Four Card Poker Strategy

Posted by admin | Four Card Poker Strategy | Thursday 15 January 2009 7:06 am

The optimal strategy for Four Card Poker is quite simple to memorize. There is a basic strategy guide published by Shuffle Master - who incidentally, invented the game - which states that players can get a 98.41% return on the combined Ante wager and winning Ante Bonus. Although this may vary slightly, depending on which casino you are playing at (some casinos offer better ante bonus payout schedules than others) On average, the House Edge will be around 3.6% when played with optimized strategy.
Online Poker skill is based on:
1. Knowledge of the game’s mathematics.
2. Money management.
3. Psychological deception.
4. Card memory and analysis.
5. Betting courage.
Your skills at playing poker online depends upon the above elements, and you should be aware of these as you play.

If you want to become a good poker player, you must know the odds of each hand and the probability of receiving a certain card. If you haven’t a clue about the odds, you won’t be able to decide. Yes - you will still be able to win based on luck alone, but why not improve it and make more money? Try and remember at least vaguely the odds and this will help your decision making. Compare the below table of poker odds where each possible poker hand is addressed:

Hands Hand Possibilities Odds in 5 Card Poker
Royal Flush 4 1 / 649,740.00
Straight Flush 36 1 / 72,193.33
Four of a Kind 624 1 / 4,165.00
Full House 3744 1 / 694.16
Flush 5108 1 / 508.80
Straight 10,200 1 / 254.80
Three of a Kind 54,912 1 / 47.32
Two Pairs 123,552 1 / 21.03
One Pair 1,098,240 1 / 2.36
No Pair Hand 1,302,540 1 / 1.99

By comparing the above table you will note that the odds of getting a pair or better in the first five cards dealt is almost even, while the probability of being dealt a no-pair hand is practically the same. So it’s almost a 3 to 1 chance, when playing against two opponents, that one of them will hold a pair or better in the first five cards dealt.

Likewise, you can create your own rules and tips based on the above data. I have also added additional information about hands where you get no pairs among the first five cards dealt:

Ace Counting High King Counting High Number of Possible No-Pair Hands
Ace High King High 502,860
King High Queen High 335,580
Queen High Jack High 213,180
Jack High Ten High 127,500
Ten High Nine High 70,380
Nine High Eight High 34,680
Eight High Seven High 14,280
Seven High Six High 4,080

Memorize and use the above statistics to improve your playing. Remember that without practice, no matter how many books or new strategies you come across - you will never be able to use them in the heat of poker. So? Practice!