Plus 4 Card
AGES: 7 and over. PLAYERS: 2 to 10
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OBJECT:
To be the first player to score 500 points. Points are scored by ridding yourself of all the cards in your hand before your opponent(s). You score points for cards left in your opponent's hands.YOU SHOULD HAVE - 108 cards as follows:
19 Blue Cards - 0 to 9
19 Green Cards - 0 to 9
19 Red Cards - 0 to 9
19 Yellow Cards - 0 to 9
8 Draw Two cards - 2 each in Blue, Green, Red and Yellow
8 Reverse Cards - 2 each in Blue, Green, Red and Yellow
8 Skip Cards - 2 each in Blue, Green, Red and Yellow
4 Wild Cards
4 Wild Draw 4 cards
4 Blank Cards in each color [new decks]
[Please remove all components from the package and compare them to the parts list. If any items are missing please call 1-800-524-TOYS.]
Okay, now grab a bag of potato chips and something to wash them down with.
UNO IN A NUTSHELL
Each player is dealt 7 cards with the remaining ones placed face down to form a DRAW pile. The top card of the DRAW pile is turned over to begin a DISCARD pile.
The first player has to match the card in the DISCARD pile either by number, color or word. For example, if the card is a red 7, player must throw down a red card or any color 7. Or the player can throw down a Wild Card. If the player doesn't have anything to match, he must pick a card from the DRAW pile. If he can play what is drawn, great. Otherwise play moves to the next person.
When you have one card left, you must yell 'UNO' (meaning one). Failure to do this results in you having to pick two cards from the DRAW pile. That is, of course if you get caught by the other players.
Once a player has no cards left, the hand is over. Points are scored (see scoring section) and you start over again. That's UNO in a nutshell.
NOW FOR THE DETAILS
CHOOSING A DEALER
Each player picks a card. The player who picks the highest number deals. If you picked a 'word' card, too bad, they don't count. Player to the left of the dealer starts play.
STARTING A DISCARD PILE
Well, if a word card is the first one turned up from the DRAW pile, this is what happens.
Wild Draw Four - It's put back in the deck and another one is chosen.
Wild Card - The player to the left of the dealer calls out a color - then plays.
Draw Two Card - The player to the left of dealer must pick two cards and then the next player goes (sad, but true).
Reverse Card - The dealer plays first, but then goes to the right instead of the left.
Skip Card - The player to the left of dealer doesn't start (get it, he's skipped). The player to the left of him starts.
WHAT WORD CARDS MEAN
Draw Two Cards - When this card is played, the next person to play must draw 2 cards and forfeit his turn.
Reverse Card - Simply reverse direction of play. Play left becomes play right, and vice versa.
Skip Card - The next player to play loses his turn and is 'skipped.' Mighty clever.
Wild Card - This card can be played on any card. The person playing the card calls any color to continue play, including the one presently being played if desired. A Wild card can be played even if the player has another playable card in his hand.
Wild Draw Four Card - This is the best, meanest, most sneaky card to have. Not only does the player get to call the next color played, but the next player has to pick 4 cards and forfeit his turn. There is a hitch, however (of course): you can only play this card when you don't have a card in your hand that matches the color of the card previously played.
Note: A player may have a matching number or word card of a different color in his hand and plays his 'Wild Draw Four' card.
What Are These Extra Cards For?
Blank Card - This is a special card that you may use in one of two ways. If a card from your UNO deck is lost or damaged you may use the Blank Card as a replacement. Example: If you find that your deck is missing one of the yellow 7's you would simply replace it by taking the yellow Blank Card, marking a '7' on it and adding it back into the deck.
If you family has a special UNO rule you prefer to play with you may write that rule on the Blank Cards and add them straight to the deck
GOING OUT
A player who forgets to say UNO before his card touches the discard pile, but 'catches' himself before any other player catches him, is safe and is not subject to the penalty. You may not catch a player for failure to say UNO until his second to last card touches the DISCARD pile. Also, you may not catch a player for failure to say UNO after the next player begins his turn. 'Beginning a turn is defines as either drawing a card from the DRAW pile or drawing a card from your hand to play.
