Dear Mark: How about one of your
Gambling 101’s on a table game called
Ultimate Texas Hold’em. I’d like to give it
a go, but would love a primer from you
before I try it out. David L.
ShuffleMaster’s Ultimate Texas
Hold'em pretty much has it all, David:
aggressive betting, yet the ability to check
through the river, optional Trips bonus bet
(see question below), and yes, those bad
beats and miracle draws. Played on a
blackjack style table with a ordinary
52-card deck, Ultimate Texas Hold'em is a
poker-based casino game where the players do
not compete against one another, but
head-to-head against the dealer.
To play, players make equal-sized bets in
both the Ante and Blind circles, and an
optional Trips bet if they so choose. Two
cards are then dealt face down to each
player and to the dealer. Players can then
check or make a Play bet equal to 4X their
Ante. Then the dealer turns over three
community cards, known as the flop.
The player who had previously checked, can
either check again, or make a Play bet equal
to 2X his or her Ante. Any player, who had
already made a Play bet, can bet no further.
The dealer now reveals the final two
community cards.
Any player, who had previously checked
through the river, must now bet 1X the Ante
or fold, losing both the Ante and Blind
bets.
The dealer now reveals the two hole cards
and the player and dealer both make the best
possible hands using any combination of
their own two cards and the five community
cards.
If the player’s hand beats the dealer’s,
both the Play and Ante bets are paid at even
money. If the dealer’s hand beats the
player’s, the player’s wagers lose. If the
player and dealer tie, then the Ante, Blind,
and Play bets will all push.
There is a kicker, David, and that is that
the dealer needs at least a pair to qualify.
If the dealer doesn’t qualify, he returns
the player’s Ante, but all other wagers
receive action. Qualifying only matters for
the purposes of the Ante bet.
Regarding the Blind bet, if the player has
the higher hand, the Blind bet will pay
according to a Blind Bet paytable posted on
the game. If the dealer has the higher hand,
the Blind bet loses.
The Trips bonus bet pays according to the
value of the player's hand according to the
table’s paytable, regardless of the value of
the dealer's hand.
As for strategy, David, because you are
playing heads-up against the dealer, allow
yourself to play a bit looser than you would
on a live game of Texas Hold’em.
Also, since you can make just one raise at
any allowable time during the course of the
hand, the earlier the raise is made, the
higher it may be. So, David, make the 4X
pre-Flop wager with any two-card hand that
has a pair of threes or higher, an ace, a
king suited with any other card, a queen
suited with six or higher, a jack suited
with 8 or higher, an unsuited king with a
five or higher, and an unsuited queen with
an eight or higher.
Dear Mark: I’m in love with Ultimate Texas
Hold’em. I do have one question though
regarding one of the bets on the layout. The
game offers an optional side bet called the
Trips bonus bet. Is it worth playing, and by
that I mean is it under your recommended two
percent casino advantage? Jim S.
The optional Trips bonus bet you
speak off pays odds if the player’s final
five-card hand is a three-of-a-kind or
better regardless of the value of the
dealer's hand. Although the paytable listed
on the layout varies from casino to casino,
if you find one that pays Trips 3 to 1,
Straight 5 to 1, Flush 6 to 1, Full House 8
to 1, Quads 30 to 1, Straight Flush 40 to 1,
and Royal Flush 50 to 1, the house edge is
1.9%, and obviously under my recommended
“only make bets that have less than a 2%
casino advantage.”
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "In
America the ultimate expression is greed is
good. Las Vegas shows you that greed is at
least fun." --PBS, American Experience.
