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World Poker Tour Multi-Strike Super Video Hold 'Em

Introduction

I think this game sets a new record for the longest title of a casino game: "World Poker Tour Multi-Strike Super Video Hold 'Em." That is too much of a mouthful, so I'm going to call it "Super Video Hold 'Em Multi-Strike." I think it came out in late 2011. It is not easy to find the game, but I know as of October 2012 there were two machines at the Red Rock casino, near the cafe. The game is a combination of Texas Hold 'Em, Super Video Hold Em and Multi-Strike Poker. If that doesn't help, here are the complete rules.

Rules

  1. The game is played with a single 52-card deck.
  2. The player may bet two to ten coins per level, in increments of 2, and one to four hands.
  3. Level 1 starts with the player choosing between two random two-card starting hands. The player may choose either one, and the other two cards will be put back in the deck.
  4. The game will deal five more cards, known as the "board."
  5. The player will be paid according to the best five-card poker hand between the seven cards. Five pay tables are available from the game maker as follows. This table shows the win per coin bet per hand, based on a maximum ten coins per line bet. Each pay table is identified by what a full house, flush, and straight pay respectively for a 2-coin per hand bet. The top two awards pay disproportionately less for betting less than ten coins per hand, which the player should never do.

    Pay Tables Available

    Hand 10-6-5
    Pay Table    		 9-6-5
    Pay Table    		 8-6-5
    Pay Table    		 8-6-4
    Pay Table    		 8-5-4
    Pay Table
    Royal flush on board 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
    Royal flush 100 100 100 100 100
    Straight flush 50 50 50 50 50
    Four aces 25 25 25 25 25
    Four 2-K 10 10 10 10 10
    Full house 5 4.5 4 4 4
    Flush 3 3 3 3 2.5
    Straight 2.5 2.5 2.5 2 2
    Three of a kind 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
    Two pair 1 1 1 1 1

     

  6. If the player paid for at least two hands, then there are two ways he can advance to level 2.
    • Get at least a two pair.
    • Get a Free Ride card. This is illustrated by a getting a Free Ride card as one of the initial four cards. This card is shown for about one second and then replaced with one of the cards left in the deck.
  7. The probability of a Free Ride card depends on the level and pay table, as follows.

    Free Ride Probabilities

    Hand 10-6-5
    Pay Table    		 9-6-5
    Pay Table    		 8-6-5
    Pay Table    		 8-6-4
    Pay Table    		 8-5-4
    Pay Table
    1 13.0% 13.5% 13.5% 13.3% 13.3%
    2 13.2% 13.9% 13.9% 13.5% 13.4%
    3 14.2% 16.1% 13.9% 13.9% 13.7%

     

  8. Level 2 works the same way as level 1, except the probability of a Free Ride card may change, and all wins are doubled.
  9. Level 3 works the same way as levels 1 and 2, except the probability of a Free Ride card may change, and all wins are multiplied by 4. The player must bet at least three hands to be eligible to get to level 3.
  10. All wins are multiplied by 8 on level 4. The player must bet all four hands to be eligible to get to level 4.
  11. Certain starting hands, as follows, are eligible for a multiplier on that hand. These multipliers do not apply to Bad Beat awards (see next rule) or a royal flush on the board.

    Multipliers

    Hand 10-6-5
    Pay Table    		 9-6-5
    Pay Table    		 8-6-5
    Pay Table    		 8-6-4
    Pay Table    		 8-5-4
    Pay Table
    Red aces 10 10 10 10 10
    Pair of aces 7 7 8 7 7
    Ace-king suited 5 5 6 6 7
    Pair of face cards 4 4 4 5 5
    Suited ace-queen 4 4 4 4 5
    Suited ace-jack 3 3 4 4 5
    Suited king-queen 2 2 2 2 2
    Suited king-jack 2 2 2 2 2
    Suited queen-jack 2 2 2 2 2

     

  12. The player will get a Bad Beat award equal to his bet per hand if his starting hand is at least a pair of jacks and he doesn't get at least a two pair.
  13. Each hand is dealt from a fresh 52-card deck.
 

Return

According to IGT, who kindly provided this information, the returns for each pay table are as follows, assuming optimal strategy.

