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Max Out Poker
Introduction
Max Out Poker is a video poker variation I noticed in Caesars Palace in May, 2005. The game is essentially the same as multi-play video poker, except one hand is more heavily weighted, and a more liberal pay table is used on the other hands.
Rules
The player plays video poker normally with 1 to 5 coins bet. For coins 6 to 8 the player buys extra hands, which follow a slightly more liberal pay table. The extra hands start with the same cards the player keeps on the deal, as in multi-play video poker.
Return Tables
I'll call the hand the player bets coins 1 to 5 on the "big hand" because the player bets more on it, and the cards are displayed larger. The "small hands" are the additional three hands for coins 6 to 8. With the max 8 coins bet the total pay for a hand is 5*(big hand return) + 3*(small hand return). With this total win standard video poker analyzers can be used to evaluate the return. The return column in the following tables is the probability*(total win)/8.
Max Out Poker - Jacks or Better
| Hand | Big Hand Pays | Small Hands Pay | Total Pay | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 | 2000 | 10000 | 611374332 | 0.000031 | 0.038339 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 125 | 625 | 2444009004 | 0.000123 | 0.009579 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 | 50 | 275 | 47011821396 | 0.002358 | 0.081072 |
| Full House | 7 | 17 | 86 | 228636474084 | 0.01147 | 0.123304 |
| Flush | 5 | 5 | 40 | 234089906424 | 0.011744 | 0.058719 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 | 32 | 261308756424 | 0.013109 | 0.052437 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 3 | 24 | 1473532107036 | 0.073923 | 0.22177 |
| Two pair | 2 | 2 | 16 | 2550902134572 | 0.127972 | 0.255945 |
| Pair | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3952432723788 | 0.198284 | 0.123927 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11182261210140 | 0.560986 | 0 |
| Total | 19933230517200 | 1 | 0.965091 |
Max Out Poker - Bonus Poker
| Hand | Big Hand Pays | Small Hands Pay | Total Pay | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 | 2000 | 10000 | 612614556 | 0.000031 | 0.038417 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 80 | 490 | 2330134980 | 0.000117 | 0.00716 |
| Four aces | 80 | 200 | 1000 | 4080196212 | 0.000205 | 0.025587 |
| Four 2-4 | 40 | 80 | 440 | 10517771964 | 0.000528 | 0.029021 |
| Four 5-K | 25 | 50 | 275 | 32463756612 | 0.001629 | 0.055984 |
| Full House | 6 | 14 | 72 | 228869295732 | 0.011482 | 0.103336 |
| Flush | 5 | 5 | 40 | 232461161544 | 0.011662 | 0.05831 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 | 32 | 253157020176 | 0.0127 | 0.050801 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 3 | 24 | 1476410703984 | 0.074068 | 0.222203 |
| Two pair | 2 | 2 | 16 | 2556244301544 | 0.12824 | 0.256481 |
| Pair | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3973776511968 | 0.199354 | 0.124596 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11162307047928 | 0.559985 | 0 |
| Total | 19933230517200 | 1 | 0.971896 |
Max Out Poker - Double Bonus
| Hand | Big Hand Pays | Small Hands Pay | Total Pay | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 | 2000 | 10000 | 579476316 | 0.000029 | 0.036339 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 100 | 550 | 2423293812 | 0.000122 | 0.008358 |
| Four aces | 160 | 400 | 2000 | 4581136236 | 0.00023 | 0.057456 |
| Four 2-4 | 80 | 160 | 880 | 10505799216 | 0.000527 | 0.057975 |
| Four 5-K | 50 | 100 | 550 | 32171730540 | 0.001614 | 0.110961 |
| Full House | 9 | 18 | 99 | 213613674264 | 0.010716 | 0.132616 |
| Flush | 5 | 7 | 46 | 266880758892 | 0.013389 | 0.076985 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 | 32 | 291861165312 | 0.014642 | 0.058568 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 3 | 24 | 1473709023900 | 0.073932 | 0.221797 |
| Two pair | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2398633864020 | 0.120333 | 0.075208 |
| Pair | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3856127968296 | 0.193452 | 0.120908 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11382142626396 | 0.571013 | 0 |
| Total | 19933230517200 | 1 | 0.957171 |
Max Out Poker - Deuces Wild
| Hand | Big Hand Pays | Small Hands Pay | Total Pay | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural royal flush | 800 | 2000 | 10000 | 512436444 | 0.000026 | 0.032135 |
| Four deuces | 200 | 1000 | 4000 | 4099162824 | 0.000206 | 0.102822 |
| Wild royal flush | 25 | 40 | 245 | 40448685744 | 0.002029 | 0.062145 |
| Five of a kind | 15 | 25 | 150 | 61008605976 | 0.003061 | 0.057387 |
| Straight flush | 10 | 15 | 95 | 92346494184 | 0.004633 | 0.055014 |
| Four of a kind | 4 | 5 | 35 | 1236366703008 | 0.062025 | 0.271361 |
| Full House | 3 | 3 | 24 | 518039618256 | 0.025989 | 0.077966 |
| Flush | 2 | 2 | 16 | 402919969476 | 0.020213 | 0.040427 |
| Straight | 2 | 1 | 13 | 1046143182396 | 0.052482 | 0.085284 |
| Three of a kind | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5345827634160 | 0.268187 | 0.167617 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11185518024732 | 0.561149 | 0 |
| Total | 19933230517200 | 1 | 0.952158 |
Max Out Poker - Bonus Poker Deluxe
| Hand | Big Hand Pays | Small Hands Pay | Total Pay | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 | 2000 | 10000 | 608875428 | 0.000031 | 0.038182 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 125 | 625 | 2427099432 | 0.000122 | 0.009513 |
| Four of a Kind | 80 | 200 | 1000 | 49503227292 | 0.002483 | 0.310432 |
| Full House | 6 | 6 | 48 | 162617338764 | 0.008158 | 0.048949 |
| Flush | 5 | 5 | 40 | 238372136280 | 0.011959 | 0.059793 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 | 32 | 305200890852 | 0.015311 | 0.061245 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 3 | 24 | 1544382513720 | 0.077478 | 0.232433 |
| Two pair | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2137041798480 | 0.10721 | 0.067006 |
| Pair | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4167412796952 | 0.209069 | 0.130668 |
| Nonpaying hand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11325663840000 | 0.56818 | 0 |
| Total | 19933230517200 | 1 | 0.95822 |
Strategy
All I will say about the strategy is that the player should play the max 8 coins. The return for playing 8 coins averaged 0.4% higher than that for 5 coins on the machines at Caesars Palace. Conventional strategy software like Video Poker Strategy Master by Tom Ski can be used to create a strategy using 5*(big hand)+3*(small hand) for each win in the pay table.