Poker Oklahoma Rules
Oklahoma Poker uses the following structured rules: 4 hole cards are dealt to each player and the first betting round occurs before the first three community cards are dealt. In the second betting round, players must discard a hole card before making a bet. Oklahoma does have a total of 18 live poker rooms, both tribal and non-tribally run, where you can partake in poker all you want without fear of the law. The largest of these is the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, boasting an impressive 46 tables, and there are a number of choices around the state as well of all sizes. Apostol already graced PNL with his presence in week 4’s Reality Stars Night so having him back was a.Dissemination of gambling information poker oklahoma rules is the transmitting or receiving, by means lethbridge casino poker of any communications facilities, information to be used in making or settling bets. Online poker is not specifically addressed by Oklahoma’s gambling and betting statues. However, there are laws in place that explicitly prohibit all forms of unlicensed gambling and the transmission of gambling information, that could very well apply to online poker websites.
— Oklahoma — Rhode Island: All games of poker are illegal unless they’re given permission from the state itself (good luck with that in your sorority or frat house!) — South Carolina: Illegal, but there is a motion to see recreational home games made legal.
On Sunday night, I took a date to the Winstar Casino in Oklahoma to do some gambling. I’ve never really done much gambling there besides playing poker. We didn’t have much fun at the slots, which seemed tight, so we decided to try the table games.
We started with roulette and went on to play blackjack. I knew in a vague way that the Winstar (like other Oklahoma casinos) charges an ante when you place a bet. But this was the first time I’d spent much time at the tables paying that ante on every hand of blackjack and every spin of the roulette wheel.
Being a gambling writer who’s especially interested in the math behind the games, I started thinking about how to quantify what this ante does to the house edge.
I had a math teacher in high school who insisted that I “show my work.”
That’s what I intend to do in this post. Calculate the house edge for the table games I played at the Winstar Casino, accounting for the antes.
What’s an Ante?
An ante is a forced bet, usually in poker, that drives action to the game. In the Native American casinos in Oklahoma, it’s an amount you put up in addition to your bet that the house keeps whether you win, lose, or push.
It would be more accurate to describe this so-called “ante” as a fee for playing a hand of blackjack or for betting on a spin of the roulette wheel. The casinos love to use euphemisms to make a bad deal seem slightly better, and using the word “ante” instead of “fee” is just an example of this.
This has the obvious effect of costing you the amount of the fee multiplied by the number of bets you make. Even if you’re winning, the fees add up. They could easily be the difference between a winning session and a losing session.
How the Roulette Ante Affects the House Edge
The first weird thing about playing roulette at the Winstar Casino is that they don’t have an actual roulette wheel. There’s an animated roulette wheel that drives the results. That wasn’t THAT weird for me; I’ve played at plenty of online casinos that did the same thing.
But the online casinos use a random number generator program to produce their roulette results. That’s a computer program that generates thousands of numbers per second. When you hit the “spin” or “bet” button at an online casino, the RNG stops on whatever number it’s “thinking of” at that millisecond.
The roulette games at the Winstar Casino don’t work that way. They have a dealer with a deck of cards. The dealer scans the playing card into a machine, then the animated roulette wheel spins and lands on the space that corresponds to the card that was dealt.
I have no reason to think that the probability of the underlying game had changed. It was a standard American roulette wheel on the giant TV screen above the table. It had 38 possible results, 2 of which were green (the 0 and the 00). 18 of those results were black, while the other 18 were red, and so on.
The table limits weren’t unusual, either. $5 minimum on the outside bets, with a $500 maximum bet.
But I had to pay a $1 fee (the so-called “ante”) every time they spun the wheel.
I didn’t even realize that was the case until the dealer told me to put up the extra dollar.
How did that affect the house edge?
Let’s start by assuming that we’re going to “spin the wheel” 38 times, and we’re going to get statistically perfect results. We’ll also assume that I bet on black every time.
This means that I’ll win $5 on 18 spins, and I’ll lose $5 on 20 spins.
On top of that, I’m going to lose $1 on each of the 38 spins.
