How hands are counted

Add up the five cards: an Ace is 1, two to ten are worth their number, and jacks, queens and kings are 10. Then look for a spread, which is three or four cards of the same rank, or three or more cards of one suit in sequence. The cards in a spread count zero, so seven, eight and nine of spades with a two and a three make a 5-point hand.

Aces only run low: A-2-3 of a suit is a spread, Q-K-A is not. A five-card hand can only hold one spread, and the game always uses the one that removes the most points. Ace to Five in a single suit is the best hand at the table, and any other five-card straight flush is worth zero.

The Play paytable

Your Ante pays even money on every win. The 18 to 32 band pays the same even money as the Trinidad casino table and every lower band pays more. When the dealer fails to qualify the Ante still pays and the Play bet comes back, whatever you are holding.

• Ace to Five suited: 200 to 1
• 0 points (straight flush): 100 to 1
• 1 to 3 points: 30 to 1
• 4 to 7 points: 5 to 1
• 8 to 11 points: 4 to 1
• 12 to 17 points: 3 to 1
• 18 to 32 points: 1 to 1

When to raise

Raising costs twice your Ante, so the decision carries the game. The dealer's up card matters most: a high card leaves the dealer likely to finish over 32 and fail to qualify, which pays your Ante regardless of your hand. Against an 8 or higher showing, raising is always right.

Against lower up cards, compare your four-card points, after any spread, with this guide: raise with 22 or less against an Ace, 23 against a 2, 24 against a 3, 25 against a 4, 27 against a 5, 29 against a 6, and up to about 37 against a 7. Played that way the main game holds 5.09% of the Ante, which is 2.02% of everything wagered.

Insurance and Tie

Insurance is a side bet on your own five cards, settled whatever the dealer holds and even if you fold. It pays 2,000 to 1 for Ace to Five suited, 1,000 to 1 for any other zero, 200 to 1 for 1 to 3 points, 60 to 1 for 4 to 7 and 35 to 1 for 8 to 11. It also covers the disaster hands: 47 to 50 points made with at least four face cards pay 15, 20, 30 and 75 to 1. Insurance returns 95.42%.

The Tie bet pays 25 to 1 when your points equal the dealer's, which happens on about 3.68% of deals, for a 95.59% return. A per-bet maximum payout also applies, so a single win is paid up to that ceiling even when the multiplier climbs higher — the exact figure is shown in-game on the bet form.

Every card is dealt before you decide

All ten cards come from a single shuffle of one 52-card deck, drawn from the server seed, your client seed and the bet nonce when you place the Ante. Folding or raising never changes a card; it only decides which bets stay on the table. That is also why side bets can settle after a fold.

No betting system changes the house edge. Set a budget before you start, keep individual stakes small against your balance, and stop if it stops being entertainment.