Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

            A couple of weeks ago, I two days walking the halls of the Sands Expo at the Global Gaming Expo.  If I had to pick one word to describe the event, it would definitely be "SLOTS".  Like last year, I think they dominated the show.  For those who have been reading me for years, you know my thoughts on Slots from a Player's perspective.  But, I do give the slot manufacturer's a lot of credit for creativity.  This year, they kept it up, not only in the games that are being developed, but in terms of the marketing.  There were zombies everywhere.  I'm not sure if there was only one manufacturer who had a zombie themed game or if there was more than one.  But there were a lot of zombies in some really good make-up all over the halls.

            As much as I write about video poker in my column, my real love is table games and that's what I'm at the show to really see.   This year, brought a particular trend to its apex (or perhaps more appropriate, its nadir).  Besides the three big table game companies (SHFL, Galaxy and DEQ), there were virtually no new table games.  I did see a couple of other new games, but they were almost afterthoughts from gaming companies involved in other aspects.  I saw exactly ZERO small independent game inventors showing any new games.  I recognize that the cost of a booth at the G2E is not cheap and could easily wipe out the budget of a small inventor, but I always found it fun to talk to someone new about their game.  I didn't get a chance this year.

            I did get introduced to a few inventors who did not have booths at the game who wanted to talk to me about their ideas.  I find that most ideas seem to fall into two categories.  The first is the rather 'far-fetched' category.  These are ideas that aren't necessarily bad, but I have to wonder about their odds of commercial success.  One inventor remarked to me about how all the casino games are poker-based.  He found this to be problematic.  I find this to be indicative of what is likely to be successful commercially.  It is NOT that games that are not poker based haven't been invented and tried, it is that none have ever had the staying power in the casino.  Some might be fun and social for a few hours, but they don't seem to have the ability to create repeat customers the way poker-based games do.

            The second common category of games are the copycats.  People look at a game like Three Card Poker, which is undeniably the most successful proprietary table game (both financially and in terms of number of tables) and try to emulate it in some way.  Now, many table games have some form of patent protection on them (many do not!).  But I am not talking about copying to the point of patent violation.  I'm simply saying that people look at Three Card Poker as some magic formula and try to replicate it.   You know this is happening when they begin describing their game with "It is just like Three Card Poker but......."

            For the past several years, the casinos have been going through a Texas Hold'em craze.  While I think it has peaked overall, it has still left a lasting impression.  Games that might have been developed as 7-card Stud games are being developed with 5 community cards in Texas Hold'em style.  After the dust settled, there are currently 2 very successful Texas Hold'em table games.  The first is Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker - developed by Mikohn/PGIC and purchased by SHFL Entertainment a few years ago, and Ultimate Texas Hold'em - developed directly by SHFL.  I did the original math on UTH for SHFL.  It was by far the most challenging game I had ever worked on to that point and perhaps since.  It was also one of the most rewarding because of the success it has become.  It is generally acknowledged as the 2nd most successful game of all-time with several hundred tables in the market place and is the only game on the horizon that has any chance to knock Three Card Poker out of the number 1 spot.

            Like Three Card Poker, one of the surest signs of the success of UTH is how many times I have heard the phrase in the past few years from an inventor, "It is just like Ultimate, but....."  There is an old saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  I guess if everyone is trying to create a game just like UTH, then UTH must be a pretty darn good game.   Is it possible to improve upon Three Card Poker or UTH?  I suppose it is possible.  But, 15-20 years after the invention of Three Card Poker, it is not a minor improvement to Three Card Poker that might take it out of the top spot.  It is a game that while still poker-based, introduce many new concepts.  It is a game that has more uniqueness to it than similarity to Three Card Poker.  I think if someone wants to knock UTH out of the number 2 spot, it won't happen because someone tweaks UTH, it will be happen because someone comes up with a new and better idea. 

            To all the inventors out there, don't think of new ways to flatter the existing games by imitating them.  Come up with new games with new ideas if you want to make your mark.

Don't Be Timid when Playing Ultimate Texas Hold'em

             This may come as a surprise to some of you, but Texas Hold’em has been played in poker rooms for a very long time.  However, it was not the primary game until recently.  When you said you were going to play Poker, it mostly mean 7-card Stud.  Secondary to that were the Texas Hold’em and Omaha tables.  I’m not really sure what got the Texas Hold’em craze going, but I’ve long suspected it was a few famous people who started playing it and all of a sudden, a game barely heard of became the game you had to play.

