A very sad gambling story.

I sat down at a High Card Flush table.  For those unfamiliar with HCF, player makes an ante bet, and if so desired (optional) bets the Flush spot and/or the Straight Flush spot.  Players and dealer are each dealt seven cards. Of course the Flush and SF spots are where the big money is made if you bet those spots and get lucky. 

You look at your cards, and want a minimum of three cards that make a flush, and decide whether to raise or fold the hand.  The more cards of the same suit in your hand the better your chance of winning.  There is more to it, but this is the basics.

A four card flush, you are hopeful; a five card flush usually wins nice money; a six card doesn't happen often, lovely money; a seven card flush is a player's dream, infrequent and lotsa money.  If any or all constitute a straight flush, more money to boot.

OK, now the sob story.  Presuming seats are labeled similarly to Blackjack, I sat down at 3rd base.  A nice couple was seated at 1st and 2nd.   No other spots being played.

The couple had their chips set and the dealer was ready to deal the hand.  She stopped to wait for my buy-in.  But I wasn't going to delay the game while I fumbled in my purse for my C-notes. 

I said "Go ahead." 

The nice dealer asked me "Are you sure?"  The nice couple at 1st and 2nd even said "We'll wait for you." 

Wanting to be a polite player I insisted "No, go ahead, but thanks anyway." 

Cards were dealt, 1st base, 2nd base, and dealer.  I haven't bought in yet.  Can you guess what happened?

Dealer showed her hand...seven clubs!   A Seven Card Flush!!   And four of them comprised a SF. 

Sh^#!!!  The dealer's hand would have been my hand had I not been polite!  We are talking big, big money here.  The kind of thing that makes you want to commit hari kari on the spot. 

This 'nice guy' (me) definitely finished last.  Thanks for reading.  And if you sympathize, thanks again.

Candy

Did you know that Money Flush made its debut at Harrah's Laughlin, where you like to play?

Let's see if I can make you feel better. A seven-card flush will appear once every 19,490 hands, for which you will be paid on the flush side bet...300 to 1. Hmmm. A four-card straight flush will appear once every 184 hands, for which you will be paid on the straight flush side bet...60 to 1. Hmmm. So for your two side bets combined, you would have realized a 180 to 1 payout. (These payouts that are much, much, much lower than a fair representation of the actual odds against those hands coming up are an unfortunate feature of carny game side bets.) So if you make $5 side bets on the flush and the straight flush, you would have gotten $1800.

Let's say that you play twenty hands an hour (this game moves pretty slowly, so I doubt you'd go any faster, unless you played heads-up). This means that you only have to play another 974.5 hours to get dealt another seven-card flush! If you play eight hours a day, heck, that's barely 122 days! What's the problem???

(Okay, I probably didn't make you feel any better.)

According to the Wizard of Odds, the house advantage on the Flush bet is 7.5% (or a bit more, depending on the paytable) and on the Straight Flush bet, 13.11%. OUCHIE!!!

Lovely, Kevin.  Thanks.  I feel so much better already.  Ha.

I had been told the game originated at Harrah's Laughlin.  I didn't know it was called Money Flush, I suppose in the beginning.  HL always has $10 minimum bet all day and night, and $5 for each of the two bonus bets.  Sounds high, but like you say it can be a slow game with multiple players at the table.   It is really popular there.  Another positive about playing at HL is that they deal to every spot, which reduces the "he took my good hand" worry when somebody walks up to the table or plays like an idiot.  No way to really play like an idiot in this game.  Still there always seems to be hot and cold spots.  How that can happen I've never understood.  How did "my" dealer get "my" seven card?  Do do do do do do do do (Twilight Zone music).

Candy

No, I call it Money Flush because it's a great way to flush your money.

I generally prefer games where I have a decision to make (blackjack, the hold em variants, video poker, poker, sports bets) and that decision makes a difference (so, not baccarat or foolette). Money Flush is a bet-something-and-hope game, so, not much different from a slot machine IMHO. But I'm sure a lot of people enjoy it for just that reason--and the potential big payouts.

