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Poker Keno
Introduction
Poker Keno is a simple, poker-based game available at the Sky Vegas Internet casino. The player makes a bet and is dealt seven cards, Texas Hold 'Em style. He wins if he has at least a pair of jacks. I'm not sure what it has to do with keno, other than perhaps because there is no actual skill required. It's entirely a game of luck.
Rules
- The player bets from 20p to £50.
- The player is dealt two hole cards and five community cards.
- The player is paid based on the poker value of the best five of the seven cards, according to the pay table below.
- If the player bet at least £2, then he will be eligible to win a progressive jackpot if he has the ace and king of hearts as his hole cards and completes a royal flush on the board.
Following is the pay table. All wins are on a "for one" basis.
Pay Table
| Hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 |
| Straight flush | 100 |
| Four of a kind | 20 |
| Full house | 7 |
| Flush | 5 |
| Straight | 3 |
| Three of a kind | 2 |
| Two pair | 1 |
| Pairs of jacks or better | 0.5 |
| All other | 0 |
Analysis
The following table shows the probability and return of each possible outcome, before considering the jackpot bonus. The lower right cell shows a return of 94.07%. In other words, a house edge of 5.93%.
Return Table
| Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 4,324 | 0.000032 | 0.008080 |
| Straight flush | 100 | 37,260 | 0.000279 | 0.027851 |
| Four of a kind | 20 | 224,848 | 0.001681 | 0.033613 |
| Full house | 7 | 3,473,184 | 0.025961 | 0.181727 |
| Flush | 5 | 4,047,644 | 0.030255 | 0.151275 |
| Straight | 3 | 6,180,020 | 0.046194 | 0.138581 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 6,461,620 | 0.048299 | 0.096597 |
| Two pair | 1 | 31,433,400 | 0.234955 | 0.234955 |
| Pairs of jacks or better | 0.5 | 18,188,280 | 0.135952 | 0.067976 |
| All other | 0 | 63,733,980 | 0.476393 | 0.000000 |
| Total | 133,784,560 | 1.000000 | 0.940656 |
The optimal bet size is £2, because you qualify for the jackpot, while minimizing your expected loss in the base game. At a £2 bet, the return goes up by 1.92% for every £100,000 in the meter. The break-even point (exactly zero house edge) is at a meter of £308,463.07 for £2 bet.