How To Play 4 Card Poker At A Casino
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- How To Play Four Card Poker At The Casino
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Play one times your Ante with a K,Q,8,4 or better as your four best cards. Anything less than K,Q,8,4 should be folded. The Queens Up side bet with the above pay table has a house advantage of 4.52%, which is pretty fair for a side bet. Players are dealt their cards, and initial bets are placed. Community cards are dealt, followed by a round of betting. Fourth card is dealt, then another betting round. Final card is dealt, then. Each player receives five cards to make four-card poker hands with four-card straights as straights and four-card flushes as flushes. Dealer gets six cards to make his four-card hand with one card dealt face-up. Players review their hand, then fold or stay in the game by betting one to three times their ante. Play FREE casino games! Over 50 slots, bingo, poker, blackjack, solitaire and so much more! WIN BIG and party with your friends! A free online version of 4-Card Poker Progressive. Test out your Four Card Poker strategy here. Practice for Vegas. Try your luck at the progressive jackpot.
Four Card Poker isn’t really a poker game at all. It’s a casino game like blackjack, but it uses poker-based thinking. (Real poker games force you to play against other poker players, not the casino.)
Roger Snow invented Four Card Poker, which is a trademark of Shuffle Master, a company known for manufacturing automatic shuffling machines.
You get to play an ante bet, an “aces up” bet, or a combination of both. You and the dealer each get 5 cards and get to make your best four-card hand from those cards. There’s also a sixth face-up card.
The casino has an advantage because the player must decide whether to fold before seeing the dealer’s cards. If he folds, he loses his bet, even if he has a better hand. Also, the dealer can use that extra face-up card to complete his four-card hand, giving him a further advantage.
The rest of this post describes in detail how to play four-card poker, what the odds of winning are like, and what the best strategy for winning is.
How to Play
You play against the dealer. There might be other players at the table, but how you compare with the other players doesn’t matter. All that matters is how you do against the dealer.
You start by placing an ante bet, which is required. You might also place an “ante up” bet.
After placing your bets, you get five cards, face-down. The dealer gets five face-down cards, too, but she also gets a single face-up card.
Based on the information you have — the cards in your hand and the face-up card — you must decide to raise or fold. If you fold, the casino gets your bet, and that’s it.
The “aces up” bet, on the other hand, stays in action regardless.
If you decide to stay in the hand, you must raise at least the same amount as your ante bet. You can raise as much as 3x the ante bet.
You then discard a card, leaving you with your best possible four-card poker hand.
The hand rankings for Four Card Poker are, from best hand to worst, as follows:
- Four of a kind
- Straight flush
- Three of a kind
- Flush
- Straight
- Two pair
- One pair
- High card
The dealer turns over her cards, too, and chooses her best four-card hand from the six cards she has available.
If you have a better hand, you win even money on both your ante and raise bets. If the dealer has a better hand, you lose your ante and raise bets.
You get a bonus if you have three of a kind or better, regardless of whether you beat the dealer.
The aces up bet pays off according to the pay table, regardless of whether you beat the dealer.
Four Card Poker Pay Tables
Here are the pay tables for the game. The first is the pay table for the three of a kind bonus; the second is for the aces up bet.
Three of a kind bonus:
- Four of a kind pays 25 to 1
- Straight flush pays 20 to 1
- Three of a kind pays 2 to 1
Some casinos pay more for four of a kind and less for a straight flush, 30 to 1 and 15 to 1, respectively.
Aces up pay table:
- Four of a kind pays 50 to 1
- Straight flush pays 40 to 1
- Three of a kind pays 8 to 1
- Flush pays 5 to 1
- Straight pays 4 to 1
- Two pair pays 3 to 1
- A pair of aces pays even money
This is only one example of multiple pay tables that are available to the game, but this is the most common one.
All of the pay tables pay 50 to 1 for four of a kind, but some of them only pay 30 to 1 for a straight flush. The payout for three of a kind can range from 7 to 1 to 9 to 1. Some pay tables pay 6 to 1 for a flush instead of 5 to 1. The straight pays off at 5 to 1 on some pay tables, too. Two pair sometimes only pays off at 2 to 1.
The House Edge and Strategy for Four Card Poker
The house edge is 2.79%, but that’s based on your initial bet. If you’re raising in the appropriate spots, you’ll put more money into action, which means that the actual house edge is 1.3%. That’s for the ante and raise bets combined.
And that assumes you’re playing with mathematically optimal decisions.
The simplest strategy for the game gives up about 0.5%, making the house edge slightly higher than 3.3%.
It’s an easy strategy to remember. If you have a pair of 10s or better, you should raise the max (3x the ante). If you have a pair of 2s through 9s, you should raise the minimum (1x the ante). Otherwise, you should fold.
You can find better strategies for intermediate and advanced players that will reduce the house edge further, but I’m not sure it’s worth the effort.
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Here’s why.
If you’re going to memorize some kind of strategy, why not memorize a strategy for a game where you can get a really low house edge?
How To Play Four Card Poker At The Casino
If the best you can hope for is a house edge of around 3%, wouldn’t you be better off learning the basic strategy for a blackjack game where you can get a house edge of 0.5% or less?
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You could even learn some video poker strategies which would result in a house edge of less than 0.2%.
If you’re willing to give up 1% or 2% because you love Four Card Poker so much, then you probably shouldn’t worry so much about the house edge anyway. Just have fun and don’t play with money you can’t afford to lose.
The house edge for the aces up bet, by the way, is 3.89%. It’s a sucker bet, but it’s not the worst sucker bet in the casino. In fact, it’s still a better bet than a bet on an American roulette table, which has a house edge of 5.26%.
What About Crazy 4 Poker?
Crazy 4 poker is also an invention of Roger Snow, and it’s similar to, but different from, Four Card Poker.
Instead of an “aces up” bet, Crazy 4 Poker offers a “super bonus” bet. There’s also a side bet called “queens up.”
The hand rankings are the same for both games.
The dealer only gets five cards in Crazy 4 Poker, instead of the six cards she gets in Four Card Poker.
But in Crazy 4 Poker, the dealer must open with a king or better. The ante bet pushes if the dealer doesn’t open.
Also, instead of being able to raise, you have a “play” bet. It wins if the dealer doesn’t qualify.
Otherwise, these bets are resolved based on who has the better hand.
The super bonus bet pays off according to the following pay table, regardless of who won the hand:
- Four aces pay off at 200 to 1
- Any other four of a kind pays off at 30 to 1
- A straight flush pays off at 15 to 1
- A three of a kind pays off at 2 to 1
- A flush pays off at 3 to 2
- And a straight pays off at even money
Also, here’s the cool thing about the super bonus bet.
If you win or push (tie) the dealer with your hand, the super bonus bet isn’t lost. It’s treated as a push. But if you have a straight or better, you still get your big payoff.
The house edge for the game is similar to that of Four Card Poker, and this game also requires you to play with optimal strategy to achieve that. You can assume that you’re not going to play optimally, and you’ll sacrifice 0.5% to 1% to the house because of that, too.
Here’s the most common pay table for the queens up bet in Crazy 4 Poker:
- Four of a kind pays off at 50 to 1
- A straight flush pays off at 40 to 1
- Three of a kind pays off at 7 to 1
- A flush pays off at 4 to 1
- A straight pays off at 3 to 1
- Two pair pays off at 2 to 1
- A pair of queens or higher pays off even money
Anything else is a loss with the queens up bet. (Can you figure out how this bet gets its name?)
The house edge for the queens up bet is 6.7%. It’s a terrible bet, and you should never make it. You’re better off with the odds at the American roulette table, which has a house edge of 5.26% (and is still one of the worst bets in the casino).
Conclusion
Four Card Poker and its close relative Crazy 4 Poker are good examples of casino games based on real poker. They are NOT poker games, though — I reserve that category for games where you play against the other players and not the dealer.
The house edge for these games is high enough that it’s probably not worth your trouble memorizing an intermediate or advanced strategy. You can stick with a simple strategy and eliminate some of the house edge, though.
It’s fun to play on a lark, but I don’t recommend a steady diet of Four Card Poker. Instead, play one of the better video poker variations or stick with blackjack, where the house edge is REALLY low.
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What is Four Card Poker?
Four Card Poker is similar to Three Card Poker®, however the player receives five cards to make their best four-card hand. Four Card Poker is available at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Below is a guide on how to play Four Card poker.
How To Play Four Card Poker
What are the rules of Four Card Poker? Players play against the dealer and there is an optional side bet, Aces Up. The dealer always qualifies and players may wager one to three times their Ante wager, which is the primary difference between this game and Three Card Poker.
Players make an Ante wager to compete against the dealer and may also make the Aces Up wager to play against the pay table.
Each player receives five cards to make their best four-card hand. The dealer receives six cards—one of which is face up—to make their best four-card hand.
Players then decide whether to make a Play wager or fold. The Play wager may be one to three times the Ante wager.
The dealer reveals his hand and compares it to each player's hand. If the player's hand beats or ties the dealer's hand, the Play or Ante wagers are paid an even amount.
An Automatic Bonus is paid on all Ante wagers when the player's hand is three of a kind or better, whether or not the player's hand beats the dealer's.
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The Aces Up side bet wins when the player has a pair of Aces or better.
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What are the rank of hands in Four Card Poker (Highest to Lowest)?
- Four of a Kind
- Straight Flush
- Three of a Kind
- Flush
- Straight
- Two Pair
- Pair of Aces
- High Card
Four Card Poker is a trademark and used under license from SHFL entertainment, Inc.
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How it works: Simply place the optional $1 progressive side bet before the deal for the chance to win a portion of—or possibly the entire—jackpot.
The progressive wager pays when a player holds a three-of-a-kind or higher. And if you’re lucky enough to hold a royal flush, you’ll win 100% of the pot! Even the other players at a major jackpot-winning table will walk away with something substantial (if they’ve placed the progressive wager); a Royal Flush or Straight Flush awards an Envy bonus of $1,000 or $300, respectively.
This wager is your chance to play for more money—and to win more often! Ask a table games floor supervisor or dealer for additional information or qualifications.
What are the Payouts?
| Hand | Pays | Envy Bonus |
| Royal Flush | 100% | $1,000 |
| Straight Flush | 10% | $300 |
| 4 of a Kind | $300 | |
| Full House | $50 | |
| Flush | $40 | |
| Straight | $30 | |
| 3 of a Kind | $9 |