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Introduction

Oasis Poker (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Caribbean Stud Poker or

Caribbean Poker, which is a different game) is a 💳 casino poker game, meaning that it’s

derived from classic player vs player poker, but instead the player plays against the

💳 house. Oasis Poker is a derivative of Caribbean Stud Poker that allows the player to

discard undesirable cards to receive 💳 a replacement. Oasis Poker is played with a

standard 52 card deck.

We are aware of Oasis Poker being offered at 💳 Net Entertainment,

Betsoft, GameSys and Galewind casinos.

Play Structure

Initially the player places an

‘Ante’ wager and the dealer will deal out 💳 5 cards to the player and themselves. All but

one of the dealers cards are dealt face down (often referred 💳 to as ‘Hole’ cards). The

player then has to make the decision to either Fold their hand – losing their 💳 Ante

wager – discard up to 5 cards or ‘Call’. Where the player chooses to discard cards they

will be 💳 charged a fee equal to the Ante bet for each card they exchange. This fee is

not a bet and 💳 will not be returned regardless of the outcome of the hand. If the player

chooses to Call – either before 💳 or after discarding cards - they have to place a bet

twice the size of the Ante wager then the 💳 dealer’s hole cards are revealed and the

hands are compared.

Hand Comparison

Oasis Poker ranks hands according to a hierarchy

common to 💳 poker games which is explained below (strongest to weakest);

* Royal Flush –

The Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten cards 💳 all of the same suit.

* Straight Flush – five

numerically adjacent cards of the same suit (Example – 4, 5, 💳 6, 7 and 8 of Diamonds).

Where both the player and dealer hold a Straight Flush the hand with the 💳 highest card

is considered the winner.

* 4 of a Kind – four cards of matching rank (Example - 7 of

💳 Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds and Spades). Where both the player and the dealer hold 4 of a

Kind the hand with 💳 the higher rank is considered the winner.

* Full House – three cards

of the same rank and two cards of 💳 a different but matching rank (Example – 8 of Hearts,

Clubs and Diamonds and Jack of Spades and Hearts). Where 💳 both the player and dealer

hold a Full House, the hand with the higher rank 3 of a Kind is 💳 considered the

winner.

* Flush – five cards of the same suit (Example – Ace, 8, 5, 2 and Queen of

💳 Spades). Where both the player and dealer hold a Flush the hand with the highest card

is considered the winner. 💳 Where the highest card is matched the second highest is

consider and so on.

* Straight – five numerically adjacent cards 💳 ignoring suit (Example

– 7 of Spades, 8 of Spades, 9 of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds and Jack of Diamonds). 💳 Where

both the player and dealer hold a Straight the hand with the highest card is considered

the winner.

* 3 💳 of a Kind – three cards of the same rank with 2 unmatched cards

(Example – 9 of Spades, Clubs 💳 and Hearts with any two other cards that are not the 9 of

Diamonds or a matching pair). Where both 💳 the player and dealer hold a 3 of a Kind, the

hand with the higher ranked 3 of a Kind 💳 is considered the winner.

* Two Pairs – two

sets of two cards of matching rank with one unmatched card (Example 💳 – 4 of Clubs and

Hearts, 8 Clubs and Spades and a fifth unmatched card). Where the player and dealer

💳 both have two pairs, the hand with the highest pair is considered the winner. If both

hands have matching top 💳 pair, the higher of the two lower pairs is considered the

winner. Where both pairs are matched, the hand with 💳 the higher ‘Kicker’ (final

unmatched card) is considered the winner.

* Pair - two cards of matching rank with

three unmatched 💳 card (Example – 6 of Clubs and Hearts and any three other cards that

are not the six of Spades 💳 or Diamonds and are not of matching rank). Where the player

and the dealer hold a matching pair, the hand 💳 with the highest Kicker card wins. If the

Kicker also matches, the hand is decided by the second Kicker then 💳 the third if the

second Kickers also match.

* High Card – any five unmatched cards ranked as the highest

card 💳 (Example – 5 of Spades, 9 of Clubs, 7 of Clubs, 2 of Hearts and Ace of Diamonds

would be 💳 considered ‘Ace High’).