As for how/why the game runs hot and cold--it's pretty much the nature of the beast. Even a five card flush is a pretty rare event, so, you're gonna have long stretches where you don't get the bonuses and often, can't even play the hand. Conversely, when you do get "hot," the payouts can be pretty hefty in a short time. So it'll be a roller coaster.

Do you know/adhere to the Wiz's basic strategy--raise with 10-8-6 or better, otherwise fold?

I think you should get rated pretty highly for playing a large -EV game. I don't know if Harrah's is that generous, but you did mention getting a charter flight, and presumably, a room comp, so...

Hang in there , you will win big soon.

The decision is whether to raise or fold with your 3 card flush.  Yes, every player gets a round of congrats from others for a five card. 

The general 'wisdom' is to bet Queen high or better, but that's iffy if the other two cards are low.  Some (not me) open with Jack high, especially if dealer is having a run of not qualifying (9 high three cards).

I honestly have not looked up the Wiz for HCF.  I can't imagine raising with a 10-high three card.  You've already lost your bonus bets anyway.  Might as well save your money (the raise) for a shot at a better hand.  JMHO. 

I doubt I rate very much on a $10 game.  I'm playing for time and fund conservation, and fun.

Charter flight offers for us are only to remote gambling meccas like Laughlin.  I'm pretty sure they need those charters to bring in players.  No charter offers to Vegas for us, that's for sure!

Candy

You're right that if you have a 3CF, your bonus bets are already toast. So, you don't want to consider them in your decision.

The reason you want to raise with a marginal 3CF is that you improve your overall outcome, based on four possible scenarios (let's assume your Ante bet is $10):

1. You raise, you win the hand, and the dealer qualifies. You now have $40 (you've won $20).

2. You raise, but the dealer doesn't qualify. You now have $30 (you've won $10).

3. You raise, you lose the hand, and the dealer qualifies. You now have $0 (you've lost $20).

4. You fold. You now have $0 (you've lost $10).

So if you raise rather than folding a marginal 3CF, you'll either:

1. Gain $30 (you win your Raise bet, you save your Ante bet, and you win your Ante bet)

2. Gain $20 (you push your Raise bet, you save your Ante bet, and you win your ante bet)

3. Lose $10 (you lose your raise bet in addition to losing your Ante bet (which was doomed anyway)

Can you see how scenarios 1 and 2 don't have to happen very often to make them the better choice?

To put it another way, if you fold when you would have won: minus $30; if you fold when the dealer wouldn't have qualified: minus $20. (And the dealer qualifies 75% of the time.) So while you might be apprehensive about losing an additional $10 bet (your Raise), if you fold a marginal hand, you could actually be losing considerably more.

Thanks, Kevin.  I will consider this mightily next time I play the game.   I've seen players always raise any 3CF for the reason(s) you detailed.  Me, I always have considered the loss of the bonus hands when considering whether or not to raise a marginal hand.  Like...well the bonus hands are toast, so why risk more?  But your math has merit.

Candy

Not to belabor the point, but in order for raising to be correct, there has to be some possibility of winning the hand outright (i.e., the dealer qualifies, but you win). That's the rationale for raising with a 10-high, but not with anything lower.

Definitely, don't consider the fate of the bonus bets, since nothing you can do will affect them. Linking them to the Ante and Raise outcomes is like believing the falsely named "Insurance" in blackjack, where that bet doesn't keep the original bet from losing even if the dealer does have a blackjack.

Keep in mind that the primary reason to raise with a marginal 3CF is to save the Ante bet, either by winning the hand outright or by having the dealer fold (not qualify). And not only do you save it when that works, but you get paid on it as well.

I definitely understand why people play carny games with high house edge side bets; it's fun when you win, and you can get some big payoffs (in contrast, the best table game bets are usually even money). But my rule for playing these games would be: play them optimally, so as to reduce the house edge to the minimum possible.