Let It Ride
Let It Ride is a casino poker game, meaning that it’s derived from classic player vs player poker, but instead the player plays against the house.
Where to Play Let It Ride
Due to the patent, many online software providers are offering this game under different names as a quasi-legal method of getting round paying royalties. The different softwares and the names they use are listed below;
BetSoft – Ride ‘M Poker
Microgaming – Poker Pursuit or Poker Ride
RealTime Gaming – Let ‘Em Ride
Rival – Ride ‘Em Poker
Playtech and Net Entertainment have previously both offered versions of the Let It Ride game but appear to have removed them, presumably due to patent issues.
The best online casinos offer Let It Ride via the following casino game software providers – Betsoft, Cryptologic, DGS, GameSys, Microgaming, OpenBet, RealTime Gaming and Rival.
Play Structure
Initially the player places an ‘Ante’ wager and the dealer will deal out 3 cards to the player face up and 2 community cards face down. The player then has the choice to either ‘Let It Ride’ or ‘Pull Bet’. These actions often have differing names including ‘Play’, ‘Ride’, ‘Bet’ for ‘Let It Ride’ and ‘Go On’, ‘Pull Out’ or ‘Pass’ for ‘Pull Bet’. Both options have the same result, one of the community cards is turned face up, but if the player chooses to Raise they have to place an additional wager equal to their Ante bet. After this the player is again asked to Let It Ride or Pull bet and after this decision is made the second community card is revealed.
Once all five cards are visible to the player the game is over.
A second format to the game has the player place all 3 bets (Ante and both Let It Ride bets) before the cards are dealt and give the player the option to retrieve or ‘Pull’ one of the Let It Ride bets with each decision. This has no strategy implications for the game.
Hand Comparison
Let It Ride 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).
* 4 of a Kind – four cards of matching rank (Example - 7 of Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds and Spades).
* 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).
* Flush – five cards of the same suit (Example – Ace, 8, 5, 2 and Queen of Spades).
* Straight – five numerically adjacent cards ignoring suit (Example – 7 of Spades, 8 of Spades, 9 of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds and Jack of Diamonds).
* 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).
* 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).
* 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). The minimum pair to qualify for a payout is a pair of 10s.
Payouts
Once all 5 cards are revealed the resulting hand is then compared to the paytable for the game and the player is paid out accordingly. The following are the paytables found at different softwares;
| HAND PROBABILITIES | BETSOFT | CRYPTOLOGIC | GAMESYS* | DGS | MICROGAMING** | REALTIME GAMING | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 1.539E-6 | 1000 to 1 | 1000 to 1 | 200/250 to 1 | 1000 to 1 | 1000/999 to 1 | 1000 to 1 |
| Straight Flush | 1.3851E-5 | 200 to 1 | 200 to 1 | 100/110 to 1 | 200 to 1 | 200/199 to 1 | 200 to 1 |
| 4 of a Kind | 0.000240096 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50/52 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50/49 to 1 | 50 to 1 |
| Full House | 0.001440576 | 11 to 1 | 11 to 1 | 15/15 to 1 | 11 to 1 | 11/11 to 1 | 11 to 1 |
| Flush | 0.001965401 | 8 to 1 | 8 to 1 | 10/11 to 1 | 8 to 1 | 8/8 to 1 | 8 to 1 |
| Straight | 0.003924646 | 5 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 5/6 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 5/5 to 1 | 5 to 1 |
| 3 of a Kind | 0.021128451 | 3 to 1 | 3 to 1 | 3/3 to 1 | 3 to 1 | 3/3 to 1 | 3 to 1 |
| 2 Pairs | 0.047539015 | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 2/2 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 2/2 to 1 | 2 to 1 |
| 10s or Better | 0.162526549 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1/1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1/1 to 1 | 1 to 1 |
| House Edge | 2.85% | 2.85% | XXX*** | 2.85% | 2.85/2.90% | 2.85% |
| HAND PROBABILITIES | BETSOFT | CRYPTOLOGIC | GAMESYS* | DGS | MICROGAMING** | REALTIME GAMING | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 1.539E-6 | 1000 to 1 | 1000 to 1 | 200/250 to 1 | 1000 to 1 | 1000/999 to 1 | 1000 to 1 |
| Straight Flush | 1.3851E-5 | 200 to 1 | 200 to 1 | 100/110 to 1 | 200 to 1 | 200/199 to 1 | 200 to 1 |
| 4 of a Kind | 0.000240096 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50/52 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50/49 to 1 | 50 to 1 |
| Full House | 0.001440576 | 11 to 1 | 11 to 1 | 15/15 to 1 | 11 to 1 | 11/11 to 1 | 11 to 1 |
| Flush | 0.001965401 | 8 to 1 | 8 to 1 | 10/11 to 1 | 8 to 1 | 8/8 to 1 | 8 to 1 |
| Straight | 0.003924646 | 5 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 5/6 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 5/5 to 1 | 5 to 1 |
| 3 of a Kind | 0.021128451 | 3 to 1 | 3 to 1 | 3/3 to 1 | 3 to 1 | 3/3 to 1 | 3 to 1 |
| 2 Pairs | 0.047539015 | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 2/2 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 2/2 to 1 | 2 to 1 |
| 10s or Better | 0.162526549 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1/1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1/1 to 1 | 1 to 1 |
| House Edge | 2.85% | 2.85% | XXX*** | 2.85% | 2.85/2.90% | 2.85% |
* GameSys offer two different versions of Let It Ride, a normal version and a ‘Without House Edge’ version. The numbers in front of the ‘/’ refer to the normal version while the numbers after the ‘/’ refer to the Without House Edge version.
