Yes -- I love to try new things.	3 votes (15.78%)
Call me maybe.	4 votes (21.05%)
No -- I'll stick to normal cards, thank you.	10 votes (52.63%)
I'm surprised nobody thought of this name before.	3 votes (15.78%)
That plural is phoenices, Wiz.	No votes (0%)
There is a joke in there somewhere.	2 votes (10.52%)
Bring back Flip~it!	1 vote (5.26%)
All praise the Flying Spaghetti Monster.	4 votes (21.05%)
Total eclipse reminder 04/08/2024	2 votes (10.52%)
I need to refresh my knowledge of Leibniz's rule.	3 votes (15.78%)

What’s new at dragonpaly.

19 members have voted

Wizard
Administrator
I hear the Rio is hosting a field trial of the game Dragon Poker. Click that link to play their demo, which is nicely done, especially the 'help' button. Basically, it seems like a cross between Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, but played with a modified deck, as follows, in rank order, from highest to lowest:
3 Fire Dragons
3 Water Dragons
1 wild Gold Dragon
7 Phoenixes (what is the plural of phoenix?)
8 Tigers
9 Pandas
10 Monkeys
12 Rabbits
I will try to check it out shortly, maybe even this evening.
The help pages suggest raising with a Phoenix-Panda or higher.
The question for the poll is would you play Dragon Poker?

I'll wait till you tell me what the house edge is before I decide to play it.
But I am at least interested enough to wait for the analysis.

I very wise position. For now, I can at least do the side bets. Stay tuned.Here is my analysis of the 3 Card Bonus. Any agreements or disagreements from the other math wizards on the forum?

Event	Pays	Combinations	Probability	Return
Three Dragons	40	35	0.001494	0.059763
Three Phoenices	30	56	0.002391	0.071715
Three Tigers	15	84	0.003586	0.053786
Other trips	10	571	0.024375	0.243746
Two Dragons	4	966	0.041236	0.164945
Two Phoenix	2	1,218	0.051994	0.103987
Two Tigers	1	1,480	0.063178	0.063178
Other	-1	19,016	0.811748	-0.811748
Total	23,426	1.000000	-0.050628

Here is my analysis of the Dragon Bonus. I assume the top two awards must be natural (otherwise the return is 97%, which seems too high for a max $5 side bet). Pays are on a 'for one' basis.

Event	Pays	Combinations	Probability	Return
Three Fire Dragons	1000	1	0.000043	0.042688
Three Water Dragons	1000	1	0.000043	0.042688
Three Dragons with Gold Dragon	200	15	0.000640	0.128063
Three Natural Dragons	60	18	0.000768	0.046103
Two Dragons	7	966	0.041236	0.288654
One Gold Dragon	5	1,035	0.044182	0.220908
All other	0	21,390	0.913088	0.000000
Total	23,426	1.000000	0.769103

3 Fire Dragons
3 Water Dragons
1 wild Gold Dragon
7 Phoenixes (what is the plural of phoenix?)
8 Tigers
9 Pandas
10 Monkeys
12 Rabbits

And a partridge in a pear tree.
Seriously, what's up with these new games that require goofy custom decks?

Seriously, what's up with these new games that require goofy custom decks?

I'm assuming they're trying to appeal to younger crowds who grew up with collectible card games and video games and all that kind of jazz.

I'm assuming they're trying to appeal to younger crowds who grew up with collectible card games and video games and all that kind of jazz.

I think anybody alive can remember baseball cards. As for me, I was big on Wacky Packs and Charlie's Angels Cards. With I still had them -- my brother stole many and the mother threw away the rest.I played a couple hundred hands. It was a steady drain, and the occasional odds pay didn't make up for it. I was never ahead of the original stake.
I think phoenix/panda is too optimistic. I played dragon/tiger or fold, did not fold a single winner, lost several good hands.

Free Poker Phoenix

Moved to dragon/panda 2nd hundred cards, folded 3 winners, two phoenix high. Lost 6 dragon/panda, 2 dragon/tiger to better non-pair hands.
Easily could be variance, and if the math says phoenix/panda, that's what it says. But just because the preponderance of the cards are panda or lower doesn't seem to mean the dealer will get them.

Dragon Poker Online

Wizard Recommends

• €1500 Welcome Bonus
• 100% Welcome Bonus
• €100 + 300 Free Spins

Introduction

Dragon Poker started as a field trial at the Rio in Las Vegas on September 27, 2018. The game uses a modified deck of cards with Chinese pictures. The structure of the game has elements of Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em.