If the last card played in a hand is a Draw Two or Wild Draw Four card, the next player must draw the two or four cards. These cards are counted when points are totaled.
If no one is out of cards by the time the DRAW pile is depleted, reshuffle and continue play.
SCORING
When a player is out of cards, he gets points for cards left in the opponent's hands as follows:
All cards through 9 Face value
Draw 2 = 20 points
Reverse = 20 points
Skip = 20 points
Wild = 50 points
Wild Draw 4 = 50 points
The WINNER is the first player to reach 500 points. However, the game may be scored by keeping a running total of points of each player is caught with at the end of each hand. When one player reaches 500 points, the player with the lowest points is the winner.
RENEGING
A player may choose not to play a playable card from his hand. If so, the player must draw a card from the DRAW pile. If playable, that card can be played, but the player may not play a card from his hand after the draw.
WHAT WOULD A GAME BE WITHOUT PENALTIES
If a player makes a card suggestion to another player, he must draw 4 cards.
If a player plays a Wild Draw 4 card illegally and gets caught, he must first show his hand to the player who challenged. If guilty, he must draw 4 cards. If not guilty, the challenger must draw 2 cards in addition to the 4. The challenge can only be made by the person required to draw the four cards.
TWO-HANDED PLAY, PARTNERS AND MULTI-TABLE TOURNAMENTS:
Rules for Two Players - Play UNO with two players with the following special rules:
1. Playing a Reverse card acts like a Skip. The player who plays the Reverse may immediately play another card.
2. The person playing a Skip card may immediately play another card.
3. When a Draw Two card is played and your opponent has drawn two cards, the play is back to you. The same principle applies to the Wild Draw Four card. Regular UNO rules apply in all other other instances.
Partners - Four Players - Sit across from your partner. When either partner goes out, the hand is over. Total all of the points in both opposing partner's hands and score for the winning team.
Variation - With four players, play four hands with each of the other three players as your partner (a total of 12 hands). Each player keeps track of his points scored in each partnership. Play several rounds, with the person scoring the highest number of points declared the winner.
With eight players, play two separate games at two tables, with each player having every other player as a partner for four hands each (a total of 28 hands). Score as above.
4-6-8-10 Players - If several couples wish to play 'UNO' seat them alternately, one man, one woman, etc., and play the men versus the women. Once a man or woman goes out, all teammates throw in their cards and the opposing team totals the points in all of their hands. First team to accumulate 500 points is the winner.
Challenge UNO - This game is scored by keeping a running total of what each player is caught with in his hand. As each player reaches a designated amount, we suggest 500, he is eliminated from the game. When only two players are left in the game, they play head to head. When a player reaches or exceeds the amount designated, he loses. The winner of that final hand is declared the winning player of the game. (See special rules for two-handed UNO). THE MAKERS OF UNO FIND THIS VARIATION THE MOST CHALLENGING WAY TO PLAY.
Well that about sums it up. Enjoy UNO - and may the luckiest player win! ©1993 International Games, Inc. a Mattel Company All Rights Reserved
On This Page
Introduction
Four Poker is a new poker variation invented by Roger Snow and marketed by Shufflemaster. The game is similar to Three Card Poker but as the title suggests, four cards are used instead of three. Also, there is no dealer qualifying hand and the player can raise up to three times his ante. However, the dealer gets one extra card to form his best hand.
Rules
- Two initial bets are available: The Ante and the Aces Up.
- All players get five cards each and the dealer gets six cards. One of the dealer cards is placed face up, and five face down.
- Players making the Ante bet must decide to fold or raise.
- If the player folds he forfeits his Ante bet. He may or may not forfeit his Aces Up bet, depending on casino rules. It shouldn't matter because if the player has a paying Aces Up bet, he shouldn't be folding anyway.
- If player raises, then he must raise at least the amount of the Ante and at most, three times the Ante.
- The player keeps his best four cards and discards one.
- Following is the ranking of hands from lowest to highest: high card, pair, two pair, straight, flush, three of a kind, straight flush, four of a kind.
- After all decisions have been made, the dealer will turn over his cards and select the best four out of six.
- The player's hand shall be compared to the dealer's hand, the higher hand winning.
