Poker Beantown Style
29 July 2005
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark, Do you know anything about a game
called Boston Five Card? Karl V.
Boston 5 Card is a relatively new poker game
that is making an appearance in numerous casinos
across America. Some readers have written me
stating how much fun it is to play; its ultimate
success, however, will depend not on fun, but on
how much money it makes for the casino.
Play commences when the player makes an ante bet
and a "first wager." The first wager must be
exactly double that of the ante. Additionally,
there is an optional 3-card bonus bet, though
you cannot make a bet on the 3-card bonus wager
alone. Each bonus player then receives 3 cards.
If a player made the optional 3-card bonus bet
and has at least a pair, he/she then shows the
dealer his/her cards to receive payment. If you
can, find the following paytable: three-card
straight flushes pay 40-1, and you get 30-1 for
three of a kind, 6-1 for straights, 4-1 for
flushes and 1-1 for a pair. The casino advantage
on this wager is 2.3%. But if the flush payoff
is 3-1 instead of 4-1, the house edge climbs to
7.3%.
Once the dealer makes the appropriate payoffs
for those who made a 3-card bonus wager, you
review your first three cards and decide whether
to raise or fold. If you fold, you forfeit your
cards and all bets. If you raise, you must make
a "second wager" exactly equal to the first
wager. The dealer then deals the remaining
players two more cards. Each hand is then
individually compared to the dealer's five-card
hand, and the higher hand wins.
If your 5-card hand beats the dealer's hand, you
win even money on the first and second wagers,
and push the ante bet. If the dealer's hand
beats your hand, you lose your first and second
wagers, plus the ante. If both the dealer's hand
and yours are exactly equal in value, the first,
second and the ante bets all push.
Regardless of whether you or the dealer has the
higher hand, you are eligible for a bonus for
hands of two pair or greater, based on the ante
bet. The full pay table on the ante bonus is as
follows: royal flush, 1,000 x ante; straight
flush, 200 x ante; four of a kind, 100 x ante;
full house, 25 x ante; flush, 15 x ante;
straight, 10 x ante; three of a kind, 5 x ante;
two pairs, 2 x ante.
The strategy for 5-Card Boston is quite simple:
raise on everything. Even if you have what looks
like a willywuss 3-card hand, it is a much
better option to raise than to fold. Only by
betting the ante-bet-bet combination on every
hand can you lower the house edge to 3.32%.
Also, Karl, don't forget to avoid the 3-card
bonus bet if the flush pays 3 to 1 instead of 4
to 1, or if a three-of-a-kind pays 25 to 1
instead of 30 to 1.
Dear Mark, In a recent column you mentioned
surrender, both early and late. I've never heard
the phrase before. Can you explain what it
means? John O.
Surrender is an option in which the casinos
allow players to "surrender" half their original
bet total after they have examined their first
two cards and have viewed the dealer's up card.
Early surrender permits a player to relinquish
half of the wager even if the dealer has a
blackjack. With late surrender, a player loses
the bet if the dealer possesses a blackjack.
Never, John, think of surrender as giving up
half your wager, but as just getting back half
your probable loss.
Gambling wisdom of the week: "The rulers of the
country generally believed that betting
eliminates strikes. Men had to work in order to
gamble." -Michael Ondaatje, Running the Family
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