K 96.17% 96.67% Higher
A 96.59%

The odds on the proposition bets depend on whether or not the exposed card belongs to the group bet on. For example, if the player bets on a Heart of Diamond, his odds are better if the exposed card is a Club or Spade, because there is one less losing card in the shoe. The following table shows the expected return for the proposition bets according to whether the exposed card would cause that bet to win or lose.

Higher and Lower Return Table

Bet Pays Exposed
Card Wins		 Exposed
Card Loses
2,3,4,5 2.89 95.66% 96.67%
6,7,8,9 2.89 95.66% 96.67%
J,Q,K,A 2.89 95.66% 96.67%
Heart or diamond 1.92 95.67% 96.33%
Club or spade 1.92 95.67% 96.33%
King or ace 5.78 94.66% 96.67%
Ace 11.56 92.64% 96.67%

Strategy

With the Higher and Lower bets, choose the one that pays more. With the proposition bets, be sure to not bet on anything where the exposed card would win, because there is one less winning card in the shoe.

Written by: Michael Shackleford