            Once Texas Hold’em became popular, it was no surprise that table games for the casino floor would try and capitalize on this popularity.  There have been several attempts to create a game that somehow captures the essence of Texas Hold’em.   The most successful, but not the first out, has been Shuffle Master’s Ultimate Texas Hold’em (UTH).  UTH was one of the first truly successful games that I personally worked on, and hopefully aided in its creation. 

            What makes UTH so unique is its betting structure.  You basically get one chance to make a wager beyond your initial wager.  But, you can make this wager at three different points.  The earlier you make the wager, the more you can bet.  Another relatively unique feature about UTH is that you don’t have to decide if you want to Fold until you’ve seen all your cards.  To begin play, the Player makes an Ante and an equal-sized Blind wager.  The Player also has the option to make an paytable sidebet wager.  The Player is then dealt 2 cards faced down.  He can now check or wager 4x his Ante.  The Dealer will then expose 3 community cards.  At this point, if the Player has already wagered 4x, he is done.  If he checked, he many now check again or wager 2x his Ante.  The Dealer exposes the final 2 community cards.  The Player who has already wagered is done.  The Player who checked twice must now either Fold or make a bet equal to 1x his Ante.

            The Dealer will expose his two cards.  If the Dealer does not have at least a Pair, the Ante pushes.  If the Dealer’s best 5-card hand beats the Player’s best 5-card hand, the Player loses all wagers (except the Ante as just described).  If the Player’s hand beats the Dealer’s hand, the Player wins even money on the Ante (unless the Dealer’s hand did not qualify, in which case it pushes).  The Blind bet pushes, unless the Player won with a Straight or Better, in which case it will pay according to the paytable in use.  The Play bet (1x – 4x) will pay even money. 

            UTH hit the casinos about 5 years ago and now has over 500 tables, making it one of the most successful proprietary table games of all time.  The full strategy for the game is extremely complex and somewhat fuzzy.  The unique betting structure makes it difficult to determine in all cases whether your are better off betting more now or waiting for more information and betting less.  Also, any game that uses community cards in a head-to-head game creates challenges in determining when to wager.  Stating to ‘bet’ when you have a Pair of Aces becomes impossible because it might be the community cards that has the Pair, while you’re left holding a 2 and 6 in your hand!  Your hand is quite worthless at that point!

            Ironically, it is the first decision point (to check or bet 4x) that was the easiest one to analyze.  With only your pocket cards as your guide, the decision becomes a relatively simple yes or no answer.  From talking to many Players, one thing has also become very clear.  Most Players are playing FAR TOO TIMIDLY than they should.  Proper strategy for the first wager dictates that you should bet 4x a whopping 38% of the time.   UTH boasts a payback of at least 99.25%, but if you shy away from betting 4x, you’re going to cut into this significantly.

            If there ever was a game where discipline is needed, this is it.  Between the Ante, Blind, Play and sidebet, you could easily have 7 units on the table – 38% of the time.  This is not the game to bring $100 to a $5 table and think you are properly bankrolled.  But, the math is the math and if you choose to wait to see how things play out, you might win more hands, but win less money.  Most Texas Hold’em players know that the secret to winning is that you don’t win a lot of hands, but you win a lot of money when you do.  The same can be said for UTH.

            So, without further ado, here is the strategy for the first decision point of UTH:

q  If you are dealt a Pair of 3’s or higher, bet 4x.

q  If you are dealt an Ace, bet 4x.

q  If you are dealt a suited K-X, where X is any card of the same suit, bet 4x.

q  If you are dealt a suited Q-X, where X is greater than a 4, bet 4x.

q  If you are dealt a suited J-X, where X is greater than a 7, bet 4x.

q  If you are dealt an unsuited K-X, where X is greater than a 4, bet 4x.

q  If you are dealt an unsuited Q-X, where X is greater than a 7, bet 4x.

q  If you are deal an unsuited J-10, bet 4x

I know I’ve promised for a long time that I’m working on a booklet for UTH and I have finally started the work.  Hopefully, I’ll get it done by the end of the summer.

For more information on UTH and other games, head over to my website at www.gambatria.com