I have $90 in winnings, and $100 in losses on the spins. Add $38 to my losses, and I wind up with a net loss of $48 over 38 spins.
That’s an average loss of about $1.26 per spin.
Since I’m basically putting $6 into action on every spin, an average loss of $1.26 per spin equates to an average loss of 21% of my bet.
That’s a lot higher than a 5.26% loss per spin.
In fact, that’s TERRIBLE.
Can You Do Anything to Lower the House Edge on the Roulette Games at the Winstar?
Here’s the thing:
I’m a low roller. (As you can imagine, gambling writers don’t make that much money.)
But if you have a bigger bankroll than I do, you can lower the house edge by betting more each time they spin the wheel.
The fee for the roulette games (and the craps games, for that matter) at the Winstar Casino remains $1 regardless of whether you’re betting $5 per spin or $500 per spin.
What does that change the house edge to?
You do the math the same way, but the average losses as a percentage of the money you’re putting into action drop as you raise the size of your bets, as follows:
- If you’re betting $5 per spin, your average loss per spin is $1.26.
- If you’re betting $100 per spin, your average loss per spin is $6.26.
- If you’re betting $500 per spin, your average loss per spin is $27.32.
This means the house edge at each of these levels is:
- At $5, the house edge is 21%.
- At $100, the house edge is 6.2%
- At $500, the house edge is 5.45%.
Notice how at $500 per spin, the house edge is almost normal–normal being 5.26%.
But your sole goal shouldn’t be to get the house edge as low as possible. You should also consider your average cost of playing per hour.
The roulette games moved along at the Winstar at a good clip–about 50 spins per hour.
To calculate your average loss per hour, you multiply the number of bets per hour by the average size of your bet, and then you multiply that by the house edge.
For a $5 bettor, this means you’re putting $6 into action 50 times per hour, for $300 per hour in total action. With a house edge of 21%, you can expect to lose $63/hour.
For a $100 bettor, you’re putting $101 into action 50 times per hour, for $5050 in total action. With a house edge of 6.2%, you can expect to lose $313.10/hour.
For a $500 bettor, you’re putting $501 into action 50 times per hour, for $25,050 in total action. With a house edge of 5.45%, you can expect to lose $1365.23/hour.
The big difference is between the $5 and $100 mark–you’re betting 20 times as much per hand, but the difference in the house edge is so great that your expected losses only go up by a factor of 5.
You’ll need to decide for yourself how much an hour of roulette is worth to you, but keep in mind, too, that these are long term averages anyway. Even if you’re betting $5/hand, you could come out a winner in the short term.
In fact, even though a lot of gambling experts eschew the Martingale System, Michael Bluejay wrote an excellent page about how the system does increase your probability of having a small winning session in the short run. This will, of course, over time, be balanced out by some large losing sessions.
(The Martingale System worked well enough for me Sunday night that I broke even at the roulette tables.)
What about the Blackjack Ante?
I’m going to look at the blackjack math a little differently, but I also should point out that the ante rules for the blackjack games are different. The fee changes based on how much you’re betting, as follows:
- If you’re betting $5 to $99 per hand, the ante is 50 cents.
- If you’re betting $100 to $999 per hand, the ante is $1.
- If you’re betting $1000 to $1999, the ante is $2.
- If you’re betting $2000+, the ante is $3.
The first thing I’m going to do when calculating the house edge for the blackjack (including the fee) is to look at the game’s edge based on the rules in place. This also assumes you’re playing with perfect basic strategy.
As it turns out, the rules at the Winstar blackjack tables are excellent:
- They deal from 6 decks.
- The dealer stands on soft 17.
- No doubling after splitting.
- No surrender.
- You can double on any 2 cards.
With these rules in place, if you use perfect basic strategy, the house edge is only 0.56%.
But that’s not taking into account the 50 cent fee.
Here’s how we’re going to get to that number:
Let’s start with an expected hourly loss figure that doesn’t account for the ante.
When I was there, we only had an average of 3 players at the table–me, my lady friend, and usually one other person. (That person kept changing, but we hung in there for quite a while.)
