Peek and Play is a video poker variant where the player can see first card to be dealt for the draw before he discards. Of course, nothing in the casino is ever truly free, so the player must pay a non-refundable fee of two-coins per hand, above the normal maximum of five-coins per hand, to enable this feature. If this sounds familiar, it is the same concept as the game Look Ahead Poker, which I already analyzed.
Rules
The game is based on standard single-play video poker rules, except as noted.
The player may play normally, betting one to five coins, or may bet seven coins to invoke the Peek and Play feature.
The wager must be made before the deal.
If the Look Ahead feature is active, then after the deal, the game will reveal the next card to be dealt.
The player will indicate which cards he wishes to hold, as usual.
In addition to the extra two coins paying for the Peek and Play feature, it also bumps up the pay table on some of the hands.
Example
In a normal game of video poker the right play for the hand above would be to go for the outside straight. However, I could see the next card was the six of clubs, which would have caused the straight draw to lose. Instead, I kept the six of spades only, knowing the next card would pair it, and I would have three more cards after it to improve on the low pair.
As you can see from the picture above, I improved to a full house on the top hand and a two pair on the middle hand.
Games and Pay Tables
IGT kindly provided me a list of all games and pay tables that Look Ahead Poker is available in.
The returns indicated in the following tables are based on a full seven-coin bet.
Bonus Poker
Hand
98.553%
97.139%
96.979%
ROYAL FLUSH
800
800
800
STRAIGHT FLUSH
50
50
50
FOUR ACES
90
100
90
FOUR 2's, 3's, 4's
50
50
50
FOUR 5's THROUGH K's
40
40
40
FULL HOUSE
8
7
7
FLUSH
6
6
6
STRAIGHT
4
4
4
THREE OF A KIND
3
3
3
TWO PAIR
2
2
2
JACKS OR BETTER
1
1
1
Bonus Poker Deluxe
Hand
98.848%
97.404%
96.798%
95.621%
ROYAL FLUSH
800
800
800
800
STRAIGHT FLUSH
50
50
50
50
FOUR OF A KIND
95
105
110
110
FULL HOUSE
10
9
8
7
FLUSH
7
6
6
6
STRAIGHT
4
4
4
4
THREE OF A KIND
3
3
3
3
TWO PAIR
1
1
1
1
JACKS OR BETTER
1
1
1
1
Deuces Wild
Hand
98.134%
97.839%
96.799%
95.533%
ROYAL FLUSH NO DEUCES
800
800
800
800
FOUR DEUCES
200
200
200
200
ROYAL FLUSH WITH DEUCE
30
30
27
29
FIVE OF A KIND
17
16
18
17
STRAIGHT FLUSH
14
14
14
12
FOUR OF A KIND
4
4
5
5
FULL HOUSE
4
4
3
3
FLUSH
3
3
2
2
STRAIGHT
2
2
2
2
THREE OF A KIND
1
1
1
1
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker
Hand
98.076%
97.868%
96.561%
95.367%
ROYAL FLUSH NO DEUCES
800
800
800
800
FOUR DEUCES + ONE ACE
400
400
400
400
FOUR DEUCES
200
200
200
200
ROYAL FLUSH WITH DEUCE
29
28
29
29
FIVE ACES
84
84
84
84
FIVE 3's, 4's, 5's
44
44
44
44
FIVE 6's THROUGH K's
24
24
24
24
STRAIGHT FLUSH
11
11
13
11
FOUR OF A KIND
5
5
5
5
FULL HOUSE
3
3
3
3
FLUSH
3
3
2
2
STRAIGHT
1
1
1
1
THREE OF A KIND
1
1
1
1
Double Bonus
Hand
98.366%
97.936%
96.551%
95.519%
ROYAL FLUSH
800
800
800
800
STRAIGHT FLUSH
50
50
50
50
FOUR ACES
200
200
200
200
FOUR 2's, 3's, 4's
100
90
90
110
FOUR 5's THROUGH K's
60
60
66
65
FULL HOUSE
10
10
10
10
FLUSH
7
7
7
6
STRAIGHT
5
5
4
4
THREE OF A KIND
3
3
3
3
TWO PAIR
1
1
1
1
JACKS OR BETTER
1
1
1
1
Double Double Bonus
Hand
98.066%
97.935%
96.991%
95.735%
ROYAL FLUSH
800
800
800
800
STRAIGHT FLUSH
50
50
50
50
FOUR A's + ANY 2, 3 OR 4
400
400
400
400
FOUR 2's,3's,4's + ANY A,2,3,4
200
200
200
200
FOUR ACES
200
200
200
200
FOUR 2's, 3's, 4's
110
110
100
100
FOUR 5's THROUGH K's
66
65
60
62
FULL HOUSE
10
10
10
9
FLUSH
6
6
6
6
STRAIGHT
4
4
4
4
THREE OF A KIND
3
3
3
3
TWO PAIR
1
1
1
1
JACKS OR BETTER
1
1
1
1
Jacks or Better
Hand
98.001%
97.434%
96.427%
95.232%
ROYAL FLUSH
800
800
800
800
STRAIGHT FLUSH
50
50
50
50
FOUR OF A KIND
35
32
35
37
FULL HOUSE
9
9
8
7
FLUSH
6
6
6
6
STRAIGHT
4
4
4
4
THREE OF A KIND
3
3
3
3
TWO PAIR
2
2
2
2
JACKS OR BETTER
1
1
1
1
Triple Double Bonus
Hand
98.174%
97.056%
96.287%
95.351%
ROYAL FLUSH
800
800
800
800
STRAIGHT FLUSH
50
50
50
50
FOUR A's + ANY 2, 3 OR 4
800
800
800
800
FOUR 2's,3's,4's + ANY A,2,3,4
400
400
400
400
FOUR ACES
200
200
200
200
FOUR 2's, 3's, 4's
86
100
100
120
FOUR 5's THROUGH K's
57
60
65
65
FULL HOUSE
10
10
9
8
FLUSH
7
6
6
6
STRAIGHT
4
4
4
4
THREE OF A KIND
2
2
2
2
TWO PAIR
1
1
1
1
JACKS OR BETTER
1
1
1
1
Analysis
The following table shows the probability and return for all possible outcomes in 35-9-6 Jacks or Better. It takes my computer three days to run through all possible combinations in this game so please forgive me for having one return table only.
35-9-6 Jacks or Better
Hand
Pays
Combinations
Probability
Return
Royal flush
800
57,896,859,888
0.000035
0.019759
Straight flush
50
300,840,348,816
0.000180
0.006417
Four of a kind
35
4,436,630,353,512
0.002650
0.066242
Full house
9
36,974,861,757,288
0.022083
0.141959
Flush
6
37,531,316,403,756
0.022415
0.096064
Straight
4
45,498,776,697,696
0.027173
0.077638
Three of a kind
3
130,029,122,272,896
0.077658
0.166409
Two pair
2
338,882,906,655,216
0.202392
0.289131
Jacks or better
1
272,842,446,785,832
0.162950
0.116393
Nothing
0
807,836,565,309,900
0.482466
0.000000
Total
1,674,391,363,444,800
1.000000
0.980012
Strategy
Sorry, you're on your own with that.
Comparison to Super Look Ahead Poker
There is a similar game called Super Look Ahead Poker. The only differences are:
In Super Look Ahead Poker the player may decline the Look Ahead card.
In Super Look Ahead Poker the player must pay three extra coins for the Look Ahead feature, as opposed to two.
