How it works

Definition

WiderPoker is a "Massively multiplayer Video Poker" game, i.e. a game with a logic similar to Video Poker, which allow massive participation of players and where all player's bets contribute to a joint prize pool.

General Features

The three characteristic elements of WiderPoker are:

  • The Board
  • The Initial combination
  • The Change procedure

1. Board

The Board consists of 50 cards arranged in five columns of 10 cards each. The layout of the board of cards is generated by shuffling a deck of 52 French playing cards and dividing them into 5 columns, while the 2 cards in the deck that exceed the size of the board remain off the board (and will be shown in the game interface in the CARDS OUT box).

The Board is shared between all the players, i.e. the arrangement of cards in the columns is the same for all players. Figure 1 shows the Board as it appears on the game screen of a player in sit-out (a player who is watching the game but not taking part in it).

The Board
Figure 1 - The Board

2. Initial combination

The initial combination randomly assigns to each player his 5 cards hand: one card for each of the five columns of the Board.

When the game begins the 5 cards of the player's hand are aligned at the center of the game screen, maintaining though the order of sequence in the respective columns, as if the columns were reels of a slot machine.

Figures 2 and 3 show how the initial combinations of two different players are displayed. You can see that even when the cards of each column are shifted, the order of the cards, i.e. their sequence, stays the same for all the columns.

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Figure 2 - Initial combination of player 1

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Figure 3 - Initial combination of player 2

3. Change procedure

After the initial cards are dealt to the player, he can chose to hold some cards and to change some others in order to improve his hand. Each changed card will be replaced by one of the remaining 9 belonging to the same column.

This change procedure offers the player much more detailed information on the probabilities of improving his hand compared to the classical behavior in change of cards of Video Poker or of 5-Card Draw Poker. In fact, the player will no longer base his decision on the default probabilities for getting a final hand but on the presence of cards that can improve his starting hand in the columns of cards to discard. For example, in 5-Card Draw Poker with four cards of the same suit you always have a 19% chance of achieving a Flush. With WiderPoker, however, the probabilities range from 0% (no cards of the same suit in the column) to 100% (all the remaining nine cards of the same suit in the column).

In Figure 4 we see again the combination of Figure 2, where player 1 has opted to hold 4 cards and change only the Q♣. In the column of this card there are five spades, four of them allowing to achieve a Flush, plus the J♠ that allows to achieve a Straight Flush. In the game screen, the "Probability" panel highlights in yellow the possible final hands that the player can achieve with their exact percentages, calculated based on which cards the player decides to keep or change. In this example, the player has 44.4% to achieve a Flush, 11.1% to achieve a Straight Flush and 11.1% to achieve a Pair. Therefore, the player has an overall 66.6% probability of improving his starting hand.

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Figure 4 - Probabilities of achieving different final hands for player 1

The probability panel is a tool that offers players an immediate and precise information on the possible outcomes of the different cards exchanges. The probability evaluation gets activated every time the player selects to hold one or more cards. Furthermore the probability panel offers another important information such as the presence or absence of some significant card combinations. Due to the fact that the same board is shared by all players, some combinations such as Royal Flush, Straight Flush or Four of a Kind (the three highest scores) cannot always be achieved. This happens when some of the cards needed for a combination are in the same column - i.e. if two Aces are in the same column no player can achieve Four Aces. This is a common circumstance and often neither Four of a Kind nor Straight Flush can be achieved by any player. In these cases, the hands that cannot be achieved will be shown on the probability panel with a grey color. It is evident what an extremely important factor for the player it is to have the knowledge that he can achieve a high-ranking Four of a Kind, in the absence of a Straight Flush or Royal Flush.

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Figure 5 - Result produced by the change key "8 3 5 6 2" for player 1

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Figure 6 - Result produced by the change key "8 3 5 6 2" for player 2

Hand Ranking

Hand Ranking table, sorted by decreasing value of the hands:

  1. Royal Flush

    The Royal Flush is an Ace-high straight made with cards all of the same suit. If more players have a Royal Flush, independently from the suit, hands will have the same Hand Ranking.

  2. Straight Flush

    The Straight Flush is a Straight made with cards of the same suit, whose highest card is not an Ace. If more players have a Straight Flush, the player who has the highest card wins. If all Straights have the same highest card, hands will have the same Hand Ranking.