According to the Wizard of Odds, I can expect 105 hands per hour at such a table. At $5 per hand, I’m putting $525 per hour into action.
Since I’m playing according to perfect basic strategy, my expected loss per hour just on the blackjack action (without the fee) is 0.56% of that, or $2.94/hour.
But I’m also losing 50 cents per hand to the fee. With 105 hands/hour, that’s another $52.50 in hourly losses. (I also get to add that to the hourly action.)
So with the fee, I’m wagering $577.50 and losing $55.40 of that.
That’s an effective house edge of 9.59%.
I don’t need to tell you that this has a terrible effect on what would otherwise be a great blackjack game.
What If You Increase Your Bet Sizes?
If you were paying attention during the roulette section, you probably already realize that if you raise the size of your bets, you can lower that house edge.
Let’s say you’re betting $99/hand instead. Now you’re putting $99 X 105 into action per hour, or $10,395. Your expected loss on that is $58.21.
You’re still paying $52.50 in fees, though, so your expected loss goes up to $110.71.
On total action of $10,447.50 in action, that’s a house edge of 1.1%.
Now that’s more like it. If you have the bankroll to afford this kind of action, it makes a lot of sense to bet $99/hand instead.
But here’s something interesting:
Watch what happens when you start betting $100/hand instead of $99/hand:
Your fee doubles. It’s now a dollar instead of 50 cents, which means that you now have $105 in hourly fees.
Your expected hourly loss besides that doesn’t change much. You’re putting $10,500 into action each hour instead of $10,447.50. Your expected loss on that is $58.80 instead of $58.21.
Add those together, and your hourly loss is $163.80 instead of $110.71.
So the house edge when you’re betting $99 is only 1.1%, but when you’re betting $100, it’s 1.54%.
If you really want to drop the house edge, though, just raise the size of your bets to $999.
$999 X 105 = $104,895
0.56% X $104,895 = $587.41
$587.41 + $105 = $692.41
$692.41/$105,000 = 0.65%
If you have the bankroll to afford that kind of action, it’s worth doing. You’ll find plenty of casinos in Las Vegas which don’t offer a house edge that low.
You might even be able to get an edge at this kind of game with a card counting strategy, although I suspect most people don’t have the bankroll for that. Also, I have a feeling–and I’ve read forum posts suggesting–that the security at the casinos in Oklahoma frown even more on blackjack advantage players than the casinos in Las Vegas do.
Conclusion
The fees (or so-called “antes”) for the roulette games and the blackjack games at the Winstar Casino in Oklahoma have a significant effect on the house edge.
In fact, if you’re a low roller, the best thing you can do is to avoid the roulette game altogether. If you do play roulette, try to avoid betting the minimum. Bet as much as you can comfortably afford, and remember that the house always wins in the long run anyway.
With the blackjack games, be careful with the amount you bet. The house edge can change dramatically between $99 and $100 per bet just because of the rising size of the fee.
You’ll find other posts in forums complaining about the antes at the casinos in Oklahoma. I’ll refrain from any histrionics here. You know what the deal is now, so if you want to play, that’s your business.
It does remind me of the old joke about the guy who plays in this lousy poker game. One of his buddies asks him, if the game’s so bad, why do you keep playing?
Because it’s the only game in town, he replies.
The laws relating to the playing of poker for real money do require some inspection, as is often the case with state enacted gambling laws. In order to work our way through this, let us start with how “bet” is defined in the Oklahoma gambling statutes:
“A “bet” is a bargain in which the parties agree that, dependent upon chance, or in which one of the parties to the transaction has valid reason to believe that it is dependent upon chance, one stands to win or lose something of value specified in the agreement.” (1)
So does playing poker for money constitute a bet? Well this in itself is a bit problematic, as it involves how we are to determine “dependent upon chance.” This could mean the bet is wholly dependent upon chance, or it could involve only an element of chance.
When we make a bet in poker, we do allow for an element of chance in our decision making, unless you had the absolute nuts for instance, where there would be no element of chance in that decision. However we rarely have a hand like this, so there is always some element of chance, even when it comes down to the chance someone will fold where the cards may not have anything to do with the result.
