I Love Casinos: Game

Mississippi Stud is a poker-based table game by ShuffleMaster. It can be played in several Mississippi casinos, as well as a few other states. In Las Vegas, it can be played at the Paris. The game is simple to play. Wins are based only on the player’s final five card hand. The skill is in deciding how much to raise, or fold, as the cards are revealed.

Rules

Player makes ante wager.
Dealer gives each player two cards face down, and three community cards face down. Player may examine his own cards.
Player may fold or make a “3rd Street” bet, of one to three times the ante.
First community card is turned over.
Player may fold or make a “4th Street” bet, of one to three times the ante.
Second community card is turned over.
Player may fold or make a “5th Street” bet, of one to three times the ante.
Third community card is turned over.
All wagers paid according to the following pay table.

Mississippi Stud Pay Table
Hand Pays
Royal Flush 500 to 1
Straight Flush 100 to 1
Four of a Kind 40 to 1
Full House 10 to 1
Flush 6 to 1
Straight 4 to 1
Three of a Kind 3 to 1
Two Pairs 2 to 1
Pair of J’s or Better 1 to 1
Pair of 6’s thru 10’s Push
All other Loss

Strategy

The following strategy was created by Joseph Kisenwether, with permission to publish here. I can verify that this strategy is indeed optimal.

Card Values

High = J to A
Mid = 6 to 10
Low = 2 to 5

2 Cards

Raise 3x with any pair.
Raise 1x with at least one high card.
Raise 1x with two mid cards.
Raise 1x with 6/5 suited.
Fold all others.

3 Cards

Raise 3x with any made hand (mid pair or higher).
Raise 3x with royal flush draw.
Raise 3x with straight flush draw, with no gaps, 567 or higher.
Raise 3x with straight flush draw, with one gap, and at least one high card.
Raise 3x with straight flush draw, with two gaps, and at least two high cards.
Raise 1x with any other three suited cards.
Raise 1x with a low pair.
Raise 1x with two or three high cards.
Raise 1x with three mid cards.
Raise 1x with one high card and one mid card.
Raise 1x with a straight draw, with no gaps, 456 or higher.
Raise 1x with a straight draw, with one gap, and two mid cards.
Fold all others.

4 Cards

Raise 3x with any made hand (mid pair or higher).
Raise 3x with any four to a flush.
Raise 3x with four to an outside straight, 8 high or better.
Raise 1x with any other straight draw.
Raise 1x with a low pair.
Raise 1x with at least two high cards.
Raise 1x with one high card and at least two mid cards.
Raise 1x with one high card and two previous 3x raisess.
Raise 1x with three mid cards and at least one previous 3x raise.
Fold all others.