Four Card Poker
Four Card Poker, invented by Roger Snow (Shuffle Master), is the number four specialty game in the North American market. About 200 casinos in 17 states offer the game, so finding it should not be difficult. Shuffle Master also offers a variation called Crazy Four Card Poker, which is similar but not quite the same as Four Card Poker. Four Card Poker Ante up, and you’re dealt five cards from which you’ll make your best four-card hand. Once you’ve seen your cards, you must make a play bet, up to three times the ante, in order to stay in the game. Four Card Poker isn’t really a poker game at all. It’s a casino game like blackjack, but it uses poker-based thinking. (Real poker games force you to play against other poker players, not the casino.) Roger Snow invented Four Card Poker, which is a trademark of Shuffle Master, a company known for manufacturing automatic shuffling machines.
Anyone can play this new poker-based table game
by Henry Tamburin
It’s funny how I learn about new table games. I was speaking on blackjack at the Gambler’s Jamboree at Casino Windsor when I decided between talks to attend fellow gaming writer John Grochowski’s seminar. One of the games that John covered was Four Card Poker. I liked what I heard and when John told me afterward that Casino Windsor had a Four Card Poker table, I said, “Let’s go play.”
Now understand, I normally wouldn’t run off to play a new game before really studying it, but I had a Four Card Poker expert with me to give support (translation: John would stop me from making stupid playing mistakes). Heck, with John there, I felt confident I’d give the casino a run for their money.
It turns out the game was fun to play and easy to follow, just as John had said. I didn’t bring the casinos to their knees, but I managed to eke out a $50 profit after an hour’s worth of play. More importantly I got my feet wet playing this new game. (Since that first session I’ve played Four Card Poker in Mississippi and Las Vegas.)
The playing rules for Four Card Poker are pretty straightforward. You might think you’d get four cards in Four Card Poker, but you’d be wrong. You actually get five cards, which you use to make the best four-card poker hand. The dealer, on the other hand, gets six cards, and uses them to make his own four-card poker hand.
Before the cards are dealt, you have the option to bet on either the Ante or the Aces Up. These two betting options are independent of each other and you can wager either on one or on both. If you wager on the Ante, you will be competing against the dealer’s hand, with the highest hand winning. If you wager on the Aces Up, you are paid on the strength of your four-card hand. The higher the four-card poker hand, the more you win (the pay table starts with a pair of aces).
The mechanics of the game go like this. Players make their wager on the Ante and/or Aces Up. The dealer gives each player five cards and deals himself six cards, one of which is dealt face up. Each player looks at his five-card hand and then decides, based on his cards and the single dealer card that he sees, whether to fold or play. If the player folds his hand, he forfeits his Ante wager. If the player decides to play, he must make an additional raise wager equal to either one, two or three times the amount of his Ante wager. So if his initial Ante bet was $10, he could make a raise wager equal to $10, $20 or a maximum of $30.
When a player raises, he discards one card and keeps the best four cards. The dealer then turns over his five cards and selects the best four cards (from six cards—remember, one card was turned over from the get-go) to form his four-card hand. In the part known as the showdown, the player’s four-card hand is then compared to the dealer’s four-card hand to see who wins.
1. If the player’s four-card poker hand is higher in rank or ties the dealer’s four-card hand, the player wins even money on both the Ante and the Play wagers.
2. If the dealer’s hand beat’s the player’s hand, the player loses his Ante and Play wagers.
Notice that with Four Card Poker, the player wins if his hand ties the dealer’s hand, which is unusual for table games (normally you push). Also, unlike Three Card Poker and Caribbean stud, there is no dealer qualifying rule in order to have a showdown.
Besides winning money on your Ante and Play wagers, if you are dealt one of the top three hands—either four of a kind, straight flush or three of a kind—you get a guaranteed additional bonus payout (paid on the Ante wager) regardless of whether your hand beats the dealer’s hand. The most common pay table for the bonus payout is:
Four of a kind pays 25:1
Straight flush pays 20:1
Three of a kind pays 2:1
Here are the rules on the Aces Up wager. First, you don’t have to beat the dealer’s hand to win this wager. You win if your four-card hand is at least a pair of aces or higher. The higher the poker rank of your hand, the greater the payout. There are several different pay tables; the most common one is summarized here.
ACES UP PAY TABLE
| Hand | Payout |
| Four of a kind | 50:1 |
| Straight flush | 30:1 |
| Three of a kind | 7:1 |
| Flush | 6:1 |
| Straight | 5:1 |
| Two pairs | 2:1 |
| Pair of aces | 1:1 |
Basic Strategy Ante/Play
The basic strategy for the Ante wager is pretty easy to remember:
1. Raise one time with a pair of threes through a pair of nines
2. Raise three times with a pair of 10s or greater.
3. Fold with a pair of twos or less.
Elliot Frome (author of the booklet Expert Strategy for Four Card Poker) and Michael Shackleford (www.wizardofodds.com) have computed the house edge at 3.4 percent of the Ante wager (assuming the above bonus payoffs). The average amount bet for the combined Ante plus Play wager is 2.14 units, which equals a house edge of only 1.6 percent of the total action—not bad for a table game.
