Four Card Poker
- Four Card Poker Casino Game
- Four Card Poker Strategy
- Four Card Poker Wizard Of Odds
- Four Card Poker Table Layout
- Four Card Poker Rules
- Four Card Poker Online
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Four Card Poker is a casino card game similar to Three Card Poker, invented by Roger Snow and owned by Shuffle Master. Four Card Poker is a poker variant played against the dealer. It has an Aces Up Bonus which makes it very exciting! In 4 Card Poker, Player gets 5 cards and dealer gets 6 cards to make their best. Four Card Poker® is a heads-up stud poker game against the dealer that plays very similar to Three Card® Poker. Each player uses their best four cards dealt out of five cards given. Players also have the option of betting up three times their ante. Four Card Poker.
Introduction
Four Poker is a new poker variation invented by Roger Snow and marketed by Shufflemaster. The game is similar to Three Card Poker but as the title suggests, four cards are used instead of three. Also, there is no dealer qualifying hand and the player can raise up to three times his ante. However, the dealer gets one extra card to form his best hand.
Rules
- Two initial bets are available: The Ante and the Aces Up.
- All players get five cards each and the dealer gets six cards. One of the dealer cards is placed face up, and five face down.
- Players making the Ante bet must decide to fold or raise.
- If the player folds he forfeits his Ante bet. He may or may not forfeit his Aces Up bet, depending on casino rules. It shouldn't matter because if the player has a paying Aces Up bet, he shouldn't be folding anyway.
- If player raises, then he must raise at least the amount of the Ante and at most, three times the Ante.
- The player keeps his best four cards and discards one.
- Following is the ranking of hands from lowest to highest: high card, pair, two pair, straight, flush, three of a kind, straight flush, four of a kind.
- After all decisions have been made, the dealer will turn over his cards and select the best four out of six.
- The player's hand shall be compared to the dealer's hand, the higher hand winning.
- If the dealer's hand is higher, then the player shall lose the Ante and Raise.
- If the player's hand is higher or equal then the Ante and Raise shall pay one to one.
- If the player has at least a three of a kind, then he shall also be paid a Bonus, regardless of the value of the dealer's hand. Two different pay tables are available for the Bonus, as displayed below, and are based on the ante bet. Pay Table 1 is the only one I know of to be actually used.
- Another bet is available (similar to the Pairplus in Three Card Poker), based only on the player's four card hand, called the Aces Up. Seven pay tables are available as indicated below. The only one I know of to be actually used is pay table 5.
Bonus Pay Table
| Hand | Table 1 | Table 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Four of a kind | 25 | 30 |
| Straight flush | 20 | 15 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 2 |
Aces Up Pay Table
| Hand | Table 1 | Table 2 | Table 3 | Table 4 | Table 5 | Table 6 | Table 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four of a kind | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 40 to 1 | 40 to 1 | 30 to 1 | 30 to 1 | 40 to 1 | 40 to 1 | 40 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | 9 to 1 | 7 to 1 | 9 to 1 | 7 to 1 | 8 to 1 | 8 to 1 | 7 to 1 |
| Flush | 6 to 1 | 6 to 1 | 6 to 1 | 6 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 6 to 1 | 5 to 1 |
| Straight | 4 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 4 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 4 to 1 | 4 to 1 | 4 to 1 |
| Two pair | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 3 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 3 to 1 |
| Pair of aces or better | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 |
Of these pay tables for the Aces Up side bet, number five is the most popular. The only exceptions that I'm aware of are an unconfirmed report that that Tulalip in Washington uses pay table 4 and the Grand Casino Hinckley in Minnesota uses pay table 1.
Analysis
The following return table is based on optimal player strategy under the 2-20-25 Ante Bonus pay table. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 2.79%.
