FREE RIDE Tips & Strategies
Statistically, free ride
is a negative expectation game. There is no free ride strategy that will
overcome the house edge and make free ride profitable for the player.
You must, however, use some reasonable strategy when playing free ride
or you can deplete your bankroll very quickly.
When you play free ride
there are four basic decisions you have to make: 1) how much money to wager
on the original bet; 2) whether or not to place the one dollar progressive jackpot
bet; 3) whether or not to make the first additional bet; and 4) whether or not
to make the second additional bet. Each of these four choices will have a major
effect on how much on win at free ride.
There have been attempts to develop
a simplified strategy for free ride. However, every time researchers
backed off from the best mathematical free ride strategy, the house edge
just got out of hand. Therefore, there is only a single strategy choice for
free ride, which is a mathematically perfect strategy. This strategy
is not that complex, so even casual recreational free ride players can
memorize it easily.
There is only one reasonable approach
to free ride strategy. It is called the perfect strategy, and it is outlined
on this page. As the name implies the free ride perfect strategy gets
the house take as low as mathematically possible. It is summarized as follows:
Perfect Playing Strategy for free
ride
Rule 1: Never bet more than the table minimum.
Rule 2: Never place a one-dollar bet on the progressive jackpot.
Rule 3: Three-Card Strategy - Only make the first additional free ride
bet if your initial three-card hand contains any of the following: Any paying
hand (pair of tens or better), A possible royal flush, ore a possible straight
flush.
Rule 4: Four-Card Strategy - Only make the second additional bet is your four-card
free ride hand contains any of the following: Any paying hand (pair of
tens or better), a possible flush, an open ended straight.
The four rules given for the free
ride perfect strategy work very well for most serious and recreational free
ride players. It squeezes the last little bit out of the house advantage
and may keep you from losing your shirt too quickly. So that you understand
them correctly, we will review each of the rules in some detail.
Rule 1
Since free ride is a negative expectation game, the more you bet, the
faster you will drain you resources. So always play the table minimum when playing
free ride. You won't lose so fast. Also, by placing the minimum free
ride bets, there is no chance that you will run up against the aggregate
payout limit, no matter what the limit is. You wouldn't want to place large
bets, get a hot free ride hand, and then get shortchanged on the payout.
Rule 2
Investing one dollar in the free ride progressive jackpot is a much greater
negative expectation gamble than the basic game. In most casinos, the house
percentage on the bonus payout ranges from 25% to 35%, or more. Yes there are
schedules that pay the house only 13% or less, but they are very hard to find.
Since the house edge on basic free ride (with perfect strategy) is as
little as 3.5%, why hurt yourself by betting the bonus?
Rule 3 Three-Card Strategy
Place the first additional bet if your initial three-card hand contains any
paying hand. With three cards the only possible paying hands are three-of-a-kind
or a pair of tens or better. If you have one of these winning free ride
hands, you don't have to think any further. Just place both additional bets
and collect your winnings.
Place the first additional bet
if your initial three-card free ride hand contains a possible royal flush.
A possible royal flush consists of any three cards from a ten to an ace, all
of the same suit. Since the payoff for a royal flush is 1000 to 1, the reason
for this rule is obvious.
Place the first additional bet
if your initial three-card free ride hand contains a possible straight
flush. This may be either an inside or outside straight flush. If it is inside,
however, it should have no more than a one-card gap in the sequence. This free
ride hand is worth playing because of the high 200-to-1 payoff; if you miss
it, you may still get a flush.
Three-card free ride hands
that should not be played: In free ride, there seems to be a tendency
for some people to bet hands on which the hand should not be made. Many of them
will hopefully play a three-card straight with the odds against completing it
being much. Also, never bet on a pair lower than tens. The chance of picking
up a third card of the same rank or making two pairs is worse than the payoff
odds of 3 to 1.
Rule 4 Four-Card Strategy
Place the second additional bet if your four-card free ride hand contains
any paying free ride hand. In addition to three-of-a-kind and a pair
of tens or better, a pat four-card free ride hand can also be two pairs
or four-of-a-kind. If you have any of these, you know what to do.
Place the second additional bet
if your four-card free ride hand contains all cards of the same suit.
In addition to a possible flush, this would include any possible straight flushes
and royal flushes.
Place the second additional bet
if your four-card free ride hand contains an open-ended straight. This
is a four-card sequence with no gaps, and open at both ends. Thus, the lowest
card should not be less than a deuce and the highest card should not be greater
than a king.
Four-card free ride hands
that should not be played: Some people have a tendency to bet on inside straights.
This is never a good idea. So you started off with a three-card straight flush
and the fourth card was out of suit and turned into an inside straight. Cut
your losses and don't place the second additional free ride bet. Or,
you were hoping to convert that low pair into a trip. It didn't happen on the
fourth card, and it probably won't happen with the fifth one.
There you have the free ride
perfect strategy. The free ride strategy may not make you a ton of money,
but it can help prevent you from losing too much. Good luck.
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