The house edge on the most popular pay table for Aces Up is 3.4 percent. However, the house edge can be as low as 2 percent and as high as 6 percent, depending on what the casino pays for winning hands. For example, the best pay table increases the payout for the straight flush to 40:1 and three of a kind to 9:1, but drops the straight payout to 4:1 (for more details, see www.wizardofodds.com).
According to Frome, Four Card Poker can be a “rough ride.” That’s because you will on average fold almost half of your hands (47 percent), bet one time on about a quarter of your hands (24 percent), and three times on almost a third of your hands (29 percent). When you bet one time you will lose in the long run but less compared to folding (you’ll win only 37 percent of the time). When your expectation of winning a hand is very good you should bet the maximum three times (which you will win a hefty 70 percent of the time). You should never bet two times.
Four Card Poker, invented by Roger Snow (Shuffle Master), is the number four specialty game in the North American market. About 200 casinos in 17 states offer the game, so finding it should not be difficult. Shuffle Master also offers a variation called Crazy Four Card Poker, which is similar but not quite the same as Four Card Poker. In a future column I’ll review the basics of that game. Until then, may all your Four Card Hands result in raises and big payouts.
Four Card Hand Rank
Highest to Lowest
| Four of a kind |
| Straight flush |
| Three of a kind |
| Flush |
| Straight |
| Two pair |
| Pair |
| High card |
Dr. Henry Tamburin is available for private lessons and speaking engagements; call 888/353-3234. For details on his two-day Golden Touch Blackjack course featuring “Speed Count” call 866/WINBJ-21. To order copies of his discounted books and videos visit www.smartgaming.com. To receive a free subscription to his Blackjack Insider Newsletter, visit www.bjinsider.com. For a free copy of his Casino Gambling Catalog call 888/353-3234.
Four Card Poker isn’t really a poker game at all. It’s a casino game like blackjack, but it uses poker-based thinking. (Real poker games force you to play against other poker players, not the casino.)
Roger Snow invented Four Card Poker, which is a trademark of Shuffle Master, a company known for manufacturing automatic shuffling machines.
You get to play an ante bet, an “aces up” bet, or a combination of both. You and the dealer each get 5 cards and get to make your best four-card hand from those cards. There’s also a sixth face-up card.
The casino has an advantage because the player must decide whether to fold before seeing the dealer’s cards. If he folds, he loses his bet, even if he has a better hand. Also, the dealer can use that extra face-up card to complete his four-card hand, giving him a further advantage.
The rest of this post describes in detail how to play four-card poker, what the odds of winning are like, and what the best strategy for winning is.
How to Play
You play against the dealer. There might be other players at the table, but how you compare with the other players doesn’t matter. All that matters is how you do against the dealer.
You start by placing an ante bet, which is required. You might also place an “ante up” bet.
After placing your bets, you get five cards, face-down. The dealer gets five face-down cards, too, but she also gets a single face-up card.
Based on the information you have — the cards in your hand and the face-up card — you must decide to raise or fold. If you fold, the casino gets your bet, and that’s it.
The “aces up” bet, on the other hand, stays in action regardless.
If you decide to stay in the hand, you must raise at least the same amount as your ante bet. You can raise as much as 3x the ante bet.
You then discard a card, leaving you with your best possible four-card poker hand.
The hand rankings for Four Card Poker are, from best hand to worst, as follows:
- Four of a kind
- Straight flush
- Three of a kind
- Flush
- Straight
- Two pair
- One pair
- High card
The dealer turns over her cards, too, and chooses her best four-card hand from the six cards she has available.
If you have a better hand, you win even money on both your ante and raise bets. If the dealer has a better hand, you lose your ante and raise bets.
You get a bonus if you have three of a kind or better, regardless of whether you beat the dealer.
The aces up bet pays off according to the pay table, regardless of whether you beat the dealer.
Four Card Poker Pay Tables
Here are the pay tables for the game. The first is the pay table for the three of a kind bonus; the second is for the aces up bet.
Three of a kind bonus:
- Four of a kind pays 25 to 1
- Straight flush pays 20 to 1
- Three of a kind pays 2 to 1
Some casinos pay more for four of a kind and less for a straight flush, 30 to 1 and 15 to 1, respectively.
