The 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 Jacks or Better | 1 to 1 |
| Pair of 6s thru 10s | Push |
| All other | Loss |
Every wager you have out (the ante and all three street bets) is paid at these odds, which is why the raise decisions matter far more than the size of the ante.
The Strategy
Dealers at my casino, Harrah’s Ak-Chin, taught me this strategy to play. It is considered optimal and gives you the best tools to win. It was created by a gambler named Joseph Kisenwether.
Card Values
2 Cards
- Raise 3xwith any pair.
- Raise 1xwith at least two points.
- Raise 1xwith 6/5 suited.
- Foldall others.
3 Cards
- Raise 3xwith any made hand (mid pair or higher).
- Raise 3xwith a royal flush draw.
- Raise 3xwith a straight flush draw, no gaps, 567 or higher.
- Raise 3xwith a straight flush draw, one gap, and at least one high card.
- Raise 3xwith a straight flush draw, two gaps, and at least two high cards.
- Raise 1xwith any other three suited cards.
- Raise 1xwith a low pair.
- Raise 1xwith at least three points.
- Raise 1xwith a straight draw, no gaps, 456 or higher.
- Raise 1xwith a straight draw, one gap, and two mid cards.
- Foldall others.
4 Cards
- Raise 3xwith any made hand (mid pair or higher).
- Raise 3xwith any four to a flush.
- Raise 3xwith four to an outside straight, 8 high or better.
- Raise 1xwith any other straight draw.
- Raise 1xwith a low pair.
- Raise 1xwith at least four points.
- Raise 1xwith three mid cards and at least one previous 3x raise.
- Foldall others.
It is great when you draw a pair, because betting is a no-brainer: go max if the pair is sixes or higher. Memorise this table. It will pull you out of limbo and keep you on track.
In my first trip to the table, I won $1,100 in an hour. It works.
Worth being straight about what that means, though: one winning session is variance, not proof. Correct strategy lowers what the game costs you (about 4.91% of your ante instead of whatever guessing costs), but it does not make Mississippi Stud beatable. No strategy does.
The Return Table
As you can see below, the number of combinations is many. Each row is one combination of street decisions and one final hand, across all 155,937,600 possible deals: 1,326 starting hands against every ordered runout of the three community cards.
| 3rd St. | 4th St. | 5th St. | Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Loser | -4 | 43,594,056 | 0.279561 | -1.118244 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Pair 6-10 | 0 | 5,078,808 | 0.032569 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Pair J-A | 4 | 5,396,544 | 0.034607 | 0.138428 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Two pair | 8 | 489,888 | 0.003142 | 0.025133 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Three of a kind | 12 | 163,296 | 0.001047 | 0.012566 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Straight | 16 | 216,288 | 0.001387 | 0.022192 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Flush | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Full house | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Four of a kind | 160 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Straight flush | 400 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Royal flush | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Loser | -6 | 1,079,292 | 0.006921 | -0.041528 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Pair 6-10 | 0 | 4,761,396 | 0.030534 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Pair J-A | 6 | 5,038,576 | 0.032281 | 0.193687 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Two pair | 12 | 1,516,536 | 0.009725 | 0.116703 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Three of a kind | 18 | 539,832 | 0.003462 | 0.062313 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Straight | 24 | 130,944 | 0.000840 | 0.020153 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Flush | 36 | 185,808 | 0.001192 | 0.042896 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Full house | 60 | 14,040 | 0.00009 | 0.005402 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Four of a kind | 240 | 1,560 | 0.00001 | 0.002401 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Straight flush | 600 | 672 | 0.000004 | 0.002586 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Royal flush | 3,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | Fold | Fold | -3 | 7,569,216 | 0.04854 | -0.14562 |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Loser | -6 | 261,252 | 0.001675 | -0.010052 |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Pair 6-10 | 0 | 34,236 | 0.00022 | 0 |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Pair J-A | 6 | 41,760 | 0.000268 | 0.001607 |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Two pair | 12 | 144 | 0.000001 | 0.000011 |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Three of a kind | 18 | 48 | 0 | 0.000006 |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Straight | 24 | 6,432 | 0.000041 | 0.000999 |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Flush | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Full house | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Four of a kind | 240 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
An excerpt: the complete table continues through every remaining combination of 1x and 3x raises. Thirty of the thirty-two rows above reconcile exactly: the Pays column equals units wagered times the paytable odds, and Return equals Pays times Probability. One cell does not. See the note below.
In the 1 / 1 / 3, Pair J-A row, the Combinations figure of 5,038,576 works out to a probability of 0.0323115, but the table prints 0.032281. The Return of 0.193687 agrees with the printed probability, not with that count, so the Combinations cell is the odd one out. A figure consistent with the rest of the row is 5,033,822. It looks like a transcription slip rather than a maths error.
The deal space this table is built on, 155,937,600, is the same one behind the house-edge figures elsewhere on this site, which is a useful cross-check: optimal play returns 4.915% of the ante, and the simplified chart above returns 4.929%. Following it costs about 0.014% of an ante per hand versus perfect play.
The quickest way to commit any of this to memory is to use it. The free table will outline the correct action before you act.