Return Table Based on Optimal Strategy
| Player Hand | Raise/Fold | Win/Loss | Combinations | Probability | Pays | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four of a Kind | 3 | Win | 40,182,878,736 | 0.000240 | +29 | 0.006960 |
| Four of a Kind | 3 | Lose | 18,594,576 | 0.000000 | +21 | 0.000002 |
| Straight Flush | 3 | Win | 133,224,330,456 | 0.000796 | +24 | 0.019096 |
| Straight Flush | 3 | Lose | 265,177,080 | 0.000002 | +16 | 0.000025 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | Win | 3,675,379,352,400 | 0.021951 | +6 | 0.131703 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | Lose | 103,559,138,928 | 0.000618 | -2 | -0.001237 |
| Flush | 3 | Win | 6,599,621,152,728 | 0.039415 | +4 | 0.157660 |
| Flush | 3 | Lose | 784,564,849,080 | 0.004686 | -4 | -0.018743 |
| Straight | 3 | Win | 5,257,469,039,688 | 0.031399 | +4 | 0.125597 |
| Straight | 3 | Lose | 1,301,555,952,216 | 0.007773 | -4 | -0.031093 |
| Two Pair | 3 | Win | 5,539,444,298,496 | 0.033083 | +4 | 0.132333 |
| Two Pair | 3 | Lose | 2,420,447,417,280 | 0.014456 | -4 | -0.057823 |
| One Pair | 3 | Win | 14,764,551,298,548 | 0.088179 | +4 | 0.352714 |
| One Pair | 3 | Lose | 10,806,299,820,804 | 0.064539 | -4 | -0.258155 |
| One Pair | 1 | Win | 13,535,004,289,296 | 0.080835 | +2 | 0.161671 |
| One Pair | 1 | Lose | 22,887,448,286,136 | 0.136691 | -2 | -0.273382 |
| One Pair | Fold | Fold | 5,495,692,732,992 | 0.032822 | -1 | -0.032822 |
| High Card | 1 | Win | 148,058,445,132 | 0.000884 | +2 | 0.001769 |
| High Card | 1 | Lose | 422,493,233,796 | 0.002523 | -2 | -0.005047 |
| High Card | Fold | Fold | 73,523,856,056,112 | 0.439108 | -1 | -0.439108 |
| Totals | 167,439,136,344,480 | 1.000000 | -0.027879 |
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The average final bet under optimal strategy is 2.142342 units, making the element of risk, -0.027879/2.142342 = 1.30%. The standard deviation, relative to the original bet, is 2.71.
Beginner Strategy
A simple strategy to this game, first proposed by Stanley Ko, is as follows.
- Raise 3X with a pair of tens or higher.
- Raise 1X with a pair of twos to nines.
- Fold all other.
According to the second edition of 'Beyond Counting' by James Grosjean, this 'simple strategy' results in a house edge of 3.396%.
Intermediate Strategy
The following intermediate strategy was created to balance power and simplicity by our own JB.
- Pair of Aces or better: Bet 3X
- Pair of Js, Qs, Ks: Bet 3X if dealer's upcard is lower than your pair or matches a rank in your hand, otherwise bet 1X
- Pair of 9s, 10s: Bet 1X if dealer's upcard outranks your pair, otherwise bet 3X
- Pair of 8s: Bet 3X if dealer's upcard is a 2, otherwise bet 1X
- Pair of 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s: Bet 1X
- Pair of 2s or AKQ: Bet 1X if dealer's upcard matches a rank in your hand, otherwise fold
- All other: Fold
Against the 2-20-25 Ante Bonus pay table, the house edge is 2.8526% and the element of risk is 1.3233%.
Four Card Poker Casino Game
Advanced Strategy
I'm proud to present the following advanced strategy, also created by my sidekick JB.
- Pair of Aces or better: Bet 3X
- Pair of Ks: Bet 3X, except bet 1X against an Ace and you don't have an Ace nor 4.
- Pair of Js or Qs: Bet 3X, except bet 1X if the dealer's card outranks pair your pair rank and does not match a singleton in your hand.
- Pair of 9s or 10s: Bet 3X, except bet 1X if dealer card outranks your pair rank.
- Pair of 8s: Bet 1X, except bet 3X against a 2
- Pair of 4s thru 7s: Bet 1X
- Pair of 3s: Bet 1X, except fold against a Jack if your highest kicker is a 10 or lower
- Pair of 2s or AKQ: Fold, except bet 1X if dealer card matches a rank in your hand
- AKJT: Fold, except bet 1X against a Jack
- AKJ9 or lower: Fold
Against the 2-20-25 Ante Bonus pay table, the house edge is 2.8498% and the element of risk is 1.3216%. Here is a house edge comparison of various known strategies.
- Simple: 3.396%
- Intermediate: 2.853%
- Advanced: 2.850%
- Optimal: 2.788%
To put it another way, here are the cost of errors:
- Simple: 0.606%
- Intermediate: 0.065%
- Advanced: 0.062%
- Optimal: 0.000%
Aces Up Analysis
The next table shows the probability of each hand and the return under pay table five of the Aces Up side bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 3.89%.
Return for Aces Up Pay Table 5
| Hand | Combinations | Probability | Pays | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four of a kind | 624 | 0.00024 | 50 | 0.012005 |
| Straight flush | 2072 | 0.000797 | 40 | 0.03189 |
| Three of a kind | 58656 | 0.022569 | 8 | 0.180552 |
| Flush | 114616 | 0.044101 | 5 | 0.220504 |
| Straight | 101808 | 0.039173 | 4 | 0.15669 |
| Two pair | 123552 | 0.047539 | 3 | 0.142617 |
| Pair of aces | 81096 | 0.031203 | 1 | 0.031203 |
| Nothing | 2116536 | 0.814378 | -1 | -0.814378 |
| Total | 2598960 | 1 | -0.038917 |
The next table shows the house edge according to all four Aces Up pay tables.