  3. Four of a Kind

    A Four of a Kind is a Poker hand that contains four cards of one rank. If more players have a Four of a Kind, the one with the higher-ranking cards defeats the lower-ranking one. If two or more players achieve the same Four of a Kind, the winner is the one with the highest unmatched card (kicker). In case the five cards have the same value, hands will have the same Hand Ranking.

  4. Full House

    A Full House is a hand that contains three matching cards of one rank and two matching cards of another rank. Between two Full Houses, the one with the higher-ranking "Three of a Kind" cards in their hand wins and, if two hands have the same "Three of a Kind" cards, the hand with the higher "Pair" wins. In case both "Three of a Kind" and "Pair" cards are the same, hands will have the same Hand Ranking.

  5. Flush

    A Flush is a hand where all five cards are of the same suit, but not in sequence. If two or more players have a Flush, the highest-ranking card determines the winner. If there are more hands with the same highest card, then the second highest-ranking card is compared, and so on until a difference is found. In case the two Flushes contain the same five ranks of cards, independently from the suit, hands will have the same Hand Ranking.

  6. Straight

    A Straight contains five cards of sequential rank in different suits. To achieve a Straight, the Ace can be played as a high card in a hand such as Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 or as a low card in a Straight such as 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. Suits are not used to determine the highest straight. If two players have the same Straight, the hand with the highest card wins. In case more players have the same Straight with the same high card, hands will have the same Hand Ranking.

  7. Three of a Kind

    A Three of a Kind contains three cards of the same rank. When there are more players with a Three of a Kind, the player with the higher-valued cards wins. If more players have Three of a Kind of the same value, the player with the highest fourth card wins. If the fourth card should have the same value, then the fifth will break the tie. In case the five cards have the same value, hands will have the same Hand Ranking.

  8. Two Pairs

    A Two Pairs contains two matching cards of the same rank combined with two matching cards of another rank. If more players have Two Pairs, the hand with higher-ranking Pair wins. If two players have the same top Pair, then the second Pair value is compared and, to break the tie, the fifth card or kicker determines the winner. In case the five cards have the same value, hands will have the same Hand Ranking.

  9. One Pair

    A One Pair contains two cards of one rank plus three different cards with each other. When players have the same One Pair, the higher-ranking Pair defeats the lower ones. If one or more players have the same One Pair, the non-paired cards (the kickers) are compared in descending order to determine the winner. In case the five cards have the same value, hands will have the same Hand Ranking.

  10. High Card

    A High Card is a hand that does not meet any of the above combinations. When one or more players have such a hand, the player with the highest-ranking card wins, then the second highest-ranking card is compared, then the third and so on. The value of a hand goes from Ace (the highest value card) to the 2 (the lowest value card). In case the five cards have the same value, hands will have the same Hand Ranking.