In the instance where both the dealer and player have

hands of matching value by the above table 💳 the hand is considered a push and the

player’s bets are returned.

Payouts

As with many other poker based casino games, there

💳 is a qualification hand for the dealer to play. As such payouts vary depending on

whether the dealer qualifies or 💳 not. The dealer qualifies if their hand is Ace/King or

better.

If the player loses all bets placed are lost. If 💳 the player Folds they lose

their Ante bet. If the player wins payouts are decided as follows;

* If the player 💳 wins

and the dealer does not qualify the Ante bet is paid out at 1 to 1 while the Call 💳 bet

pushes.

* If the player wins and the dealer does qualify the Ante bet is paid at 1 to 1

💳 and the Call bets is paid according to the following paytable;

Hand GameSys Payout*

Payout Royal Flush 100 to 1 100 💳 to 1 Straight Flush 50 to 1 50 to 1 Four of a Kind 26

to 1 20 to 1 💳 Full House 8 to 1 7 to 1 Flush 5 to 1 5 to 1 Straight 4 to 1 4 💳 to 1 Three

of a Kind 3 to 1 3 to 1 Two Pairs 2 to 1 2 to 1 💳 Pair 1 to 1 1 to 1 Ace/King 1 to 1 1 to

1 House Edge XXX 0.47%

* This paytable 💳 is only used on the ‘Without House Edge’ version

of Oasis Poker. It should be noted that when playing the 💳 Without House Edge games that

the house take a 10% cut of any winnings at the end of the session.

Alternative 💳 Discard

Rules

Galewind software offer an alternative discard rule. Instead of being charged a

full Ante bet for each card discarded 💳 the charges for discarding different numbers of

cards are as follows;

Number of cards discarded Cost 1 1xAnte 2 2xAnte 3 💳 3xAnte 4

2xAnte 5 1xAnte

With this rule Galewind software also make an adjustment to the Call

bet paytable;

Hand Payout Royal 💳 Flush 100 to 1 Straight Flush 50 to 1 Four of a Kind 20

to 1 Full House 6 to 💳 1 Flush 5 to 1 Straight 4 to 1 Three of a Kind 3 to 1 Two Pairs 2

to 💳 1 Pair 1 to 1 Ace/King 1 to 1 House Edge 0.55%

Jackpot Bet

The GameSys, GamesOS and

Galewind software Oasis Poker 💳 games also offer a side bet referred to simply as the

‘Jackpot’ bet. This side bet is optional but if 💳 the player chooses to place the Jackpot

bet it costsR$1 and the results are based only on the player’s final 💳 hand (after any

dicard/replacements). The payouts for the Jackpot bet are provided below;

Hand Hand

Probabilities GameSys* GamesOS Galewind Royal Flush 💳 0.00000153908 1000 1000 Jackpot

Straight Flush 0.0000138517 500 500 10% of Jackpot Four of a Kind 0.00024 200 200 500

💳 Full House 0.001441 70 100 100 Flush 0.0019654 50 60 50 Straight 0.003924646 40 40 3 of

a Kind 0.021128451 💳 25 Jackpot Range NA NA 25000-110280* Break Even Value NA NA 218009.7

House Edge 3.05% 51.69% 31.50%-56.44%*

* This paytable is 💳 used for both the normal and

‘Without House Edge’ versions of Oasis Poker at GameSys casinos.

**The Galewind website

lists the 💳 theoretical minimum House Edge for the Jackpot bet as 24.04% which would

equate to a Jackpot size ofR$135793.56. Our Jackpot 💳 range is based on the reset value

and the maximum value we’ve seen.

Calculating the House Edge and Break Even value 💳 for

the Jackpot Bet

It is possible calculate the House Edge and break even value for any

jackpot value at the 💳 Galewind game simply by using the Hand Probability figures.

calculate the House Edge we multiply the Paytable values by the 💳 probabilities, sum the

results and subtract the remaining possibilities. So if we have a Jackpot value of

94000 the calculation 💳 would be as follows;

94000x0.00000153908 + 9400x0.0000138517 +

500x0.00024 + 100x0.001441 + 50x0.0019654 – (1-(0.00000153908 + 0.0000138517 + 0.00024

+ 0.001441 💳 + 0.0019654+))

0.14467352 + 0.13020598 + 0.12 + 0.1441 + 0.09827 – (1 –

0.00169639)

0.4309795 - 0.9998303609 = -0.3626

So the House 💳 Edge for this Jackpot size

is 36.26%

House Edge*

The House Edge of Oasis Poker using the standard paytable and

across the 💳 full round of wagering (Ante bet, Discard fees and Call bet) and assuming

that the player plays using the optimal 💳 strategy discussed below is 0.47% and Net

Entertainment casinos and 0.55% at Galewind casinos. If the player does not play

💳 optimally this figure will rise.

