Oasis Poker
- Basic casino rules
- Variants and differences
- Payout cheat sheet
- Dealer glossary
- Test yourself
- In the Croupier Assistant trainer
Overview
Oasis Poker is a variant of Caribbean Stud Poker: the player plays five cards against the dealer's hand and, before deciding to play or fold, may switch cards for a fee. Players do not compete with each other.
- A single 52-card deck.
- The player and the dealer each get five cards; one dealer card is face up, four are face down.
- Hand rankings are standard poker rankings (see Poker Hand Rankings).
Bets
- Ante — the required opening bet.
- Raise (the play bet) — exactly twice the ante.
- Switching fee — paid in antes and never returned, whatever the outcome.
- Bonus — an optional side bet; it pays on the player's original hand, before any switch, by the casino's table.
Game procedure
- The player places the ante (and the bonus, if they want).
- The dealer deals five cards to the player and to themselves and turns one dealer card face up.
- The player looks at the cards and may switch one to five of them for the next cards from the deck, paying the switching fee.
- The player then folds (losing the ante, the bonus and the switching fee) or raises 2 antes. A player who switched all five cards must raise.
- The dealer reveals their cards, checks qualification and settles the bets.
Switching cards
The fee depends on how many cards the player switches:
| Cards switched | Fee |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 ante |
| 2 | 2 antes |
| 3 | 3 antes |
| 4 | 2 antes |
| 5 | 1 ante |
Discarded cards do not return to play; new cards come from the top of the deck.
Dealer qualification and settlement
The dealer qualifies with ace-king or better. The lowest qualifying hand is ace, king, 4, 3, 2.
| Outcome | Ante | Raise |
|---|---|---|
| Dealer does not qualify | 1:1 | Push |
| Dealer qualifies, player wins | 1:1 | By the raise table |
| Dealer qualifies, tie | Push | Push |
| Dealer qualifies, dealer wins | Loses | Loses |
Raise pay table
| Player's hand | Raise pays | Win with ante 100 (raise 200) |
|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 100 to 1 | 20,000 |
| Straight flush | 50 to 1 | 10,000 |
| Four of a kind | 20 to 1 | 4,000 |
| Full house | 7 to 1 | 1,400 |
| Flush | 5 to 1 | 1,000 |
| Straight | 4 to 1 | 800 |
| Three of a kind | 3 to 1 | 600 |
| Two pair | 2 to 1 | 400 |
| Anything else (pair, ace-king) | 1 to 1 | 200 |
When the player wins, the ante pays 1:1 separately from the raise.
Strategy
- Switch one card with four to a straight flush or royal flush — even if it breaks a pair.
- Switch one card with four to a flush and no pair, and with four to an open-ended straight and no pair.
- Never switch with two pair or three of a kind.
- Switching two or more cards does not pay.
- Play or fold as in Caribbean Stud: play a pair or better; with ace-king it depends on the dealer's cards.
With this strategy the house edge is about 1.04%.
Example 1: switching one card
Dealer
The dealer qualifies (ace-king). Ante +100, raise 200 × 50 = +10,000. The 100 switching fee stays with the casino.
Example 2: the dealer does not qualify
Dealer
The ante pays 1:1 (+100); the raise is returned without a win.
Rules and pay tables are checked against wizardofodds.com. Casinos may differ — see Variants and differences.
Variants and differences
Oasis Poker is dealt differently from casino to casino. Compared with the rules on wizardofodds.com:
| Rule | wizardofodds.com | Where it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Switching fee | 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 antes for 1–5 cards | Online (Galewind): 1 ante per card; Nicaragua: 1 ante per switch |
| Folding after a switch | Allowed | Belgium: no folding after a switch |
| Full house on the raise | 7 to 1 | Galewind: 6 to 1 |
| Switching a dealer card | No | Finland (Casino Helsinki): a dealer card may be switched to make the dealer qualify |
| Pay table after a switch | The same | Nicaragua: lower payouts after a switch |
Payout cheat sheet
Raise with ante 10 (raise 20)
| Hand | Pays | Raise wins |
|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 100 to 1 | 2,000 |
| Straight flush | 50 to 1 | 1,000 |
| Four of a kind | 20 to 1 | 400 |
| Full house | 7 to 1 | 140 |
| Flush | 5 to 1 | 100 |
| Straight | 4 to 1 | 80 |
| Three of a kind | 3 to 1 | 60 |
| Two pair | 2 to 1 | 40 |
| Pair, ace-king | 1 to 1 | 20 |
Switching fee
| Cards | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee, antes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
When the player wins, the ante also pays 1:1.
Dealer glossary
- Ante
- The required opening bet.
- Raise
- The play bet, exactly 2 antes; placed after switching.
- Switch
- Exchanging your cards for the next cards from the deck for a fee in antes.
- Qualification
- The dealer's minimum hand to play: ace-king or better.
- Fold
- The player gives up the hand and loses the ante.
Test yourself
Three payout questions. Answer with the net win or the amount asked for, not including the bet itself.
This game is not in the trainer yet. Its hands and payouts will help you in the trainer's other poker games.
Open the trainer