Aces up pay table:
- Four of a kind pays 50 to 1
- Straight flush pays 40 to 1
- Three of a kind pays 8 to 1
- Flush pays 5 to 1
- Straight pays 4 to 1
- Two pair pays 3 to 1
- A pair of aces pays even money
This is only one example of multiple pay tables that are available to the game, but this is the most common one.
All of the pay tables pay 50 to 1 for four of a kind, but some of them only pay 30 to 1 for a straight flush. The payout for three of a kind can range from 7 to 1 to 9 to 1. Some pay tables pay 6 to 1 for a flush instead of 5 to 1. The straight pays off at 5 to 1 on some pay tables, too. Two pair sometimes only pays off at 2 to 1.
The House Edge and Strategy for Four Card Poker
The house edge is 2.79%, but that’s based on your initial bet. If you’re raising in the appropriate spots, you’ll put more money into action, which means that the actual house edge is 1.3%. That’s for the ante and raise bets combined.
And that assumes you’re playing with mathematically optimal decisions.
The simplest strategy for the game gives up about 0.5%, making the house edge slightly higher than 3.3%.
Four Card Poker Hands
It’s an easy strategy to remember. If you have a pair of 10s or better, you should raise the max (3x the ante). If you have a pair of 2s through 9s, you should raise the minimum (1x the ante). Otherwise, you should fold.
You can find better strategies for intermediate and advanced players that will reduce the house edge further, but I’m not sure it’s worth the effort.
Here’s why.
If you’re going to memorize some kind of strategy, why not memorize a strategy for a game where you can get a really low house edge?
If the best you can hope for is a house edge of around 3%, wouldn’t you be better off learning the basic strategy for a blackjack game where you can get a house edge of 0.5% or less?
You could even learn some video poker strategies which would result in a house edge of less than 0.2%.
If you’re willing to give up 1% or 2% because you love Four Card Poker so much, then you probably shouldn’t worry so much about the house edge anyway. Just have fun and don’t play with money you can’t afford to lose.
The house edge for the aces up bet, by the way, is 3.89%. It’s a sucker bet, but it’s not the worst sucker bet in the casino. In fact, it’s still a better bet than a bet on an American roulette table, which has a house edge of 5.26%.
Four Card Poker Payouts
What About Crazy 4 Poker?
Crazy 4 poker is also an invention of Roger Snow, and it’s similar to, but different from, Four Card Poker.
Instead of an “aces up” bet, Crazy 4 Poker offers a “super bonus” bet. There’s also a side bet called “queens up.”
The hand rankings are the same for both games.
The dealer only gets five cards in Crazy 4 Poker, instead of the six cards she gets in Four Card Poker.
But in Crazy 4 Poker, the dealer must open with a king or better. The ante bet pushes if the dealer doesn’t open.
Also, instead of being able to raise, you have a “play” bet. It wins if the dealer doesn’t qualify.
Otherwise, these bets are resolved based on who has the better hand.
The super bonus bet pays off according to the following pay table, regardless of who won the hand:
- Four aces pay off at 200 to 1
- Any other four of a kind pays off at 30 to 1
- A straight flush pays off at 15 to 1
- A three of a kind pays off at 2 to 1
- A flush pays off at 3 to 2
- And a straight pays off at even money
Also, here’s the cool thing about the super bonus bet.
If you win or push (tie) the dealer with your hand, the super bonus bet isn’t lost. It’s treated as a push. But if you have a straight or better, you still get your big payoff.
The house edge for the game is similar to that of Four Card Poker, and this game also requires you to play with optimal strategy to achieve that. You can assume that you’re not going to play optimally, and you’ll sacrifice 0.5% to 1% to the house because of that, too.
Here’s the most common pay table for the queens up bet in Crazy 4 Poker:
- Four of a kind pays off at 50 to 1
- A straight flush pays off at 40 to 1
- Three of a kind pays off at 7 to 1
- A flush pays off at 4 to 1
- A straight pays off at 3 to 1
- Two pair pays off at 2 to 1
- A pair of queens or higher pays off even money
Anything else is a loss with the queens up bet. (Can you figure out how this bet gets its name?)
The house edge for the queens up bet is 6.7%. It’s a terrible bet, and you should never make it. You’re better off with the odds at the American roulette table, which has a house edge of 5.26% (and is still one of the worst bets in the casino).
Conclusion
Four Card Poker and its close relative Crazy 4 Poker are good examples of casino games based on real poker. They are NOT poker games, though — I reserve that category for games where you play against the other players and not the dealer.
The house edge for these games is high enough that it’s probably not worth your trouble memorizing an intermediate or advanced strategy. You can stick with a simple strategy and eliminate some of the house edge, though.
It’s fun to play on a lark, but I don’t recommend a steady diet of Four Card Poker. Instead, play one of the better video poker variations or stick with blackjack, where the house edge is REALLY low.
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