** Microgaming offer two different versions of Let It Ride, Poker Ride and Poker Pursuit. The numbers in front of the ‘/’ refer to Poker Ride while the numbers after the ‘/’ refer to Poker Pursuit.
*** These figures require an optimized strategy to achieve. Using the standard Let It Ride strategy the House Edge would be 0.81/0.66%
Jackpot Bet
Some Let It Ride poker games also offer a side bet usually referred to simply as the ‘Jackpot’ bet. This side bet is optional but if the player chooses to place the Jackpot bet it costs $/€/£1 and the results are based only on the player’s final hand regardless of decisions made during the round. The payouts for the Jackpot bet vary from software to software, but most paytables for the major online software providers are provided below:
| HAND PROBABILITIES | BETSOFT | OPENBET | CRYPTOLOGIC | GAMESYS* | MICROGAMING** | REALTIME GAMING | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 0.000001539 | 20000 to 1 | 20000 to 1 | 30000 to 1 | 1000 to 1 | Jackpot | Jackpot |
| Straight Flush | 0.000013851 | 2000 to 1 | 2000 to 1 | 3000 to 1 | 500 to 1 | 10% of Jackpot | 10% of Jackpot |
| 4 of a Kind | 0.000240096 | 400 to 1 | 100 to 1 | 400 to 1 | 200 to 1 | 500 to 1 | 500 to 1 |
| Full House | 0.001440576 | 200 to 1 | 75 to 1 | 200 to 1 | 75 to 1 | 100 to 1 | 100 to 1 |
| Flush | 0.001965401 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 75 to 1 |
| Straight | 0.003924646 | 25 to 1 | 25 to 1 | 25 to 1 | 20 to 1 | ||
| 3 of a Kind | 0.021128451 | 5 to 1 | 9 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 15 to 1 | ||
| 2 Pairs | 0.047539015 | 6 to 1 | 5 to 1 | ||||
| Jackpot Range | NA | NA | NA | NA | 77853-325365 | 30472-90882 | |
| Breakeven Value | NA | NA | NA | NA | 216813.58 | 200009.53 | |
| House Edge | 22.79% | 6.14% | 19.87% | 3.99% | (-31.74%)*** - 40.64% | 31.91% - 49.57% |
*The paytable for the bonus bet are the same for both game versions GameSys offer.
**The paytable is valid for Poker Ride only. Poker Pursuit does not offer a Jackpot bet.
*** The negative house edge value indicates that the player has an advantage at higher jackpot values.
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 paytable not included in the above table simply by using the Hand Probability figures. For example if the paytable was as follows;
| HAND PROBABILITIES | NEW PAYTABLE | |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 0.000001539 | Jackpot |
| Straight Flush | 0.000013851 | 10% of Jackpot |
| 4 of a Kind | 0.000240096 | 100 to 1 |
| Full House | 0.001440576 | 40 to 1 |
| Flush | 0.001965401 | 25 to 1 |
| Straight | 0.003924646 | 10 to 1 |
| 3 of a Kind | 0.021128451 | 7 to 1 |
| 2 Pairs | 0.047539015 | 5 to 1 |
To 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 68000, for the above paytable the calculation would be as follows;
68000x0.000001539 + 6800x0.000013851 + 100x0.000240096 + 40x0.001440576 + 25x0.001965401 + 10x0.003924646 + 7x0.021128458 + 5x0.047539015 – (1-(0.000001539 + 0.000013851 + 0.000240096 + 0.001440576 + 0.001965401 + 0.003924646 + 0.021128451))
0.104652 + 0.0941868 + 0.0240096 + 0.05762304 + 0.049135025 + 0.03924646 + 0.147899206 + 0.237695075 – (1 – 0.02871456)
0.754447206 - 0.97128544 = -0.216838234
So the House Edge for this paytable and Jackpot size is 21.68%
To calculate the Breakeven point we multiply the Paytable values by the and probabilities and subtract the remaining possibilities with the equation set equal to 0 and rearrange and solve for the Jackpot value (which we’ll refer to as ‘J’) . So for the above paytable the calculation would be as follows;
Jx0.000001539 + 0.1xJx0.000013851 + 100x0.000240096 + 40x0.001440576 + 25x0.001965401 + 10x0.003924646 + 7x0.021128458 + 5x0.047539015 – (1-(0.000001539 + 0.000013851 + 0.000240096 + 0.001440576 + 0.001965401 + 0.003924646 + 0.021128451)) = 0
0.000001539xJ + 0.0000013857xJ + 0.0240096 + 0.05762304 + 0.049135025 + 0.03924646 + 0.147899206 + 0.237695075 – (1 – 0.02871456) = 0
0.000002924xJ – 0.415677034 = 0
0.000002924xJ = 0.415677034
J = 0.415677034/0.000002924
J = 142160.4083
So the break even size for this paytable is a Jackpot of 142161.