Rules

1. The game uses a modified 53-card deck, with the following cards:
   
   • 1 Gold Dragon
   • 3 Fire Dragons
   • 3 Water Dragons
   • 7 Phoenixes*
   • 8 Tigers
   • 9 Pandas
   • 10 Monkeys
   • 12 Rabbits
2. The Gold Dragon is wild
3. For purposes of the base game and the 3 Card Bonus (explained below), the Fire Dragons and Water Dragons are exactly the same. They are treated differently for purposes of the Dragon Bonus.
4. The base game starts with the player betting equal amounts on the Ante and Ante Bonus. At this time, the player may make the optional side bets on the 3 Card Bonus and Dragon Bonus.
5. After betting is closed, the player and dealer shall each receive three cards. The dealer cards are dealt face down.
6. The player has two choices — make a raise bet equal to the Ante bet or fold.
7. If the player folds, then he loses the Ante and Ante Bonus bets.
8. After the player acts, the dealer shall reveal his cards.
9. Both hands shall be scored as follows, from highest to lowest:
   
   • Three of a kind
   • Pair
   • Three singletons
10. In the event that both player and dealer have the same type of hand, then the ranks of the cards in rule one shall be used to break the tie, as in conventional poker. The rank order is shown in rule one, except Fire Dragons and Water Dragons are treated equally as just 'Dragons.'
11. If the player has the higher hand, then the Ante and Play bets shall pay one to one and the Ante Bonus according to the pay table below.
12. If the dealer has the higher hand, then Ante, Ante Bonus, and Play shall all lose.
13. If the player and dealer tie, then the Ante, Ante Bonus, and Play shall all push.
14. The 3 Card Bonus shall pay according to the value of the player's hand only.
15. The Dragon Bonus shall pay according to the number and type of dragons in the player's hand.
16. All wins are on a 'to one' basis.

Ante Bonus Pay Table

Points	Pays
Three Dragons	20
Three Phoenixes	7
Other three of a kind	4
Two Pandas or better	1
Other Winner	Push

* For purposes of this page, I struggled with the plural for phoenix. The game maker uses just 'phoenix,' but I prefer 'phoenixes,' as sixes is the plural for six.

Example

In the example above, my three rabbits beat the dealer's pair of monkeys. The game expresses the 'win' on the image as the amount returned, including the original wager. I bet $100 each on the Ante, Ante Bonus, and Play. The Ante and Play each won another $100. The Ante Bonus paid 4 to 1, for $400 in winnings. My $10 bet on the 3 Card Bonus paid 10 to 1 odds for a low three of a kind, or $100. The Dragon Bonus lost because I had no dragons.

Strategy

The player should make the Play bet with Phoenix-Panda-Rabbit or better.

Analysis

Following is my analysis of the game. The lower right cell shows the ratio of the expected loss to the Ante bet is 3.70%.

Base Game Analysis

Event	Pays	Combinations	Probability	Return
Win with three dragons	22	685,860	0.001494	0.032863
Win with three phoenixes	9	1,095,395	0.002386	0.021471
Win with other three of a kind	6	12,597,063	0.027436	0.164614
With with pair of pandas or better	3	90,652,512	0.197436	0.592307
Other win	2	113,820,564	0.247894	0.495789
Push	0	5,423,068	0.011811	0.000000
Fold	-2	87,494,400	0.190558	-0.381115
Loss	-3	147,380,738	0.320986	-0.962959
Total	459,149,600	1.000000	-0.037030

With two required units to begin with and raising 80.94% of the time, the average final wager is 2.809442 units. That makes the Element of Risk, defined as the expected loss to total amount bet, 3.7030%/2.809442 = 1.3181%.

Following is my analysis of the 3 Card Bonus side bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 5.06%.

3 Card Bonus Analysis

Event	Pays	Combinations	Probability	Return
Three Dragons	40	35	0.001494	0.059763
Three Phoenixes	30	56	0.002391	0.071715
Three Tigers	15	84	0.003586	0.053786
Other trips	10	571	0.024375	0.243746
Two Dragons	4	966	0.041236	0.164945
Two Phoenixes	2	1,218	0.051994	0.103987
Two Tigers	1	1,480	0.063178	0.063178
Other	-1	19,016	0.811748	-0.811748
Total	23,426	1.000000	-0.050628

Following is my analysis of the Dragon Bonus side bet. The lower right cell shows an expected return of 14.40%.

Dragon Bonus Analysis

Event	Pays	Combinations	Probability	Return
Three Fire Dragons	1000	1	0.000043	0.042688
Three Water Dragons	1000	1	0.000043	0.042688
Three Dragons with Gold Dragon	200	15	0.000640	0.128063
Three Natural Dragons	60	18	0.000768	0.046103
Two Dragons	7	966	0.041236	0.288654
One Gold Dragon	5	1,035	0.044182	0.220908
All other	-1	21,390	0.913088	-0.913088
Total	23,426	1.000000	-0.143985

External Links

• Demo by the distributor.
• Discussion in my forum at Wizard of Vegas.