In HomeRun Poker , the progressive pool is 100 percent player-funded , via a side bet wager that gets awarded to the player who reaches home plate first with four wins
“ Innovation is important across all areas of the casino , and table games are no exception ,” Walsh says . “ The unspoken agreement between us and our casino partners is that they will continue paying us for their existing games , and in return we will continue to reinvest in innovative concepts for them . We do not feel much ‘ pressure ’ to innovate ; rather , innovation is thought of more as a mutually accepted expectation .”
Walsh says if a player cannot understand how to play the game within 60 seconds of sitting down at the table , that game will not be successful . So , a player sitting at a game like Three Card Sabotage or 2-3-5 Poker will intuitively understand the new game , as those games build upon well-known games like Three Card Poker or Stud Poker .
“ Historically , games that are completely new generally fail due to the games taking longer for the player to understand ,” he says .
With just so many ways to play poker , there are fewer new titles . Yet two poker games finished No . 1 and No . 2 in the new games competition , including HomeRun Poker .
In HomeRun Poker , the progressive pool is 100 percent player-funded , via a side bet wager that gets awarded to the player who reaches home plate first with four wins , says Matthew Lanoue , registered agent of HomeRun Gaming .
The game starts with two separate wagers , one an ante , the other a “ strike out ” wager that is a side bet that the player will win the pot . Then the cards are dealt to each player , and the flop is spread . This cuts out the pre-flop wager and makes the game 25 percent faster .
“ The winner of the hand keeps their strike-out and the others that lose the hand , their strike out wagers go into the progressive pool ,” Lanoue says . “ The player to win four pots ( four HomeRun Baserunners ) gets to ‘ Homeplate ,’ and is awarded the accumulation of the lost strike-out wagers .”
The most recent major variation of poker was adapting the Short Deck ( 6-plus ) model . This was the hottest trend in poker pre-Covid , with even the World Series of Poker introducing the event to tournaments .
Short Deck Poker is a different way to play Texas Hold ’ em , Omohundro says . “ Removing 2s , 3s , 4s , and 5s leaves a 36-card deck ,” he explains . “ This version became popular among the poker greats playing in high-stakes cash games in Macau . The Ace still plays on the lowest straight , but now acting like a 5 ( A- 6- 7- 8- 9 ).”
Because of the short deck , the rankings of hands vary slightly . The threeof-a-kind outranks the straight and the flush outranks the full house . “ At my last company , Empire Technological Group , I invented the first house-banked addition called Vegas 6 + Hold ’ em Poker ,” Omohundro says . “ This plays like Texas Hold ’ em Bonus Poker , with the same short deck changes , and includes a hole-card bonus side bet and a best five-card hand side bet .”
Light & Wonder is always innovating in the table games space . “ We have
Three Card Sabotage by Light and Wonder
a couple new themes hitting casino floors between now and the end of this year . The main two we are focused on are variations of existing successful games : Three Card Sabotage and 2-3-5 Stud Poker ,” Walsh says .
The Repeater Bets for craps is “ a set of bets that involve making wagers on the sequential outcomes of dice rolls before a 7 is rolled ,” Omohundro says . “ That is the general thought process . If an operator likes the technology , they have to use the game content to use it , not a replica version .”
Another issue is the dearth of card manufacturers . Big card operators have left the market , leaving a bit of a monopoly for the remaining big operator . Prices have gone up accordingly , and lead times have increased dramatically .
By removing the cards from the game of baccarat , and instead using two dice cups with three dice in each , with a small amount of math adjustments and no draw rules , you can play the same great game of baccarat with all of the same great side bets mentioned above . They pay a little differently because of the math difference , Omohundro says . As you do in normal baccarat , you count the three dice , drop the 10s and that is your total . ( Example : a 6 , a 5 , and a 3 total 14 . Drop the 10 and you have a baccarat total of 4 .)
Online table games are the fastest-growing segment of our business . “ Traditional blackjack and poker titles continue to flourish , adding progressives is brand new to the space , and thirst for new content abounds . My hope for the future is that the online space and the live game space merge in the form of linking progressives ,” Omohundro says .
Most online games are successful versions of real table games already . That is the usual progression . “ However , recently we have seen two very popular online games transition to the casino floor ,” says Omohundro . “ That is Evolution ’ s Lightning Roulette and DigiWheel .”
New online table games are helping drive the future of innovation across all table game form factors . In the online table game space , we are no longer limited to a dealer ’ s ability to calculate payouts in real time . “ This allows us to lean into more advanced math models and deliver compelling new bonus features not previously available at the table ,” Walsh says .
“ As we prove the acceptance of these games in the online marketplace , we are innovating new ways to bring those games into the land-based casinos , starting with electronic table games and eventually moving into the traditional felt table gaming pits .”
16 Global Gaming Business JUNE 2023