House Edge
The House Edge of Let It Ride poker across the full round of wagering (Ante and Let It Ride bet) and assuming that the player plays using the optimal strategy discussed below is 2.40/2.85/2.90% depending on the paytable being used. If the player does not play optimally this figure will rise.
The House Edge for the GameSys Let It Ride games is substantially lower at XXX but requires a different optimal strategy to the Let It Ride games available at other major software providers.
The House Edge of the Jackpot bet is dependent on the paytable the casino is using and the size of the Jackpot (if one is used), but our observations places the House Edge value between -31.74% and 49.57%.
For further information regarding the house edge for both the main game and the Jackpot bet see Beating Bonuses (http://www.beatingbonuses.com/letitride.htm).
Optimal Strategy
The most important aspect of correct strategy while playing Let It Ride poker is not to play the Jackpot side bet unless it has a progressive Jackpot and is over the breakeven values listed above. Even when the Jackpot value is 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 Let It Ride is comparably straight forward when considered beside other casino poker games.
For the initial decision Raise if you have (High cards are 10, J, Q, K, A);
1) a paying hand (pair of 10s or better)
2) 3 to a Straight Flush with any of the following conditions;
a) No gaps (e.g. 3, 4 and 5 of the same suit)
b) 1 gap and a High card (e.g. 8, 9, J of the same suit)
c) 2 gaps and 2 High cards (e.g. 9, J, K of the same suit)
d) do NOT Raise with suited A23, A24, A34 or 234
For the second decision Raise if you have;
1) a paying hand (pair of 10s or better)
2) 4 to a Flush
3) 4 to a Straight with any of the following conditions;
a) No gaps (e.g. 6, 7, 8 and 9)
b) 4 High cards (e.g. J, Q, K, A)
c) do NOT Raise with A234
The optimum strategy for the GameSys paytables and other potential variants you may come across differs from the more standard paytables found at the majority of online software providers.
Winning Strategies
Offline (Hole Carding, Steering or Sorting)
Unlike Blackjack the techniques used to gain an advantage over the game of Let It Wide 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. With perfect knowledge of both Hole Cards, the player can gain an advantage over the house of well in excess of 30% according to James Grosjean.
The rarity of being able to obtain information on 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 Let It Ride 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).
It should be noted that sharing hand information when playing Let It Ride – regardless of the number of hands known – still results in a substantial House Edge.
Online
In general, due to the high House Edge figure Let It Ride is normally a weak choice for play online. Even taking into account bonuses promotions and comp point systems, Let It Ride is usually a sub-optimal choice. There may be unusual situation where Let It Ride – combined with other promotional opportunities as a correctly functioning game will provide no avenue to gain an edge without additional player incentives – where it is advisable to choose Let It Ride, but these situations will be few and far between.
One potential opportunity for a player to gain an edge over Let It Ride poker would be through the use of the progressive jackpots. The only progressive jackpot that we’re aware of that goes high enough to give the player an advantage is available at Microgaming casinos. Given a minimum bet of 0.50 and playing optimally the player will wager an average of 1.23 per round on the main game of Let It Ride with an House Edge of 2.85%. This gives a loss of 1.23x0.0285 = 0.035055/round. Any time the Jackpot produces a Player Edge of 3.51% or higher the player will have an overall advantage across both the main game and Jackpot bet. This occurs when the Jackpot is at $228802.29 or higher. It should be noted that while the player will have an advantage the variance of this particular game is likely to be extremely high.
It should be noted that online advantage play is not specific to Let It Ride poker and in recent years the wagering requirements for player’s choosing to play any table game has inflated to the point that Let It Ride is now often a sub-optimal choice for the player. For more information on beating online casinos see BeatingBonuses.com.
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’.