Haywire Poker

Introduction

Haywire Poker is a video poker variant that can be added to conventional multi-play machines. With an extra three coins bet per line, the player invokes the Haywire feature. The feature randomly gives the player random multipliers from 2x to 12x.

For those already familiar with Moving Multipliers, Haywire Poker is the same except the multipliers are redrawn as they move, as opposed to staying the same each time.

Rules

 

1. Haywire Poker is a feature added to conventional 3-, 5-, and 10-play multi-play video poker machines. It is assumed the reader is already familiar with how multi-play poker works.
2. If the player bets a maximum eight coins per hand, then he activates the feature. The player will still be betting five coins per line. The extra three coins are a fee for the feature.
3. With the feature on, the game will award the player a multiplier to the bottom hand with probability 11.4942529%.
4. The multiplier can be 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, or 12, each with equal probability.
5. A multiplier on the bottom hand will move to another hand on the screen with the next hand to be played. Whenever the multiplier moves, it is redrawn.
6. That same multiplier will continue moving from hand to hand across the screen, redrawn each time.
7. After a multiplier has covered every hand on the screen, it will fall off.
8. During the process of this moving multiplier, new multipliers can appear in the bottom hand. Thus, multiple multipliers can appear on the screen at the same time. When this happens, they will be separately drawn. In other words, multiple hands can have different multipliers on the same play.

 

Example

In the image above, the bottom hand was awarded a multiplier of 5x. I was dealt a pat flush, so I held all cards. I won't bother to show the outcome after the draw.

In the next hand, the multiplier moves to the middle hand and becomes 3x.

In the next hand, the multiplier moves to the top hand and becomes 4x.

Analysis

The average multiplier, when there is one, is 6.25. The exact probability of getting a multiplier, other than 1, is 114,942,529/1,000,000,000. The rule screens show 11.49% but to be more precise it is 11.494252952381%. Considering the chance of a multiplier, the overall average multiplier, including those 88.51% of hands when there isn't one, is 0.11494253 ×6.25 + (1-0.11494253)×1 = 1.603225. Considering the win is based on only 5/8 of the amount bet, the overall increase in return, compared to conventional video poker is (5/8)×1.603225 = 1.002155173. Thus, you can get the return in Haywire Poker by multiplying the conventional return by 1.002155173. As a quick estimate, you could also simply add 0.21%.

The following table shows the return for both the base game as well as with the Haywire feature for games and pay tables for which Haywire is available. This list does not include all Joker Poker pay tables at this time.

Strategy

The strategy is the same as for the base game and pay table.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to VideoPoker.com for letting me post screenshots from their demo game, sharing the games and pay tables this game is available on, and the exact multiplier probability.

Written by: Michael Shackleford