Aces Up House Edge
Four Card Poker Strategy
| Pay Table | House Edge |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1.98% |
| 2 | 2.58% |
| 3 | 2.78% |
| 4 | 3.37% |
| 5 | 3.89% |
| 6 | 4.24% |
| 7 | 6.15% |
Note: There is also a similar game called Crazy Four Poker.
Acknowledgments
I would like to recognize:
- JB for the analysis of the optimal strategy.
- Stanley Ko for the simplified strategy.
- James Grosjean for the unpublished advanced strategy.
Written by:Michael Shackleford
Four Card Poker: The game of poker has many different variants and versions.
Apart from live poker and online poker; there are different ways to play the game of poker; some of the examples are Omaha, Hold’em and Stud poker.
One somewhat new version of the game is ‘Four Card’ poker; and like most poker games this has its own set of rules and regulations; which make it different from the rest.
The first thing to learn Four Card Poker is the necessary requirements for playing the game.
The game was developed by Roger Snow of Shuffle Master and hence; also requires a shuffling machine for the cards to be dealt.
It is quite similar to the Three Card poker game.
A normal 52 card deck is used; and this game also has a dealer; similar to blackjack.
A special table is used to play the game; and has three circles in front of the player which are; Ante, Aces Up and Ante 1X to 3X.
The base of the game is the Ante; where you play against the dealer; again similar to Blackjack or Three Card Poker.
The second part of the game includes the Aces up portion; where you get a payment depending on the kind of aces you have; or other cards.
Each player is dealt five cards; while the dealer has six cards during a round of Four Card Poker.
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How to play the four card poker
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Four Card Poker Wizard Of Odds
A player starts the game by making an independent bet on either the Ante or Aces Up portion of the table or both.
You must bet the same amount if you are going to put across bets on both the Ante and Aces Up.
The player gets five cards, all face down. he then selects his best four cards to make a hand; but should not reveal them as yet.
The dealer deals himself six cards and he too chooses his best four cards to make a hand.
A player here can either decide to play on or fold his cards. In the case of the latter; he will lose his Ante, or he can make another bet and continue playing the game.
The bet has to match the bet made earlier or more depending on how you think your cards are stacked up.
After all the final bets have been made, the cards are revealed for both the player and the dealer.
The ranking of the hands are provided below for an easier understanding of who wins the game:
Highest cards to lowest cards:
- Four of a kind: Four cards of one rank like four 9’s or four Kings.
- Straight flush: Four cards which are sequential and off the same suit, like the Q, J, 10 and 9 of hearts.
- Three of a kind: As the name suggests three cards of the same rank.
- Flush: Four cards, all of the same suit as the 10, 7, 6 and 2 of diamonds.
- Straight: Four cards which are in sequence but not of the same suit.
- Two pairs: A hand that consists of two pairs of cards which are off the same rank but different suits like K, K, 9, 9. The King of diamonds and the King of clubs with the 9 of spades and the 9 of hearts.
- One pair: Similar to the two pair but this hand would only consist of one pair of cards of the same rank.
- High card: A hand made out of the rank of cards available but not matching any of the above conditions. For, eg, K, 9, 6, 4 but none of the cards are of the same suit.
Payment
If the player defeats the dealer’s hand; then a payment is made; depending on certain conditions. There is also a bonus payment.
This is the ‘Ante bonus,’. And it depends on the hand of the player during the Ante game.
If a player has a three of a kind; he gets 2 to 1. If the player has a straight flush; you get 20 to 1. If he has four of a kind, the player is gets 25 to 1.
A player gets bonus even if the dealer defeats his hand; but this is a rule which needs vetting.
Aces Up
The Aces Up bet is not dependent on the hand of the dealer; and if a player does have a pair of aces or better cards; he is eligible for payment based on the table posted regarding the payout.
The fun part of this bet is that even if you do lose your Ante bet you can still win the Aces Up bet.
Again you need to be sure about the pay schedule before you try to figure how much you might have won.
four card poker Strategy
Like any version of poker there are multiple strategies to play this game but the fact that this game only uses four cards, the complexities of the game are not as much as say Texas Hold’em.
Four Card Poker Table Layout
This is a fun game for everyone to try out and all you need to have is a little bit of hand knowledge before you can think about winning a ton of hands.
Shuffle Master has already provided an extensive write up on the perfect strategy to play the game but here is a simple one which has been provided at various Shuffle Master tables regarding four card poker.
- If you have a pair of 2’s or less you must fold, you might lose the initial bet but its better than losing out a lot.
- Pair of threes through nine’s you should bet at least Ante X1
- Pair of ten’s or better, max up the ante and bet Ante X3
Four Card Poker Rules
Again it depends on what you sometimes feel at the table. Also, poker is about gut feel and luck too.
Four Card Poker Online
Make smart decisions and don’t always go by the book.