Introduction
Oasis Poker (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Caribbean Stud Poker or
Caribbean Poker, which is a different game) is a 💶 casino poker game, meaning that it’s
derived from classic player vs player poker, but instead the player plays against the
💶 house. Oasis Poker is a derivative of Caribbean Stud Poker that allows the player to
discard undesirable cards to receive 💶 a replacement. Oasis Poker is played with a
standard 52 card deck.
We are aware of Oasis Poker being offered at 💶 Net Entertainment,
Betsoft, GameSys and Galewind casinos.
Play Structure
Initially the player places an
‘Ante’ wager and the dealer will deal out 💶 5 cards to the player and themselves. All but
one of the dealers cards are dealt face down (often referred 💶 to as ‘Hole’ cards). The
player then has to make the decision to either Fold their hand – losing their 💶 Ante
wager – discard up to 5 cards or ‘Call’. Where the player chooses to discard cards they
will be 💶 charged a fee equal to the Ante bet for each card they exchange. This fee is
not a bet and 💶 will not be returned regardless of the outcome of the hand. If the player
chooses to Call – either before 💶 or after discarding cards - they have to place a bet
twice the size of the Ante wager then the 💶 dealer’s hole cards are revealed and the
hands are compared.
Hand Comparison
Oasis Poker ranks hands according to a hierarchy
common to 💶 poker games which is explained below (strongest to weakest);
* Royal Flush –
The Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten cards 💶 all of the same suit.
* Straight Flush – five
numerically adjacent cards of the same suit (Example – 4, 5, 💶 6, 7 and 8 of Diamonds).
Where both the player and dealer hold a Straight Flush the hand with the 💶 highest card
is considered the winner.
* 4 of a Kind – four cards of matching rank (Example - 7 of
💶 Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds and Spades). Where both the player and the dealer hold 4 of a
Kind the hand with 💶 the higher rank is considered the winner.
* Full House – three cards
of the same rank and two cards of 💶 a different but matching rank (Example – 8 of Hearts,
Clubs and Diamonds and Jack of Spades and Hearts). Where 💶 both the player and dealer
hold a Full House, the hand with the higher rank 3 of a Kind is 💶 considered the
winner.
* Flush – five cards of the same suit (Example – Ace, 8, 5, 2 and Queen of
💶 Spades). Where both the player and dealer hold a Flush the hand with the highest card
is considered the winner. 💶 Where the highest card is matched the second highest is
consider and so on.
* Straight – five numerically adjacent cards 💶 ignoring suit (Example
– 7 of Spades, 8 of Spades, 9 of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds and Jack of Diamonds). 💶 Where
both the player and dealer hold a Straight the hand with the highest card is considered
the winner.
* 3 💶 of a Kind – three cards of the same rank with 2 unmatched cards
(Example – 9 of Spades, Clubs 💶 and Hearts with any two other cards that are not the 9 of
Diamonds or a matching pair). Where both 💶 the player and dealer hold a 3 of a Kind, the
hand with the higher ranked 3 of a Kind 💶 is considered the winner.
* Two Pairs – two
sets of two cards of matching rank with one unmatched card (Example 💶 – 4 of Clubs and
Hearts, 8 Clubs and Spades and a fifth unmatched card). Where the player and dealer
💶 both have two pairs, the hand with the highest pair is considered the winner. If both
hands have matching top 💶 pair, the higher of the two lower pairs is considered the
winner. Where both pairs are matched, the hand with 💶 the higher ‘Kicker’ (final
unmatched card) is considered the winner.
* Pair - two cards of matching rank with
three unmatched 💶 card (Example – 6 of Clubs and Hearts and any three other cards that
are not the six of Spades 💶 or Diamonds and are not of matching rank). Where the player
and the dealer hold a matching pair, the hand 💶 with the highest Kicker card wins. If the
Kicker also matches, the hand is decided by the second Kicker then 💶 the third if the
second Kickers also match.
* High Card – any five unmatched cards ranked as the highest
card 💶 (Example – 5 of Spades, 9 of Clubs, 7 of Clubs, 2 of Hearts and Ace of Diamonds
would be 💶 considered ‘Ace High’).