Return Table

Pay Table Return
10-6-5 100.32%
9-6-5 99.51%
8-6-5 98.52%
8-6-4 97.33%
8-5-4 96.16%

 

Strategy

In terms of betting, the player should make the max 40-coin bet for the greatest return. As far as strategy in choosing your hands, sorry, you're on your own with that for now.

Example

In this game, I made a max 40-coin bet. At level one, my choices for a starting hand were between 2-5 off-suit and 3-9 off-suit. I chose the 2-5, because I felt my chances of a straight were better.

 

I got a two pair on level one and won 1X my 10-coin bet per hand. I also got to advance to level two. Before I took the picture, I was dealt a Free Ride card. This is evidenced by the fact that the cards on hand 3 say Free Ride on the back, and the text in front of hand 3 says, "This hand will be played next." My choices for a starting hand were a pair of sixes or king-ten suited. I chose the pair of sixes.

 

I got a two pair on level two, which pays 1X for the two pair and 2X for level 2. So, my 10-coin bet per hand won 10 × 1 × 2 × = 20 coins, for a total of 30 coins thus far. I also got to advance to level three. There my choices for a starting hand were 3-10 suited or 7-9 off-suit. I don't know if I made the mathematically best choice, but I went with 3-10 suited.

 

I got a flush on level three, which pays 2.5x for the flush and 4x for the level 3, for a total win on that hand of 10 × 2.5 × 4 = 100 coins, for a total win thus far of 130 coins. I also got to advance to level four. There my choices for a starting hand were 8-9 suited or 7-9 off-suit (again). I went with the 8-9 suited.

 

I got a flush on level four, which pays 2.5x for the flush and 8x for the fourth level, for a total win on that hand of 10 × 2.5 × 8 = 200 coins, for a final win of 330 coins.

 

Rule Screens

Click on any image for a larger version.

Strategy

The following strategy is optimized for the 9-6-5 (99.51%) pay table, but should be fine for any of them.

There are 169 possible starting hands. The following tables rank them in order from best to worst. When choosing between two starting hands, choose the one with the higher rank. Note that the table is divided according to the level. Generally, the lower the level, the more conservatively you should play, going for any advancing hand. The strategy with any Free Ride card is the same as the level 4 strategy.

Example: In the example screens about on level 3 my choice was between 3-10 suited and 7-9 offsuit. Looking at the level 3 tables, 3-10 suited is ranked 68, and 7-9 offsuit is ranked 89. The 68th best hand is better than the 89th, so 3-10 suited is the better starting hand.

The expected return following this strategy is 99.50%, just 0.01% less than optimal. The reason it is not exactly optimal is there are some obscure penalty card situations. If the user wishes to use just a single level strategy for all levels, the best one to use is for level 3.

Level 1 — Suited

Higher
Card		 Lower Card
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T J Q K
3 46                      
4 43 33                    
5 40 30 19                  
6 62 42 32 21                
7 101 56 38 26 22              
8 88 88 49 35 28 22            
9 88 73 73 45 36 28 22          
T 81 68 64 64 44 34 25 20        
J 97 81 68 64 71 48 37 31 18      
Q 104 97 81 68 71 85 55 41 27 15    
K 109 104 97 81 85 85 100 61 39 16 17  
A 67 63 60 50 95 79 79 95 47 14 7 6

Level 1 — Unsuited

Higher
Card		 Lower Card
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T J Q K
3 121                      
4 117 103                    
5 113 92 52                  
6 134 115 94 54                
7 164 127 111 76 57              
8 156 153 123 107 77 57            
9 156 143 141 119 108 77 57          
T 148 137 132 130 118 106 75 53        
J 160 148 137 132 140 122 110 93 51      
Q 165 160 148 137 142 152 126 114 91 102    
K 167 165 160 148 154 154 163 131 112 116 120  
A 145 136 129 125 158 146 146 158 124 128 135 144

Level 1 — Pairs

2s 3s 4s 5s 6s-9s Ts Js Qs Ks As Red As
13 12 11 9 10 8 3 5 4 2 1

Level 2 — Suited

Higher
Card		 Lower Card
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T J Q K
3 44                      
4 43 33                    
5 40 30 19                  
6 62 42 32 21                
7 101 52 39 27 22              
8 88 88 49 35 28 22            
9 88 73 73 46 36 28 22          
T 81 68 64 64 45 34 26 20        
J 97 81 68 64 71 48 38 31 18      
Q 104 97 81 68 71 85 51 41 25 15    
K 106 104 97 81 85 85 100 61 37 16 17  
A 67 63 60 50 94 77 77 94 47 8 7 6

