Rather than compete with the other players at the table, Novelty poker games pit you against the dealer or a pay table. Some of the rules and pay tables may vary slightly by casino, but each game has its own unique spin on the poker classics.
Big Raise Poker
Modelled after Mississippi Stud, Big Raise Poker gives players only one opportunity to raise. So, what’s the big deal? That raise can be up to 4x the Ante. Boom.
Object of the Game
In Big Raise Poker, the idea is to win bets based on the strength of a five-card poker hand. Players must make their best hand from three personal cards and two community cards. Here’s how it works.
How to Play
1. The player makes an Ante bet to get the round started.
2. Once bets have been placed, the dealer gives each player three cards, face down, and places two community cards on the table, also face down.
3. Based on their cards, players choose one of two options:
- Fold and lose all bets
- Make a bet equal to 4x the Ante and continue
4. The moment of truth. Once decisions have been made, the dealer will turn over the community cards.
5. Players’ hands are scored against a pay table, and bets paid accordingly.
HAND
- Royal flush
- Straight flush
- Four of a kind
- Full house
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a kind
- Two pair
- Medium pair (6-9)
- Anything else
PAYS
- 500 to 1
- 100 to 1
- 40 to 1
- 8 to 1
- 6 to 1
- 4 to 1
- 3 to 1
- 2 to 1
- Push
- Loss
Odds
Skill factors in Big Raise Poker to some degree, but there’s no way around the fact that the odds of the game are dependent on random draws from a shuffled deck of cards. The next card up is impossible to predict.
Want to know how poker odds work?
Strategies
The excitement of Big Raise Poker comes from the option of raising your bet by four times the size of your Ante. The questions to ask yourself are, “When should I bet and by how much?” While you can’t control the randomness of the cards, these tips can potentially help reduce your losses or improve your chances:
Raise your bet four times if you have:
- Three of a kind
- A medium or large pair
- Three cards of a royal flush
- Three cards of a straight flush
Raise your bet only 1x if you have:
- Three cards of a flush
- A low pair
- Three medium cards or better (typically nines and above)
- At least two high cards (Jacks or better)