In the instance where both the dealer and player have
hands of matching value by the above table 💶 the hand is considered a push and the
player’s bets are returned.
Payouts
As with many other poker based casino games, there
💶 is a qualification hand for the dealer to play. As such payouts vary depending on
whether the dealer qualifies or 💶 not. The dealer qualifies if their hand is Ace/King or
better.
If the player loses all bets placed are lost. If 💶 the player Folds they lose
their Ante bet. If the player wins payouts are decided as follows;
* If the player 💶 wins
and the dealer does not qualify the Ante bet is paid out at 1 to 1 while the Call 💶 bet
pushes.
* If the player wins and the dealer does qualify the Ante bet is paid at 1 to 1
💶 and the Call bets is paid according to the following paytable;
Hand GameSys Payout*
Payout Royal Flush 100 to 1 100 💶 to 1 Straight Flush 50 to 1 50 to 1 Four of a Kind 26
to 1 20 to 1 💶 Full House 8 to 1 7 to 1 Flush 5 to 1 5 to 1 Straight 4 to 1 4 💶 to 1 Three
of a Kind 3 to 1 3 to 1 Two Pairs 2 to 1 2 to 1 💶 Pair 1 to 1 1 to 1 Ace/King 1 to 1 1 to
1 House Edge XXX 0.47%
* This paytable 💶 is only used on the ‘Without House Edge’ version
of Oasis Poker. It should be noted that when playing the 💶 Without House Edge games that
the house take a 10% cut of any winnings at the end of the session.
Alternative 💶 Discard
Rules
Galewind software offer an alternative discard rule. Instead of being charged a
full Ante bet for each card discarded 💶 the charges for discarding different numbers of
cards are as follows;
Number of cards discarded Cost 1 1xAnte 2 2xAnte 3 💶 3xAnte 4
2xAnte 5 1xAnte
With this rule Galewind software also make an adjustment to the Call
bet paytable;
Hand Payout Royal 💶 Flush 100 to 1 Straight Flush 50 to 1 Four of a Kind 20
to 1 Full House 6 to 💶 1 Flush 5 to 1 Straight 4 to 1 Three of a Kind 3 to 1 Two Pairs 2
to 💶 1 Pair 1 to 1 Ace/King 1 to 1 House Edge 0.55%
Jackpot Bet
The GameSys, GamesOS and
Galewind software Oasis Poker 💶 games also offer a side bet referred to simply as the
‘Jackpot’ bet. This side bet is optional but if 💶 the player chooses to place the Jackpot
bet it costsR$1 and the results are based only on the player’s final 💶 hand (after any
dicard/replacements). The payouts for the Jackpot bet are provided below;
Hand Hand
Probabilities GameSys* GamesOS Galewind Royal Flush 💶 0.00000153908 1000 1000 Jackpot
Straight Flush 0.0000138517 500 500 10% of Jackpot Four of a Kind 0.00024 200 200 500
💶 Full House 0.001441 70 100 100 Flush 0.0019654 50 60 50 Straight 0.003924646 40 40 3 of
a Kind 0.021128451 💶 25 Jackpot Range NA NA 25000-110280* Break Even Value NA NA 218009.7
House Edge 3.05% 51.69% 31.50%-56.44%*
* This paytable is 💶 used for both the normal and
‘Without House Edge’ versions of Oasis Poker at GameSys casinos.
**The Galewind website
lists the 💶 theoretical minimum House Edge for the Jackpot bet as 24.04% which would
equate to a Jackpot size ofR$135793.56. Our Jackpot 💶 range is based on the reset value
and the maximum value we’ve seen.
Calculating the House Edge and Break Even value 💶 for
the Jackpot Bet
It is possible calculate the House Edge and break even value for any
jackpot value at the 💶 Galewind game simply by using the Hand Probability figures.