Glossary

  • 5 Cards Hand: Cards composing a traditional Poker hand, whose value is codified by the Hand Ranking.
  • Ante: Forced bet for all players in the table.
  • Bet: Total value of the player's bet.
  • Board: Made by 50 cards divided into 5 columns as arranged by the shuffle of the card deck. The board is shared by all players. The arrangement of the cards in each column is therefore the same for all players.
  • Cards Change: Action a player carries out to improve his starting hand. For this purpose he chooses the cards he wants to hold by selecting them manually or relying on the suggestion of the TIP buttons.
  • Cash Game: Game mode played with real money, that lasts a single hand.
  • Deck of Cards: WiderPoker is played with the French and/or international deck composed of 52 card, divided in 4 suites denominated Spades and Clubs (in black) and Hearts and Diamonds (in red). Each suite contains 13 cards, listed below from the highest to the lowest value: A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2. The two Jokers normally present in the classic deck are not used except in games that would otherwise specify.
  • Family of Games: Set of games which have common features. All WiderPoker games have the following features in common: the "Board", the way in which players are assigned the different initial hands by means of the "Initial Combination" and the cards change mechanism through the "Change Key".
  • Final Hand: Combination of cards used to determine the Leaderboard. Usually it is the result of the cards change over the initial hand.
  • Flush: Poker hand – see Hand Ranking.
  • Full House: Poker hand – see Hand Ranking.
  • Fun Game: Game mode played with virtual money, which can be used for learning the game.
  • Game Hand: Set of game phases which begin with the shuffling of the deck and ends with the determination of the leaderboard. Usually a tournament consists of many hands, while a cash game begins and ends with a single hand.
  • Game Lobby: Virtual area that contains all WiderPoker game tables.
  • Game Phases: Periods of time in which is divided a game event. Their duration is fixed and synchronous for all players.
  • Game Screen: The game's Graphical User Interface (GUI) containing all information and buttons for playing WiderPoker.
  • Game speed: Total duration of the betting phases of a game hand.
  • Hand History: Detailed report of the played hands.
  • Hand Ranking: Criteria used to sort the values of the hands. WiderPoker uses the same Hand ranking as Texas Hold'em Poker.
  • High Card: Poker hand – see Hand Ranking.
  • Initial Combination: 5 numbers from 0 to 9, one for each column of the Board, which define the position of the player's cards in the 5 columns of the Board.
  • Initial Hand: The combination of cards that the player receives in the beginning of the game.
  • MultiDraw: The option to purchase more than a card change (draw) on the initial hand. Only the final hand resulting from the best draw will enter the leaderboard.
  • Out of Board: The two cards of the 52 of the deck that remain out of the board of 50 cards as a result of the shuffle.
  • Pair: Poker hand – see Hand Ranking.
  • Parimutuel (or Totalisator) betting: a system that collects the bets of all players to form the prize pool, which will be split between the winners according to the prize pool allocation specific to each game. Therefore, the players will know the amount of their prizes only at the end of the game, after the prize pool has been calculated and split into the individual prize amounts.
  • Poker: Poker hand – see Hand Ranking.
  • Poker 5 Draw: Classic Poker, with five cards in hand.
  • Power-ups: free bonuses granted to the players, based on their activities in the current gaming session.
  • Prize Pool: Total of the players' bets minus the rake, which is divided among the winners according to the prize pool allocation plan.
  • Prize Pool Allocation: Specifies the number of prizes and their value to be assigned to players, based on the total value of the prize pool and the number of participants.
  • Probabilities: Values shown in the PROBABILITY PANEL of the game screen which indicate the probabilities of increasing the ranking of the initial hand. These indications are calculated after selecting at least one card to hold or following the activation of one of the TIP buttons and are extremely accurate thanks to the cards change mechanism.
  • Progressive Jackpot: a parimutuel prize which serves as a supplement to the base game; it is funded in whole or in part by a percentage of the players' bets; its amount goes into the next game hand if it is not won in the current hand.
  • Rake: Total percentage of the amounts played that the house (i.e. the gaming platform) keeps as a fee. In cash game, the house retains the rake in each hand played, as a fixed percentages of the pot that depends on the table.
  • Randomization: Random procedure through which the order of the cards on the board, the initial hand of each player and the cards change are defined.
  • Redeal: The option that allows players to buy a new initial hand, valid in the same game hand, and fold the hand they received previously.
  • Royal Flush: Poker hand – see Hand Ranking.
  • Sit out (button): Feature that allows you to momentarily leave the game, while still remaining into the table. Players sitting out do not pay the ante.
  • Special Hand: game hand with some changes to the basic rules, proposed with a frequency tied to each table.
  • Straight: Poker hand – see Hand Ranking.
  • Straight Flush: Poker hand – see Hand Ranking.
  • Suit: One of the four categories (hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades) into which the cards of the deck are divided. In WiderPoker there is no ranking order between the suits.
  • Table: Term which identifies a specific game available to the players, with precise rules and characteristics (ante value, speed of the game, etc.).
  • Three of a Kind: Poker hand – see Hand Ranking.
  • Tip (buttons): Buttons that the player can use to quickly select the best change of cards. The first tip selects the cards change that leads to the highest-ranking final hand, the second tip selects the change that more probably leads to an improved final hand. In some cases the two evaluations coincide and consequently the two tips suggest the same choice.
  • Two Pairs: Poker hand – see Hand Ranking.
  • WiderPoker: Family of massively multiplayer games based on Poker.

How WiderPoker Works - Document Version 1.14 - 16/11/2020.