Hold \"em 88

Introduction

Hold \"em 88 is the same game as Ultimate Texas Hold \"Em with an additional side wager, known as the 88 Bonus. The game was trialed at the Lake Tahoe Hard Rock starting February 8, 2019.

Rules

As highlighted earlier, the main distinction between Hold 'Em 88 and Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em is that the former introduces an optional side bet referred to as the 88 Bonus. Additionally, it renames the Trips bet to the Seven Card Bonus and the Play bet to just the 'Bet'. Apart from these changes, the gameplay remains unchanged, and the following guidelines closely mirror those from my Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em content.

1. This game utilizes a standard deck of 52 playing cards.
2. Players are required to place equal wagers on both the Ante and Blind, with the option to also make side bets on the Seven Card Bonus and the 88 Bonus during this phase.
3. Each participant, including the dealer, receives two cards dealt face down, and the player is permitted to examine their own cards.
4. Players can either check or place a Bet that is equal to three or four times their Ante.
5. The dealer reveals three community cards.
6. If the player checked earlier, they have the opportunity to make a Bet equal to two times their Ante. However, if they have already made a Play bet, they cannot place any additional wagers.
7. Two more community cards are revealed at the end of the round.
8. If the player has checked twice, they are forced to either place a Bet that exactly matches their Ante or fold, resulting in the loss of both their Ante and Blind bets. If they previously raised their bet, they cannot continue to wager further.
9. Both the player and dealer will aim to construct the strongest possible hand using any combination of their two personal cards and the five community cards.
10. The dealer must have at least a pair to qualify for the hand.
11. The table below outlines how the payouts for the Blind, Ante, and Bet wagers are determined based on the outcomes of the game and whether the dealer qualifies.

    Scoring Rules

    Winner	Dealer Opens	Blind	Ante	Bet
    Player	Yes	Win	Win	Win
    Player	No	Win	Push	Win
    Dealer	Yes	Lose	Lose	Lose
    Dealer	No	Lose	Push	Lose
    Tie	Yes or No	Push	Push	Push

12. Winning bets on the Ante and Play pay out at even money. The payouts for winning Blind bets follow the structure detailed in the pay table.

    Blind Bet Pay Table

    Player Hand	Pays
    Royal flush	500 to 1
    Straight flush	50 to 1
    Four of a kind	10 to 1
    Full house	3 to 1
    Flush	3 to 2
    Straight	1 to 1
    All other	Push

13. The payouts for the Seven Card Bonus and 88 Bonus side bets will be based on the ranking of the player's hand, independent of the dealer's hand ranking, according to the respective pay tables provided.

Analysis

For a deep dive into the core aspects of the game, I recommend visiting my Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em page. Ultimately, the house edge is calculated as the percentage of expected loss relative to the Ante bet, which stands at 2.185%. The risk factor, determined by the expected loss as a proportion of the total amount wagered, is 0.526%, marking it as one of the most favorable bets in the casino.

Seven Card Bonus

According to a mathematical analysis conducted by Aces Up Gaming, there are two distinct pay tables for the Seven Card Bonus. The subsequent two tables illustrate my evaluation of each.

Here’s an overview of the house edge calculated for each of the pay tables:

• 50-40-30-8-7-4-3 — 3.50%
• 50-40-20-7-6-5-3 — 6.18%

88 Bonus

According to a mathematical analysis conducted by Aces Up Gaming, there are two distinct pay tables for the Seven Card Bonus. The subsequent two tables illustrate my evaluation of each.

Here’s an overview of the house edge calculated for each of the pay tables:

• 200-100-30-20-4-2 — 5.92%
• 200-100-30-20-5-1 — 9.09%

External Links

Discussion about Hold 'Em 88 in my discussion on Wizard of Vegas.

Written by: Michael Shackleford