The House Edge of the Jackpot bet is dependent on the

paytable the casino is using 💳 and the size of the Jackpot, but our observations places

the House Edge value between 31.50% and 56.44%.

For further information 💳 regarding the

house edge for both the main game and the Jackpot bet see Beating Bonuses

(http://beatingbonuses/oasis.htm).

Optimal Strategy

The most important 💳 aspect of

correct strategy while playing Oasis Poker is not to play the Jackpot side bet unless

it is over 💳 the breakeven values listed above. As the Jackpot theoretically should never

exceed the breakeven point this means the player should 💳 never play the Jackpot bet.

Even if the Jackpot value was above the breakeven value you should be aware that 💳 this

bet has an extremely high variance and it’s highly unlikely that the regular player

will ever hit the Jackpot, 💳 meaning that realistically the regular player will be

playing with a far higher house edge.

The Optimal Strategy for Discard decisions 💳 when

playing Oasis Poker is relatively straight forward. Unlike Video Poker games the fee

for replacing cards makes discarding a 💳 poor choice except in a small number of

situations, namely;

- When the player holds four cards of a Royal or 💳 Straight Flush and

their hand is not a Straight or a Flush. (Discard the one non-Royal/Straight Flush

card)

- When the 💳 player holds four cards of a Flush and does not have a Pair. (Discard

the one non-Flush card)

- When the 💳 player holds four cards to an Outside Straight* and

does not have a Pair. (Discard the one non-Straight card)

This strategy 💳 can be improved

on with a little added complexity be discarding;

- When the player holds four to a

Flush with 💳 a 22 through 66 pair and the dealer’s upcard is of higher rank than the

pair. (Discard the one non-Flush 💳 card)

- When the player holds four to an Outside

Straight* with a 22 or 33 pair and the dealer’s upcard 💳 is of higher rank than any cards

the player holds. (Discard the one non-Straight card)

- When the player holds four 💳 to

an Inside Straight* without a pair and the highest card of the Straight is 10 or more

with the 💳 dealer’s upcard of lower rank than any card in the Straight.

* An ‘Outside’

Straight is four cards that are numerically 💳 adjacent meaning that two different cards

would create a Straight (i.e. 6, 7, 8, 9). An ‘Inside’ Straight would be 💳 four cards

that could make a Straight with a gap in between meaning only one card rank could

complete the 💳 Straight (i.e. 3, 4, 6, 7).

The above is only the strategy for the Discard

decision.

For the Fold/Call decision the decisions 💳 are similar to Caribbean Stub Poker

and as such are too complex for all but the most dedicated player to 💳 memorise. A

simplified version of this strategy would see the player Call with any hand of

Ace/King/Jack/8/3 or better. This 💳 results in a house edge 0.1% higher than the full

optimum strategy. For full Optimum Strategy you can use our 💳 Strategy

Calculator;

Fairness Calculator

Below you can find a calculator to allow you to check

the fairness of your wins/losses when playing 💳 Oasis Poker.

*This fairness calculator

will assume that you’ve been playing with the optimal strategy detailed above. If you

have not 💳 then the calculator will NOT return accurate results.

