•OASIS POKER
Introduction
Oasis Poker is a variation of Caribbean Stud Poker that permits discards for a fee. I've only seen the game with Net Entertainment, VueTec, and Gale Wind softwares. The game's low house edge makes it a useful option when blackjack and multi-hand video poker are not available.
Standard Rules and Play (Net Ent)
After placing a bet, the player and dealer are dealt a 5-card poker hand. Only 1 of the dealer's 5 cards is visible. At this point, the player can choose to discard one or more of his cards. For each discard, the player is charged a fee that is equal to the size of the ante bet. After making a discard selection and getting replacement cards, play is identical to Caribbean Stud Poker. The player must choose to either fold and lose the hand or raise. The raise bet must be 2x the ante bet size, so the total bet following a raise is 3x the initial bet size. If the player raises, then there are several possible payouts.
-If the dealer has an Ace and King or better (for example A,K,7,6,5), the dealer "qualifies." If the dealer does not qualify (regardless of whether the player wins or loses the hand), then winnings on the ante bet are paid and the raise bet is returned.
-If the player loses the hand and the dealer qualifies, then the player loses the full bet.
-If the player wins the hand and the dealer qualifies, then the player wins the ante bet, and the raise bet pays according to a specific paytable. Net Entertainment uses the standard paytable, which is listed below.
Hand |
Standard Payout |
Royal
Flush |
100
to 1 |
Straight
Flush |
50
to 1 |
4
of a Kind |
20
to 1 |
Full
House |
7
to 1 |
Flush |
5
to 1 |
Straight |
4
to 1 |
3
of a Kind |
3
to 1 |
2
Pair |
2
to 1 |
Pair |
1
to 1 |
Ace
& King |
1
to 1 |
Gale Wind Variation
Gale Wind offers a variation of Oasis Poker with slightly modified rules. The player may exchange any number of discards for a variable cost, and the payout of a full house is reduced. Strategy is the same as standard oasis poker (never discard more than 1 card).
Strategy
The written guidelines below should give the correct decision for all but close call hands. For optimal strategy on close call hands, you can use the Oasis Poker Strategy Calculator.
Unlike video poker, the
player should rarely discard due the high cost of a replacement card. The
key situations in which the player should discard are:
1. Four to a straight flush & royal flush, without pat straight or flush
2. Four to a flush, without pair*
3. Four to an outside straight (2 ways to form straight, such as 4567), without
pair*
*The discard strategy can be improved
slightly by also discarding on...
-Four to a flush with a 22 to 66 pair when the dealer's upcard is a greater
rank than the pair
-Four to an outside straight with a 22 to 33 pair when the dealer's upcard
is a greater rank than all cards in the straight
-Four to an inside straight without pair when the high card of the straight
is 10 or greater, and the dealer's upcard is lesser rank than all cards in
the straight
After the discards, strategy for raise and fold decisions is approximately the same as Caribbean Stud Poker. The simple strategy of raising with a Ace/King/Jack/8/3 or better results in a house edge ~0.1% from optimal. Wizard of Odds offers the following strategy to further improve results to ~0.001% from optimal.
Always raise with a pair
or higher, fold with less than ace/king, and raise on ace/king if any of the
following three rules apply:
1. Raise if the
dealer's card is a 2 through queen and matches one of yours.
2. Raise if the dealer's card is an ace or king and you have a queen or jack
in your hand.
3. Raise if the dealer's rank does not match any of yours and you have a queen
in your hand and the dealer's card is less than your fourth highest card.
House Edge
Under standard rules, the house edge (defined per initial bet) of Oasis Poker is 1.04%. The average bet size is 2.18x the initial Ante bet, making the house edge per unit wagered 0.47%. The latter value of 0.47% is more appropriate for estimating expected loss while completing a wagering requirement. Note that the house edge of Oasis Poker is well below Caribbean Stud, due to the discards. Under the Gale Wind variation, the house edge is 1.20%, and the house edge per wager is 0.55%.
Variance and Bet Size
The standard deviation per initial bet of Oasis Poker is 2.50. The standard deviation per wager is 1.69. The latter values is more appropriate for estimating range of return while completing a wagering requirement. Comparing the standard deviation per wager to other low house edge (per wager) games... oasis poker has a higher variance than blackjack, a lower variance than Texas hold'em bonus, and a similar variance to 25-hand jacks or better (combined bet).
The table below shows the chance of ending above the deposit balance with unlimited bankroll, after completing a wagering requirement with 4 bet sizes (size of Ante bet). The standard paytable is assumed. See the Return & Variance Calculator for more specific estimates.
| Bet Size | Playthrough Requirement | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10xB | 20xB | 30xB | 40xB | 50xB | 60xB | 70xB | 80xB | |
| B/100 | 96% | 88% | 82% | 77% | 74% | 71% | 68% | 66% |
| B/50 | 90% | 80% | 74% | 70% | 67% | 65% | 63% | 61% |
| B/20 | 79% | 70% | 66% | 63% | 61% | 60% | 58% | 57% |
| B/10 | 71% | 65% | 61% | 59% | 58% | 57% | 56% | 55% |
Copyright © 2006-2014 www.beatingbonuses.com. All Rights Reserved.