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Gaming Guru
New Table Games Let You Play Like an Expert17 April 1995
Now, a class of table games based on five-card stud poker is emerging to fill the gap. Two such games are probably already available or in planning stages at your own friendly, neighborhood gambling den. And more are on the drawing boards. In Caribbean stud, you bet an "ante" to receive five cards, face-down. The dealer takes four cards down and one up. If you don't think your hand can beat the dealer's, "fold" and lose your ante. To "call" the dealer, place a second bet equal to twice the ante. Play involves deciding to fold or call. Clearly, you fold below A-K high and call with a royal flush. But where's the borderline? Calling with A-K-J high or better, regardless of the dealer's upcard, is close to optimum - yielding a house edge comparable to double-zero roulette and less than most slot machines. Let It Ride depends on absolute poker "scores." Players start with three equal bets and get three face-down "pocket" cards. Everyone shares two initially face-down "community" cards. After seeing your three pocket cards, you can retrieve your first bet or "let it ride." The dealer exposes the first community card, giving you a four-card hand with which you decide to remove or affirm your second bet. The third bet is a "contract" and can't be taken back. The dealer next reveals the other community card, completing your five-card hand, and the accompanying chart determines the win or loss on all your bets still in action. With this strategy for Let It Ride, you can expect to win 93.4 percent of your active first bets and 89.8 percent of your active second bets but lose 76.1 percent of your contract bets. Net house advantage is no worse than average players get at blackjack and craps, and lower than at double-zero roulette and the slots. With the right decision strategies, Caribbean Stud and Let It Ride offer combinations of house edge and bankroll fluctuation that give players a reasonable shot at coming out ahead. The danger for solid citizens moving from the slots is in not appreciating the importance of discipline at the tables. So lock up your profits, cut your losses, and resist making dumb moves because you're either spirited with success or disgusted with defeat. As Sumner A Ingmark, who always lets it rhyme, once warned:
CARIBBEAN STUD LET IT RIDE Recent Articles
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