Winning

Strategies

Offline

Hole Carding, Steering or Sorting

Unlike Blackjack the techniques

used to gain an 💳 advantage over the game of Caribbean Stud Poker in the offline

environment are not nearly so widely discussed. Gaining information 💳 on dealer’s hole

cards – be that via edge sorting, steering or hold carding – can produce a player

advantage 💳 as long as the information is used to alter the player’s strategy. Even with

information on up to two of 💳 the dealer’s hole cards and an optimised strategy the

player still has a substantial disadvantage (nearly 2%) so you need 💳 to have knowledge

of at least 3 of the dealer’s hole cards before this is a worthwhile game. With perfect

💳 knowledge of all four dealer hole cards the strategy is trivial – Call, any winning

hand or hand where the 💳 dealer will not qualify – though it may be worth playing some

losing hands to avoid unusual/suspicious folding decisions where 💳 you hold a strong

hand. With knowledge of only three hole cards or imperfect knowledge of four cards the

strategy 💳 is more complex.

The rarity of being able to obtain information on 3 or more

of the dealer’s hole cards and 💳 the high skill level involved ensure that only the most

diligent of professional players are ever likely to come across 💳 this information and it

should be emphasized that the risks involved in gaining less than perfect information

are likely to 💳 be substantial.

The best source of information on how best to play with

additional information can be found in James Grosjean’s 💳 ‘Exhibit CAA: Beyond Counting’.

The author provides the full and correct Optimal Strategy for Caribbean Stud Poker for

each of 💳 the different scenarios where additional information can be gathered. This book

is widely considered the Bible for the professional player 💳 and as such is not a

worthwhile investment for anyone other than a full time professional Advantage Player

(not to 💳 mention it requires a professional reference to obtain).

Optimum Strategy and

Sharing Hand Information

Offline the rules of Oasis Poker prohibit players 💳 sharing

information about their hands. Online it’s certainly possible to share hand information

if a multi-player tables could be found 💳 without the casino being aware of it. However

given the prohibited nature of this activity in the offline game we 💳 would not like to

comment on the ethics of engaging in such activities. As such the following information

is for 💳 use at the player’s own risk – we do not encourage players to share information

while playing Oasis Poker. We’re 💳 also not aware of any multi-player options in the

online environment and include this information simply due to the easy 💳 modification

from Caribbean Stud Poker.

While the House Edge of Caribbean Stud Poker cannot be

reduced enough to give a player 💳 advantage without more hands being played than we are

aware of being available online (at least 7 hands), given that 💳 the Discard decision

substantially reduces the overall House Edge of the game, it may be possible to gain a

Player 💳 Edge at Oasis Poker if enough additional hands are known.

According to James

Grosjean you would need to have information on 💳 a full 7 hands and the dealer’s up card

(36 cards in total) alongside a playing strategy optomized to the 💳 additional

information to gain an edge of 2.374% over the house. 6 or less hands and the house

retains the 💳 edge. Even with complete information the strategy required to obtain this

edge is far too complicated for human application. Grosjean 💳 has developed a count

system that couple be feasibly applied by a team of human players that achieves a

player 💳 advantage of 1.34%. We have neither the desire, the inclination, nor the

permission to republish the details of this count 💳 system, but interested parties should

look to get hold of Grosjean’s book ‘Exhibit CAA: Beyond Counting’. It should be stated

💳 that the opportunities for application of this system are extremely rare and very

likely not worth the effort for anyone 💳 but the most dedicated professional player.

the Optimal Strategy section of this article you will find our ‘Strategy Calculator’.

This 💳 calculator has an option to generate the Optimum Strategy when additional cards

are known. Simply check the ‘Enter Additional Removed 💳 Cards From Deck’ option and AFTER

you’ve entered your hand and the dealer’s upcard, click on the cards that you 💳 are aware

of.

Online

There are several methods of legitimately gaining an advantage playing

online Oasis Poker games. By and large these 💳 involve the use of promotions, bonuses and

comp point systems as the games by themselves – assuming the game is 💳 functioning in a

correct fashion and there are no errors in the paytable – will not provide any

additional information 💳 about the cards and shuffles after every hand.

It should be

noted that online advantage play is not specific to Oasis 💳 Poker and in recent years the

wagering requirements for player’s choosing to play any table game has inflated to the

💳 point that Oasis Poker is now often a sub-optimal choice for the player. For more

information on beating online casinos 💳 see BeatingBonuses.

References

James Grosjean

‘Exhibit CAA: Beyond Counting’

* All ‘House Edge’ figures in this article are based on

the ‘loss per 💳 unit wagered’ rather than ‘loss per initial bet’.

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