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 R eturn & 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%