- If the dealer's hand is higher, then the player shall lose the Ante and Raise.
- If the player's hand is higher or equal then the Ante and Raise shall pay one to one.
- If the player has at least a three of a kind, then he shall also be paid a Bonus, regardless of the value of the dealer's hand. Two different pay tables are available for the Bonus, as displayed below, and are based on the ante bet. Pay Table 1 is the only one I know of to be actually used.
- Another bet is available (similar to the Pairplus in Three Card Poker), based only on the player's four card hand, called the Aces Up. Seven pay tables are available as indicated below. The only one I know of to be actually used is pay table 5.
Bonus Pay Table
| Hand | Table 1 | Table 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Four of a kind | 25 | 30 |
| Straight flush | 20 | 15 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 2 |
Aces Up Pay Table
| Hand | Table 1 | Table 2 | Table 3 | Table 4 | Table 5 | Table 6 | Table 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four of a kind | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 40 to 1 | 40 to 1 | 30 to 1 | 30 to 1 | 40 to 1 | 40 to 1 | 40 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | 9 to 1 | 7 to 1 | 9 to 1 | 7 to 1 | 8 to 1 | 8 to 1 | 7 to 1 |
| Flush | 6 to 1 | 6 to 1 | 6 to 1 | 6 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 6 to 1 | 5 to 1 |
| Straight | 4 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 4 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 4 to 1 | 4 to 1 | 4 to 1 |
| Two pair | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 3 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 3 to 1 |
| Pair of aces or better | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 |
Of these pay tables for the Aces Up side bet, number five is the most popular. The only exceptions that I'm aware of are an unconfirmed report that that Tulalip in Washington uses pay table 4 and the Grand Casino Hinckley in Minnesota uses pay table 1.
Analysis
The following return table is based on optimal player strategy under the 2-20-25 Ante Bonus pay table. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 2.79%.
Return Table Based on Optimal Strategy
| Player Hand | Raise/Fold | Win/Loss | Combinations | Probability | Pays | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four of a Kind | 3 | Win | 40,182,878,736 | 0.000240 | +29 | 0.006960 |
| Four of a Kind | 3 | Lose | 18,594,576 | 0.000000 | +21 | 0.000002 |
| Straight Flush | 3 | Win | 133,224,330,456 | 0.000796 | +24 | 0.019096 |
| Straight Flush | 3 | Lose | 265,177,080 | 0.000002 | +16 | 0.000025 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | Win | 3,675,379,352,400 | 0.021951 | +6 | 0.131703 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | Lose | 103,559,138,928 | 0.000618 | -2 | -0.001237 |
| Flush | 3 | Win | 6,599,621,152,728 | 0.039415 | +4 | 0.157660 |
| Flush | 3 | Lose | 784,564,849,080 | 0.004686 | -4 | -0.018743 |
| Straight | 3 | Win | 5,257,469,039,688 | 0.031399 | +4 | 0.125597 |
| Straight | 3 | Lose | 1,301,555,952,216 | 0.007773 | -4 | -0.031093 |
| Two Pair | 3 | Win | 5,539,444,298,496 | 0.033083 | +4 | 0.132333 |
| Two Pair | 3 | Lose | 2,420,447,417,280 | 0.014456 | -4 | -0.057823 |
| One Pair | 3 | Win | 14,764,551,298,548 | 0.088179 | +4 | 0.352714 |
| One Pair | 3 | Lose | 10,806,299,820,804 | 0.064539 | -4 | -0.258155 |
| One Pair | 1 | Win | 13,535,004,289,296 | 0.080835 | +2 | 0.161671 |
| One Pair | 1 | Lose | 22,887,448,286,136 | 0.136691 | -2 | -0.273382 |
| One Pair | Fold | Fold | 5,495,692,732,992 | 0.032822 | -1 | -0.032822 |
| High Card | 1 | Win | 148,058,445,132 | 0.000884 | +2 | 0.001769 |
| High Card | 1 | Lose | 422,493,233,796 | 0.002523 | -2 | -0.005047 |
| High Card | Fold | Fold | 73,523,856,056,112 | 0.439108 | -1 | -0.439108 |
| Totals | 167,439,136,344,480 | 1.000000 | -0.027879 |
The average final bet under optimal strategy is 2.142342 units, making the element of risk, -0.027879/2.142342 = 1.30%. The standard deviation, relative to the original bet, is 2.71.
