Video poker play enters bonus zone

Chicago Sun-Times, Jun 30, 2006 by John G. Brokopp

Be prepared video poker fans: The bonus round component that revolutionized the way gamblers play traditional reel and video slot machines is infiltrating your games.

The World Series of Poker-branded machines featuring a "Final Table Bonus" that WMS Gaming rolled out at last year's Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas have at long last been approved in Illinois.

Harrah's Joliet Casino & Hotel recently introduced a bank of eight games in its dedicated poker area along the back wall, replacing the Deuces Wild quarter progressives.

The game's debut in this market coincides with the start this week of the 2006 World Series of Poker at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The competition continues for seven weeks, highlighted by the No-Limit Texas Hold'em World Championship July 28 through Aug. 10.

Final Table Bonus video poker plays like regular five-card draw variations of the game (Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Double Bonus, etc.). The twist is the side bet you make on a bonus hand consisting of two additional cards that are dealt from a 52-card deck separate and apart from the base game.

If the bonus hand you are dealt is a pair of jacks, queens, kings or aces, you enter the exciting bonus feature in which you are pitted against nine animated opponents, one at a time, in a game of Texas Hold'em.

You play your first opponent using the bonus hand you were dealt. However, in this and all the rounds in which you play, you have the option of discarding the hand and replacing it with two new cards dealt from a fresh deck. You can do this a maximum of two times for each round.
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Once you accept your two-card hand, your animated opponent is dealt two cards from the same deck. The game begins, starting with the "flop" (three community cards appear on the screen), followed by the "turn" (one more card) and finally the "river" (fifth and final community card). The game automatically updates the winning probability percentage for both you and your opponent.

The highest poker hand using any combination of each player's two hole cards and the five community cards wins the hand. If the player defeats or ties his opponent, he advances to the next round and a new opponent using a fresh deck of cards.

The object is to scale the ladder and defeat as many opponents as you can. The pay table for the Final Bonus feature follows (all wins multiplied by the bonus bet): 650 for first, 350 for second, 225 for third, 150 for fourth, 100 for fifth, 50 for sixth, 25 for seventh, 15 for eighth, 10 for ninth and five for 10th.

There are other enticing bonus components. For example, if the two-card bonus hand you are dealt includes an ace, any winnings from your base game hand will be tripled. If you're dealt a pair of aces, any winnings are multiplied nine-fold.

Also, the game may randomly trigger a "free seat" in the Final Table Bonus round even if your bonus hand doesn't qualify.

If your base game is Double Bonus, any four-of-a-kind payout will be doubled if you also get into the bonus round. In Double Double Bonus, you receive four times the payout on any four-of-a-kind if you also get into the bonus.

Finally, the player wins a Bad Beat Bonus of 10,000 times the bonus bet if he loses with four-of-a-kind or higher.

Harrah's Joliet is offering the game in the $1 denomination, which combined with the bonus bet (which is equal in value to your base wager), can make it an expensive wagering proposition for average players. I played the quarter version at the Paris in Las Vegas. There's no doubt the bonus round is extremely entertaining and the multipliers enticing, but chasing it with the additional wager is the price you pay.

John G. Brokopp is a local free-lance gaming writer. E- mailjbrokopp@sbcglobal.net.

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