Match Card Video Poker

Introduction

In June 2013, I came across Triple Play Draw Poker with Match Card at Peppermill Casino in Reno. This game functions similarly to triple-play video poker but introduces an exciting element. After the draw, the game selects three special cards, called Match Cards, from a separate deck that excludes any cards the player has discarded. If any Match Cards match with the player's hand after the draw, it triggers multipliers for their winnings. However, there's a catch—the player has to double their bet, and the winnings calculate based on half of the total wager.

Rules

1. A player starts with a 30-credit wager. Of this, 15 credits cover three hands at five credits each—typical for standard Triple Play video poker. The remaining 15 credits activate the Match Card feature.
2. Initially, the player receives a single hand dealt to them.
3. The player decides which cards to keep and which ones to discard in hopes of drawing new ones.
4. The game replaces the discarded cards. Each hand will receive replacement cards drawn from a different deck of the remaining 47 cards.
5. Additionally, the game selects three Match Cards from yet another separate deck, which does not include the discarded cards. These Match Cards will be displayed on the screen from top to bottom.
6. The player is awarded multipliers based on how many of their hand cards correspond with the Match Cards, according to the multiplier table provided.
7. Payouts will be determined by the value of the player's poker hand in addition to the multipliers.

Example

In my example shown, I got a pair of deuces when the hands were dealt, which I chose to keep. During the draw, the top hand was not favorable, the middle hand turned into a full house, while the bottom hand became a three of a kind. Although the middle card of the bottom hand is hidden, trust that it was the two of spades.

The three Match Cards are illustrated on the right side of the screen. The bottom Match Card turned out to be the two of spades, which coincided with cards in both the middle and bottom hands. According to the multiplier table earlier, matching the lower Match Card provides a 5x multiplier. So, while my full house from the middle hand would usually yield 45 credits, it ended up earning 5 times 45, totaling 225 credits. My three of a kind from the bottom hand, which typically pays 15 credits, gained the same multiplier for a payout of 15 times 5, equaling 75 credits. Therefore, my overall winnings summed to 300 credits.

Odds for 9-5 Jacks or Better

The table below displays the various combinations possible for each hand based on the number of cards discarded. The count of discarded cards is significant because the more cards you discard, the better your chances of landing a multiplier.

In my analyses of video poker, I consistently apply the principle of an optimal player strategy.

This table presents the probabilities of forming each hand relative to the number of cards discarded, rounded to six decimal places.

The subsequent table showcases the average multipliers linked to the number of cards discarded, highlighting the benefits of letting go of more cards.

In the following table, you'll find how each hand contributes to the overall return based on the number of discarded cards. Each cell represents the product of the hand's probability, the base payout, the average multiplier, and a division by 0.5. This division is necessary as wins are calculated based on only half of the initial wager. The bottom right cell indicates an overall return of 98.592%, which is slightly lower than the 98.596% return announced by IGT.

The table below outlines the chances of discarding between 0 to 5 cards in both traditional video poker and Match Card scenarios for the 9-5 Jacks or Better variant.

On average, a player will discard around 2.918968 cards in the 9-5 Jacks or Better, and in Match Card, the average reaches approximately 2.929251 cards. In simpler terms, players are likely to throw away about 0.010283 additional cards during a Match Card hand.

When engaging in standard 9-5 Jacks or Better while also discarding a lone card from a dealt four of a kind, the expected return is 0.985946. This contrasts with the optimal strategy in Match Card, where the error margin amounts to 0.000023.

Other Pay Tables

Lastly, the table below lists various games, their respective pay tables, and the returns associated with Match Card. This information was graciously provided by IGT. As previously mentioned, the return percentage for 9-5 Jacks or Better from IGT is marginally higher by 0.000037 compared to my findings. While I am unsure of the reasons for this difference, it's not something that keeps me awake at night.

Written by: Michael Shackleford