So this definition isn’t particularly well written, but we do have some other resources to turn to, the way the actual prohibition against this reads. Here’s how the crime of “betting on or playing prohibited game” reads:
“Any person who bets or plays at any of said prohibited games, or who shall bet or play at any games whatsoever, for money, property, checks, credits or other representatives of value with cards, dice or any other device which may be adapted to or used in playing any game of chance or in which chance is a material element, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor…” (2)
How This Law Applies To Playing Poker For Real Money
So now we know that while poker may or may not involve betting under the definition the law provides, it certainly involves playing, and the inclusion of “any person who bets of plays” does clarify this. They also clarify the role of chance as to include not only games of chance but where chance is a material element, which is the case with poker.
So based upon this playing poker for money would constitute playing a prohibited game, as we can easily deduce that a prohibited game would involve one that involves a material element of chance.
It does also refer to “said prohibited games,” and that reference is to the previous section dealing with the more serious crime of running gambling games, where certain games have been specified as prohibited. So to drive the final nail in the coffin of poker, not that it is even needed, let’s look at how that reads:
“Except as provided in the Oklahoma Charity Games Act, every person who opens, or causes to be opened, or who conducts, whether for hire or not, or carries on either poker, roulette, craps or any banking or percentage, or any gambling game played with dice, cards or any device, for money, checks, credits, or any representatives of value, or who either as owner or employee, whether for hire or not, deals for those engaged in any such game, shall be guilty of a felony…” (3)
So there we have it, they mention poker specifically as a game that is illegal to operate, a prohibited game in other words, so that completely clears up the matter.
Playing Poker In Oklahoma
What about playing home poker games for money? While some states have provisions to allow for what’s termed social gambling or gaming, Oklahoma does not. Moreover, not only are the players subject to the misdemeanor charge of playing in such a game, the host is subject to being charged with a felony for operating the game.
The law against operating games is no doubt directed at commercial operators, but at least in theory it could be applied to a friendly game over beers among friends in someone’s kitchen if there is money being put into the pot.
Teddy Mitchell, of Oklahoma City, OK, was charged and convicted of running a gambling operation in 2014, and while the main charge was operating an offshore sports betting enterprise, one of the charges was running a high stakes poker game out of his home. (4) So while it probably wouldn’t be likely that Average Joe would be convicted of this in Oklahoma, the possibility does exist.
One of the things that Mr. Mitchell was charged with was using the internet to place bets for clients, he didn’t own a betting site he just placed bets as a player on behalf of these people, even though it did involve over $8 million of business and ended up attracting the interest of the FBI who busted him.
While this did involve sports betting and not poker, there’s nothing in the law to suggest poker playing for real stakes would not be illegal as other forms of non sanctioned poker would be. Obviously though the risk is near zero that you would ever get charged for something like this though, as long as you are playing privately, unlike the defendant in this case whose business was public.
Live and Online Poker in Oklahoma
Oklahoma does have a total of 18 live poker rooms, both tribal and non-tribally run, where you can partake in poker all you want without fear of the law. The largest of these is the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, boasting an impressive 46 tables, and there are a number of choices around the state as well of all sizes. (5)
As far as playing online goes, there isn’t any plans currently to regulate online poker in Oklahoma, but poker is particularly popular in this state, and that may end up happening down the road.
In the mean time, if you still wish to play online and live in Oklahoma, no one has ever been charged with playing online in this state or any other state in the country for that matter, and many players choose to play it in spite of what the law may say.
Should you choose to do the same, we have our top 2 recommendations for you, Ignition Poker and Americas Cardroom. Check them out by clicking on the links to the reviews on them we’ve done up for you.
References:
(1) 2006 Oklahoma Statutes, 21-981 (1)
(2) 2006 Oklahoma Statutes, 21-942
Poker Oklahoma Rules And Regulations
(3) 2006 Oklahoma Statutes, 21-941
(4) Teddy Mitchell Sentenced To 27 Months For Running An Illegal Offshore Gambling Operation
(5) All Live and Online Poker Rooms in Oklahoma
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