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Chase The Royal

Introduction

Rules

This appendix presents my analysis of Chase the Royal video poker. The rules for Chase the Royal are as follows:

 

  • The game is based on conventional video poker. The player may choose among four different video poker variations and either 3-play, 5-play, or 10-play.
  • If the player is dealt a pair of jacks, queens, or kings and made a max coin bet then the player may exchange the high pair for 3 cards to a royal flush. This Chase the Royal option does not apply if the pair is part of a higher hand (for example a two pair) or if the player also has 4 cards to a straight or royal flush.
  • The 3 cards to a royal shall be chosen at random from among the 40 possible (4 suits by 10 ways to choose 3 ranks out of 5). The player may see the specific three cards before deciding to switch.
  • If the player opts to chase the royal then the other two cards will be dealt immediatly from the remaining 49 cards in the deck.
  • As an incentive to chase the royal a straight shall pay 10 and a flush shall pay 12 in chase the royal mode.
  • A dealt royal shall pay 2000, as opposed to the usual 800 per coin bet based.

 

Strategy

As in conventional video poker, the player should seek out the best pay table possible and play proper strategy. If the player has the opportunity to chase the royal, then the player should always do so.

Overall, the player will get 4.39 as many royal flushes as conventional video poker, at the expense of fewer low paying hands. The standard deviation is very high at 9.15 (for 9/6/5 double bonus), compared to the normal 5.55 for the same game. This game is well suited for the player who puts an emphasis on excitement, over bankroll preservation.

 

Jacks or Better

 

Chase the Royal — 6/5 Jacks or Better

Hand Pays Probability Return
Dealt Royal Flush 2000 0.000002 0.003078
Royal Flush 800 0.000106 0.084992
Straight flush 50 0.000149 0.007472
Four of a kind 25 0.002092 0.05229
Full house 6 0.010519 0.063113
Flush 12 0.003606 0.043267
Flush 5 0.010911 0.054556
Straight 10 0.001865 0.018649
Straight 4 0.011283 0.045134
3 of a kind 3 0.06403 0.192091
2 pair 2 0.115907 0.231814
Pair 1 0.170233 0.170233
Nothing 0 0.609297 0
Total 1 0.966689

 

Triple Bonus

 

Chase the Royal — 8/5 Triple Bonus

Hand Pays Probability Return
Dealt Royal Flush 2000 0.000002 0.003078
Royal flush 800 0.000108 0.086187
Straight flush 50 0.000148 0.00742
4 aces + 2-4 800 0.000071 0.056458
4 2-4 + A-4 400 0.000173 0.069043
4 aces + 5-K 160 0.00015 0.023953
4 2-4 + 5-K 80 0.00032 0.025622
4 5-K 50 0.001348 0.067387
Full house 8 0.009521 0.076164
Flush 12 0.003606 0.043267
Flush 5 0.011 0.054999
Straight 10 0.001865 0.018649
Straight 4 0.013745 0.054981
3 of a kind 2 0.064745 0.129491
Two pair 1 0.108976 0.108976
Jacks or better 1 0.165734 0.165734
Nothing 0 0.61849 0
Total 1 0.99141

 

Double Double Bonus

 

Chase the Royal — 8/5 Double Double Bonus

Hand Pays Probability Return
Dealt Royal Flush 2000 0.000002 0.003078
Royal flush 800 0.000106 0.085045
Straight flush 50 0.000148 0.007422
4 aces + 2-4 400 0.000062 0.024632
4 2-4 + A-4 160 0.000143 0.022911
4 aces + 5-K 160 0.000173 0.027752
4 2-4 + 5-K 80 0.000384 0.030754
4 5-K 50 0.001362 0.068089
Full house 8 0.009876 0.079006
Flush 12 0.003606 0.043267
Flush 5 0.010985 0.054926
Straight 10 0.001865 0.018649
Straight 4 0.012951 0.051804
3 of a kind 3 0.064935 0.194806
Two pair 1 0.109796 0.109796
Jacks or better 1 0.167249 0.167249
Nothing 0 0.616357 0
Total 1 0.989186

 

Bonus Poker Deluxe

 

Chase the Royal — 6/5 Bonus Poker Deluxe

Hand Pays Probability Return
Dealt Royal Flush 2000 0.000002 0.003078
Royal flush 800 0.000106 0.084818
Straight flush 50 0.00015 0.007476
4 of a kind 80 0.00222 0.177599
Full house 6 0.007228 0.043368
Flush 12 0.003606 0.043267
Flush 5 0.010861 0.054306
Straight 10 0.001865 0.018649
Straight 4 0.013057 0.052227
3 of a kind 3 0.067824 0.203471
2 pair 1 0.095637 0.095637
Pair 1 0.184907 0.184907
Nothing 0 0.612539 0
Total   1 0.968803

 

7/5/4 Double Bonus

 

Chase the Royal — 7/5/4 Double Bonus

Hand Pays Probability Return
Dealt Royal Flush 2000 0.000002 0.003078
Royal flush 800 0.000106 0.085072
Straight flush 50 0.00015 0.00749
4 aces 160 0.000224 0.035842
4 2-4 80 0.000527 0.042161
4 5-K 50 0.001363 0.06815
Full house 7 0.009844 0.068905
Flush 12 0.003606 0.043267
Flush 5 0.010919 0.054593
Straight 10 0.001865 0.018649
Straight 4 0.013101 0.052404
3 of a kind 3 0.064577 0.193732
Two pair 1 0.109409 0.109409
Jacks or better 1 0.170623 0.170623
Nothing 0 0.613686 0
Total 1 0.953376

Other Games

The following list shows the expected return with optimal strategy of other Chase the Royal games and pay tables.

Chase the Royal Return Table

Game Pay table Return
Bonus Poker Deluxe 7,5 0.976727
Bonus Poker Deluxe 6,5 0.968803
Double Bonus 9,6,5 0.998395
Double Bonus 9,6,4 0.984086
Double Bonus 7,5,4 0.953376
Double Double Bonus 8,5 0.989186
Double Double Bonus 7,5 0.979436
Double Double Bonus 6,5 0.969877
Jacks or Better 6,5 0.966689
Triple Double Bonus 8,5 0.99141
Triple Double Bonus 7,5 0.981893
Triple Double Bonus 6,5 0.97238

Outside Links

Practice Chase the Royal for free at videopoker.com.

 

 

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Strategies

Full-Pay Jacks or Better:

Full-Pay Deuces Wild:

Quick Quads:

Other Strategies: