4 Card Split

Introduction

I first encountered the 4 Card Split game during the 2014 Raving Table Games exhibition. A year later, at the 2015 Cutting Edge Table Games event, I saw it again, although there were some alterations to the rules. My third experience was at the Suncoast Casino in Las Vegas in March 2016, where I witnessed the game in action for the first time in a real casino setting.

Describing this game succinctly can be quite the challenge. If I were to give it a shot, I would say it resembles a fusion of pai gow poker and Three Card Poker. There’s even a unique aspect where players can raise on both of their hands, alongside a mandatory side bet, making it a truly innovative gaming experience. While it might seem complex at first, I’m confident that once you understand the mechanics, you’ll find it to be intriguing, stimulating, and a lot of fun.

Rules

Below are the guidelines for playing 4 Card Split. They might seem a bit complicated, so please pay close attention.

1. A standard 52-card deck will be utilized. The ranking of hands follows the standard rules. Three Card Poker .
2. To initiate the game, players must place two equal Ante bets along with a 4 Card Blind bet, which must be equal to or exceed one Ante bet.
3. Each player and the dealer will receive four cards, with one of the dealer's cards revealed while the other three remain concealed.
4. The dealer will instantly evaluate the 4-Card Blind bet based on the player’s revealed four cards and the pay table provided below.
5. Next, the player will split their cards into two separate hands, choosing to allocate either two cards to each hand or three to one and one to the other.
6. If a player manages to create a three-card hand that ranks as a flush or higher, they must reveal it to claim an 'Instant Winner' status. Only those hands that achieve a flush or better qualify as Instant Winners, paying out according to the Ante paytable displayed below. Following the payout for Instant Winners, the dealer will collect those hands.
7. For all hands that do not qualify as Instant Winners, the player must decide to either place a Play bet, matching the Ante bet, or fold. It's important to note that the player can make different strategic choices on each hand.
8. The dealer will then add any necessary cards to each hand to ensure that both contain three cards.
9. Afterward, the dealer will reveal their three hidden cards and create their best possible three-card hand with the one visible card plus two of the concealed cards.
10. In order to qualify, the dealer's hand must have at least a king high. If the dealer doesn’t qualify, all Play bets will be returned, and Ante bets will pay out according to the Ante pay table provided below.
11. If the dealer does qualify, then the two hands are compared. Should the dealer emerge victorious, the Ante and Play bets will be lost. In the rare event of a tie, both will push. Conversely, if the player holds the stronger hand, the Ante bet will pay according to the pay table, and the Play bet will pay out at a 1-to-1 ratio.

The pay table below outlines the payouts for winning Ante bets, which are determined based on three-card hands, with all winnings expressed on a 'to one' basis.

*: Hands that rank lower than a flush do not qualify as Instant Winners.

The pay table presented below is for the 4 Card Blind bet, and similar to before, all hands are evaluated based on a four-card format with winnings on a 'to one' basis.

Strategy

Initially, you should aim to minimize your bet on the 4 Card Split bet, so keep it equal to your Ante bet. Don’t let the dealer persuade you into increasing that amount.

Unfortunately, when it comes to strategizing how to split your four cards, you will have to navigate on your own, as no one has yet outlined an effective strategy for it.

Lastly, I've put together a strategy to aid in deciding whether to raise or fold for each individual hand. This is based on a combination of the rack card strategy and insights from the game's creator on playing three-card hands.

With Three Cards

If you have a flush or better, you win automatically without needing to make a choice. For all other three-card hands, adhere to the following one-card strategy.

With Two Cards

Raise if your hand is among the following; otherwise, opt to fold.

• Any pair
• Flush draw
• Open-ended straight draw
• For an inside straight draw, be sure the high card is superior to the dealer's up card.
• Against dealer ace, play A-10 or higher.
• Against dealer king, play K-10 or higher.
• Against a dealer's queen, it’s advisable to play with a hand of J-10 or better.
• Against dealer jack, play A-10 or higher.

With One Card

Raise if you hold a jack or higher that surpasses the dealer's up card; otherwise, fold.

Analysis

The following insights are provided by Steven How of Discount Gambling renown. The initial table details the potential results from the Ante and Play bets, with the bottom right cell indicating that each Ante bet is expected to win approximately 0.168371 units.

The subsequent table presents an analysis of the 4 Card Blind bet, with the bottom right cell indicating an anticipated loss of 0.347268 units.

Considering the two required Ante bets alongside an equal 4 Card Split bet, the expected win calculates to 2×0.168371 -0.347268 = -0.010525. The house edge, expressed as the ratio of anticipated player losses to the initial required bet, amounts to 0.010525/3 = 0.003508, resulting in roughly 0.35%.

On average, the player is expected to place a Play bet about 73.8304% of the time for each Ante bet. Thus, the average total bet likely to be made will be 3 + 2×0.738304 = 4.476608. This leads to the Element of Risk, calculated as the ratio of expected loss to the average final wager, which comes out to 0.010525/4.476608 = 0.002351, or about 0.24%.

Overall, this represents one of the most favorable bets players will encounter in a casino, assuming they adhere to optimal strategies.

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank:

• Wayne Hong of eTable Games for sharing his math report with me.

Videos

Here’s an interview with my favorite dealer from Las Vegas, Angela Wyman, conducted during the 2014 Raving Table Game show, where she shares insights on how to play 4 Card Split. Do keep in mind that the rules were somewhat different back then.

Here is an update reflecting changes made to the rules since the 2014 show, sourced from the 2015 Cutting Edge Table Game event.

External Links

• Wizard of Vegas — Discussion about 4 Card Split.

Written by: Michael Shackleford