Casino Poker Games That Are Not Poker

I have been presenting in this series the rules for games that casinos claim are poker but are not. Here is a final look at more such games.

Flop Poker: A house-banked card game that uses poker hand rankings, in which players do not compete against the dealer. The object of the game is to make a poker hand containing a pair of jacks or better, using the player's three cards dealt and the three community cards turned up by the dealer. In addition, players can bet that their hand will be the best of all hands dealt. Each player places two bets, an ante bet and a pot bet. The ante wager can be any amount up to the table limit. The pot bet is always the table minimum. Three cards are dealt to each player facedown. The player may look at his own cards, but sharing of information is not allowed. The player has two options, raise or fold. If the player folds, he forfeits his ante but retains his cards for later settling of the pot bet. If the player raises, he does so by making a flop bet equal to his ante bet. The dealer then deals a three-card flop faceup. These are community cards and are used by all players. The dealer determines in turn each player's best poker hand, using all three of the player cards in combination with any two of the flop cards. If the player has at least a pair of jacks, the ante wager pays even money and the flop pays all winners according to a pay table, ranging from 1,000-1 for a royal flush to even money on a pair of jacks or better. Finally, the player with the highest poker hand, again using his own three cards and any two flop cards, wins all pot bets. If two or more hands are tied, the pot bets are split among the players holding those hands. Like the odds bet of craps, the pot bet of Flop Poker has absolutely no house advantage.

four-card poker: A house-banked game dealt from one deck, similar to three-card poker. Each player receives five cards from which to make four-card poker hands (with four-card straights and four-card flushes as ranking hands, and hands ranked thusly: four of a kind, straight flush, three of a kind, flush, straight, two pair, pair); only the best four cards in each hand are used to determine winners. The dealer gets six cards to make a four-card hand; one of the dealer's cards is dealt faceup. Two bets can be made. For the original bet (the ante), a player is paid, if he stays, on certain holdings according to a pay scale, ranging from 25-1 for four of a kind to 2-1 for three of a kind. After seeing his hand, a player can either fold or stay in the game by making a second bet (the aces up bet), and then his hand competes against the dealer's; the player wins ties. This second bet can be equal to, twice, or three times the ante. If the player does not make the aces up bet, he loses the original bet. Unlike three-card poker, the dealer does not need to qualify. Some casinos have other rules, sometimes involving three bets. The aces up bet wins when the player has a pair of aces or better, ranging from even money for a pair of aces to 50-1 for four of a kind.

Let It Ride Bonus: A house-banked card game that uses poker hand rankings and looks like a combination of five-card stud and hold'em. The object of the game is to make a poker hand containing a pair of tens or better, using the player's three cards dealt and the two community cards turned up by the dealer. Each player places three equal bets in circles marked 1, 2, and $. Three cards are dealt to each player. If the player likes his cards, he "lets it ride." If he doesn't like them, he requests the first bet back. Then, the dealer turns over one of the two community cards. If the player still likes his cards, he can again "let it ride" or request his second bet back. Finally, the dealer turns over the second community card and pays all winners according to a pay table, ranging from 1,000-1 for a royal flush to even money on a pair of tens or better. A player can also make an extra side bet, with certain bonus hands paying large payouts, sometimes including part or all of a progressive jackpot. The game was formerly known as Let It Ride! (including the exclamation point); some casinos still use that name.

(Thanks to Michael Shackleford, "The Wizard of Odds," for input on some of these definitions. Look on his site, http://www.wizardofodds.com, for good strategies on how best to play these games and mathematical analyses of the house edge.)

Michael Wiesenberg's The Official Dictionary of Poker is the ultimate authority on the language of cardrooms. Order it online at CardPlayer.com. And look for The 1,000 Best Casinos in the World this summer.