Super Times Pay Super Stacks

Introduction

Super Times Pay Super Stacks is a unique variant of video poker introduced by Action Gaming, designed as an added feature on top of their multi-play game options available in formats of 3-play, 5-play, and 10-play.

Rules

Players can enjoy Super Times Pay Super Stacks as a traditional multi-play video poker game by betting between one to five coins per hand. However, for those looking to activate the special feature, the option to wager ten coins per hand is available. When the feature is triggered, it randomly awards a multiplier and additional hands during the gameplay, and players will witness this enhancement simultaneously with the dealt hands.

The chance of triggering this feature when wagering ten coins per hand stands at 1 in 11.

Upon activating the feature, players can expect an average multiplier of around 4.06.

In the three-play setup, activating the feature will generally yield an average of six extra hands, with a maximum possible of nine additional hands.

Under the five-play arrangement, players can anticipate an average of ten extra hands upon activation, potentially reaching up to 16 extra hands.

In the ten-play configuration, players can look forward to an average of 20 extra hands when the feature is activated, with a maximum cap of 30 additional hands.

Example

In the accompanying image, I was engaging in 3-play Bonus Poker when the feature activated, awarding me a 3x multiplier along with 8 extra hands, bringing my total hands to 11. I decided to keep the pair of eights.

The next image captures my initial three hands, where two of them transformed into three of a kind, which typically yields a base payout of 3 to 1.

The subsequent image displays the first five of my eight additional hands. One of the middle hands developed into four eights, resulting in a substantial base win of 25 to 1.

The final image showcases the last set of my three extra hands, none of which saw improvement.

With two three of a kinds and one four of a kind (ranging from fives to kings), my base win computes to 2 multiplied by 3 plus 25, equating to 31 per coin wagered per hand, not accounting for the feature activation cost. Considering five coins were bet per hand with a multiplier of 3, my total win for this session amounted to 31 multiplied by 5 multiplied by 3, resulting in 465, as displayed in the lower right corner of the second image.

Strategy

The gameplay strategy remains consistent with that of traditional video poker.

Analysis

Calculating the mathematics behind the feature is straightforward, given that the base game return is established. Players have a 1 in 11 chance of receiving a multiplier of 4.06 and garnering thrice the usual number of hands.

If we denote the base return of the game as 'r', then the expected winnings when placing the full ten credits per hand can be calculated as r multiplied by ((10/11) + (1/11)*4.06*3), resulting in an approximation of 2.0164.

It's important to note that players need to double their stake to trigger this feature, thus modifying the return relative to their bet to r multiplied by (2.0164/2), which simplifies to r multiplied by (1109/1100), yielding 1.008181818 multiplied by r.

In layman's terms, to determine your return including the feature, simply multiply whatever the base return of the game is by about 1.0082.

Return Tables

The subsequent table illustrates the expected return for various games and pay tables for both 5-coin and 10-coin betting scenarios. It should be noted that I do not guarantee that Action Gaming provides all these pay tables.

Written by: Michael Shackleford