To
calculate the House Edge we multiply the Paytable values by the 💶 probabilities, sum the
results and subtract the remaining possibilities. So if we have a Jackpot value of
94000 the calculation 💶 would be as follows;
94000x0.00000153908 + 9400x0.0000138517 +
500x0.00024 + 100x0.001441 + 50x0.0019654 – (1-(0.00000153908 + 0.0000138517 + 0.00024
+ 0.001441 💶 + 0.0019654+))
0.14467352 + 0.13020598 + 0.12 + 0.1441 + 0.09827 – (1 –
0.00169639)
0.4309795 - 0.9998303609 = -0.3626
So the House 💶 Edge for this Jackpot size
is 36.26%
House Edge*
The House Edge of Oasis Poker using the standard paytable and
across the 💶 full round of wagering (Ante bet, Discard fees and Call bet) and assuming
that the player plays using the optimal 💶 strategy discussed below is 0.47% and Net
Entertainment casinos and 0.55% at Galewind casinos. If the player does not play
💶 optimally this figure will rise.
The House Edge of the Jackpot bet is dependent on the
paytable the casino is using 💶 and the size of the Jackpot, but our observations places
the House Edge value between 31.50% and 56.44%.
For further information 💶 regarding the
house edge for both the main game and the Jackpot bet see Beating Bonuses
(http://beatingbonuses/oasis.htm).
Optimal Strategy
The most important 💶 aspect of
correct strategy while playing Oasis Poker is not to play the Jackpot side bet unless
it is over 💶 the breakeven values listed above. As the Jackpot theoretically should never
exceed the breakeven point this means the player should 💶 never play the Jackpot bet.
Even if the Jackpot value was above the breakeven value you should be aware that 💶 this
bet has an extremely high variance and it’s highly unlikely that the regular player
will ever hit the Jackpot, 💶 meaning that realistically the regular player will be
playing with a far higher house edge.
The Optimal Strategy for Discard decisions 💶 when
playing Oasis Poker is relatively straight forward. Unlike Video Poker games the fee
for replacing cards makes discarding a 💶 poor choice except in a small number of
situations, namely;
- When the player holds four cards of a Royal or 💶 Straight Flush and
their hand is not a Straight or a Flush. (Discard the one non-Royal/Straight Flush
card)
- When the 💶 player holds four cards of a Flush and does not have a Pair. (Discard
the one non-Flush card)
- When the 💶 player holds four cards to an Outside Straight* and
does not have a Pair. (Discard the one non-Straight card)
This strategy 💶 can be improved
on with a little added complexity be discarding;
- When the player holds four to a
Flush with 💶 a 22 through 66 pair and the dealer’s upcard is of higher rank than the
pair. (Discard the one non-Flush 💶 card)
- When the player holds four to an Outside
Straight* with a 22 or 33 pair and the dealer’s upcard 💶 is of higher rank than any cards
the player holds. (Discard the one non-Straight card)
- When the player holds four 💶 to
an Inside Straight* without a pair and the highest card of the Straight is 10 or more
with the 💶 dealer’s upcard of lower rank than any card in the Straight.
* An ‘Outside’
Straight is four cards that are numerically 💶 adjacent meaning that two different cards
would create a Straight (i.e. 6, 7, 8, 9). An ‘Inside’ Straight would be 💶 four cards
that could make a Straight with a gap in between meaning only one card rank could
complete the 💶 Straight (i.e. 3, 4, 6, 7).
The above is only the strategy for the Discard
decision.
For the Fold/Call decision the decisions 💶 are similar to Caribbean Stub Poker
and as such are too complex for all but the most dedicated player to 💶 memorise. A
simplified version of this strategy would see the player Call with any hand of
Ace/King/Jack/8/3 or better. This 💶 results in a house edge 0.1% higher than the full
optimum strategy. For full Optimum Strategy you can use our 💶 Strategy
Calculator;
Fairness Calculator
Below you can find a calculator to allow you to check
the fairness of your wins/losses when playing 💶 Oasis Poker.
*This fairness calculator
will assume that you’ve been playing with the optimal strategy detailed above. If you
have not 💶 then the calculator will NOT return accurate results.