Level 2 — Unsuited

Higher
Card		 Lower Card
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T J Q K
3 121                      
4 117 103                    
5 113 92 54                  
6 134 115 96 56                
7 164 127 111 76 57              
8 156 153 123 108 79 57            
9 156 143 141 119 109 79 57          
T 148 137 132 130 118 107 75 55        
J 160 148 137 132 140 122 110 93 53      
Q 165 160 148 137 142 152 126 114 91 102    
K 167 165 160 148 154 154 163 131 112 116 120  
A 145 136 129 125 158 146 146 158 124 128 135 144

Level 2 — Pairs

2s 3s 4s 5s 6s-9s Ts Js Qs Ks As Red As
14 13 12 10 11 9 3 5 4 2 1

Level 3 — Suited

Higher
Card		 Lower Card
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T J Q K
3 44                      
4 43 33                    
5 40 30 19                  
6 56 42 32 21                
7 98 52 39 27 22              
8 84 84 49 35 28 22            
9 84 73 73 47 36 28 22          
T 77 68 64 64 46 34 26 20        
J 93 77 68 64 71 48 38 31 18      
Q 102 93 77 68 71 81 51 41 25 9    
K 106 102 93 77 81 81 96 54 37 16 17  
A 67 63 53 50 91 75 75 91 45 8 7 6

Level 3 — Unsuited

Higher
Card		 Lower Card
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T J Q K
3 121                      
4 117 105                    
5 113 99 57                  
6 134 115 101 59                
7 164 127 111 88 60              
8 156 153 123 108 89 60            
9 156 143 141 119 109 89 60          
T 148 137 132 130 118 107 87 58        
J 160 148 137 132 140 122 110 100 55      
Q 165 160 148 137 142 152 126 114 97 104    
K 167 165 160 148 154 154 163 131 112 116 120  
A 145 136 129 125 158 146 146 158 124 128 135 144

Level 3 — Pairs

2s 3s 4s 5s 6s-9s Ts Js Qs Ks As Red As
15 14 13 11 12 10 3 5 4 2 1

Level 4 and Free Ride — Suited

Higher
Card		 Lower Card
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T J Q K
3 45                      
4 43 33                    
5 40 30 19                  
6 55 42 32 21                
7 94 52 39 27 22              
8 84 84 49 36 28 22            
9 84 73 73 47 37 28 22          
T 77 68 62 62 46 35 26 20        
J 89 77 68 62 71 48 38 31 18      
Q 98 89 77 68 71 81 51 41 25 9    
K 104 98 89 77 81 81 92 54 34 10 11  
A 57 56 53 50 87 75 75 87 44 8 7 6

Level 4 and Free Ride — Unsuited

Higher
Card		 Lower Card
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T J Q K
3 121                      
4 117 106                    
5 114 102 60                  
6 134 115 103 61                
7 164 127 111 95 65              
8 156 153 123 108 96 65            
9 156 143 141 119 109 96 65          
T 148 137 132 130 118 107 93 59        
J 160 148 137 132 140 122 110 101 58      
Q 165 160 148 137 142 152 126 113 100 105    
K 167 165 160 148 154 154 163 131 112 116 120  
A 145 136 129 125 158 146 146 158 124 128 135 144

Level 4 and Free Ride — Pairs

2s 3s 4s 5s 6s-9s Ts Js Qs Ks As Red As
17 16 15 13 14 12 3 5 4 2 1

 

9-6-5 Pay Table Analysis

The following table shows the probability of attaining each level, the average win if you get there, and expected win.

9-6-5 Pay Table Analysis

Level Free Ride
Probability		 Probability
Attainment		 Average
Win		 Expected
Win
4 0 0.133008 7.774006 1.034005
3 0.161 0.255988 3.886167 0.994812
2 0.139 0.504840 1.942689 0.980747
1 0.135 1.000000 0.971069 0.971069
Average       0.995158

Acknowledgements

  • Daniel Dale for the strategy tables.
  • IGT for the expected return of all available pay tables.

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Written by: Michael Shackleford