Beginner Strategy
A simple strategy to this game, first proposed by Stanley Ko, is as follows.
- Raise 3X with a pair of tens or higher.
- Raise 1X with a pair of twos to nines.
- Fold all other.
According to the second edition of 'Beyond Counting' by James Grosjean, this 'simple strategy' results in a house edge of 3.396%.
Intermediate Strategy
The following intermediate strategy was created to balance power and simplicity by our own JB.
- Pair of Aces or better: Bet 3X
- Pair of Js, Qs, Ks: Bet 3X if dealer's upcard is lower than your pair or matches a rank in your hand, otherwise bet 1X
- Pair of 9s, 10s: Bet 1X if dealer's upcard outranks your pair, otherwise bet 3X
- Pair of 8s: Bet 3X if dealer's upcard is a 2, otherwise bet 1X
- Pair of 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s: Bet 1X
- Pair of 2s or AKQ: Bet 1X if dealer's upcard matches a rank in your hand, otherwise fold
- All other: Fold
Against the 2-20-25 Ante Bonus pay table, the house edge is 2.8526% and the element of risk is 1.3233%.
Advanced Strategy
Plus 4 Card In Uno
I'm proud to present the following advanced strategy, also created by my sidekick JB.
- Pair of Aces or better: Bet 3X
- Pair of Ks: Bet 3X, except bet 1X against an Ace and you don't have an Ace nor 4.
- Pair of Js or Qs: Bet 3X, except bet 1X if the dealer's card outranks pair your pair rank and does not match a singleton in your hand.
- Pair of 9s or 10s: Bet 3X, except bet 1X if dealer card outranks your pair rank.
- Pair of 8s: Bet 1X, except bet 3X against a 2
- Pair of 4s thru 7s: Bet 1X
- Pair of 3s: Bet 1X, except fold against a Jack if your highest kicker is a 10 or lower
- Pair of 2s or AKQ: Fold, except bet 1X if dealer card matches a rank in your hand
- AKJT: Fold, except bet 1X against a Jack
- AKJ9 or lower: Fold
Against the 2-20-25 Ante Bonus pay table, the house edge is 2.8498% and the element of risk is 1.3216%. Here is a house edge comparison of various known strategies.
- Simple: 3.396%
- Intermediate: 2.853%
- Advanced: 2.850%
- Optimal: 2.788%
To put it another way, here are the cost of errors:
- Simple: 0.606%
- Intermediate: 0.065%
- Advanced: 0.062%
- Optimal: 0.000%
Aces Up Analysis
The next table shows the probability of each hand and the return under pay table five of the Aces Up side bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 3.89%.
Return for Aces Up Pay Table 5
| Hand | Combinations | Probability | Pays | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four of a kind | 624 | 0.00024 | 50 | 0.012005 |
| Straight flush | 2072 | 0.000797 | 40 | 0.03189 |
| Three of a kind | 58656 | 0.022569 | 8 | 0.180552 |
| Flush | 114616 | 0.044101 | 5 | 0.220504 |
| Straight | 101808 | 0.039173 | 4 | 0.15669 |
| Two pair | 123552 | 0.047539 | 3 | 0.142617 |
| Pair of aces | 81096 | 0.031203 | 1 | 0.031203 |
| Nothing | 2116536 | 0.814378 | -1 | -0.814378 |
| Total | 2598960 | 1 | -0.038917 |
The next table shows the house edge according to all four Aces Up pay tables.
Aces Up House Edge
| Pay Table | House Edge |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1.98% |
| 2 | 2.58% |
| 3 | 2.78% |
| 4 | 3.37% |
| 5 | 3.89% |
| 6 | 4.24% |
| 7 | 6.15% |
Note: There is also a similar game called Crazy Four Poker.
Acknowledgments
Plus 4 Credit
I would like to recognize:
- JB for the analysis of the optimal strategy.
- Stanley Ko for the simplified strategy.
- James Grosjean for the unpublished advanced strategy.