Winning
Strategies
Offline
Hole Carding, Steering or Sorting
Unlike Blackjack the techniques
used to gain an 💶 advantage over the game of Caribbean Stud Poker in the offline
environment are not nearly so widely discussed. Gaining information 💶 on dealer’s hole
cards – be that via edge sorting, steering or hold carding – can produce a player
advantage 💶 as long as the information is used to alter the player’s strategy. Even with
information on up to two of 💶 the dealer’s hole cards and an optimised strategy the
player still has a substantial disadvantage (nearly 2%) so you need 💶 to have knowledge
of at least 3 of the dealer’s hole cards before this is a worthwhile game. With perfect
💶 knowledge of all four dealer hole cards the strategy is trivial – Call, any winning
hand or hand where the 💶 dealer will not qualify – though it may be worth playing some
losing hands to avoid unusual/suspicious folding decisions where 💶 you hold a strong
hand. With knowledge of only three hole cards or imperfect knowledge of four cards the
strategy 💶 is more complex.
The rarity of being able to obtain information on 3 or more
of the dealer’s hole cards and 💶 the high skill level involved ensure that only the most
diligent of professional players are ever likely to come across 💶 this information and it
should be emphasized that the risks involved in gaining less than perfect information
are likely to 💶 be substantial.
The best source of information on how best to play with
additional information can be found in James Grosjean’s 💶 ‘Exhibit CAA: Beyond Counting’.
The author provides the full and correct Optimal Strategy for Caribbean Stud Poker for
each of 💶 the different scenarios where additional information can be gathered. This book
is widely considered the Bible for the professional player 💶 and as such is not a
worthwhile investment for anyone other than a full time professional Advantage Player
(not to 💶 mention it requires a professional reference to obtain).
Optimum Strategy and
Sharing Hand Information
Offline the rules of Oasis Poker prohibit players 💶 sharing
information about their hands. Online it’s certainly possible to share hand information
if a multi-player tables could be found 💶 without the casino being aware of it. However
given the prohibited nature of this activity in the offline game we 💶 would not like to
comment on the ethics of engaging in such activities. As such the following information
is for 💶 use at the player’s own risk – we do not encourage players to share information
while playing Oasis Poker. We’re 💶 also not aware of any multi-player options in the
online environment and include this information simply due to the easy 💶 modification
from Caribbean Stud Poker.
While the House Edge of Caribbean Stud Poker cannot be
reduced enough to give a player 💶 advantage without more hands being played than we are
aware of being available online (at least 7 hands), given that 💶 the Discard decision
substantially reduces the overall House Edge of the game, it may be possible to gain a
Player 💶 Edge at Oasis Poker if enough additional hands are known.
According to James
Grosjean you would need to have information on 💶 a full 7 hands and the dealer’s up card
(36 cards in total) alongside a playing strategy optomized to the 💶 additional
information to gain an edge of 2.374% over the house. 6 or less hands and the house
retains the 💶 edge. Even with complete information the strategy required to obtain this
edge is far too complicated for human application. Grosjean 💶 has developed a count
system that couple be feasibly applied by a team of human players that achieves a
player 💶 advantage of 1.34%. We have neither the desire, the inclination, nor the
permission to republish the details of this count 💶 system, but interested parties should
look to get hold of Grosjean’s book ‘Exhibit CAA: Beyond Counting’. It should be stated
💶 that the opportunities for application of this system are extremely rare and very
likely not worth the effort for anyone 💶 but the most dedicated professional player.
In
the Optimal Strategy section of this article you will find our ‘Strategy Calculator’.
This 💶 calculator has an option to generate the Optimum Strategy when additional cards
are known. Simply check the ‘Enter Additional Removed 💶 Cards From Deck’ option and AFTER
you’ve entered your hand and the dealer’s upcard, click on the cards that you 💶 are aware
of.
Online
There are several methods of legitimately gaining an advantage playing
online Oasis Poker games. By and large these 💶 involve the use of promotions, bonuses and
comp point systems as the games by themselves – assuming the game is 💶 functioning in a
correct fashion and there are no errors in the paytable – will not provide any
additional information 💶 about the cards and shuffles after every hand.
It should be
noted that online advantage play is not specific to Oasis 💶 Poker and in recent years the
wagering requirements for player’s choosing to play any table game has inflated to the
💶 point that Oasis Poker is now often a sub-optimal choice for the player. For more
information on beating online casinos 💶 see BeatingBonuses.
References
James Grosjean
‘Exhibit CAA: Beyond Counting’
* All ‘House Edge’ figures in this article are based on
the ‘loss per 💶 unit wagered’ rather than ‘loss per initial bet’.
