Introducing FourOne Poker
I have been involved in the gaming industry for about a decade and a half and in that time, I have seen and learned a lot. Naturally, as would be the case with just about anybody who has observed their industry from multiple angles, my mind has overflowed with ideas of how to change things for the better. And now, with the first quarter of the year behind us, I wanted to take this space to announce what I hope will turn out to be my mark on the poker world, for better or worse, but hopefully for better. This summer, a number of casinos around the United States will introduce a new poker game that I have created, a game which I truly believe could eventually find its spot in poker players’ regular rotation for generations to come. I proudly present to you FourOne Poker.
FourOne: Years in the Making
The genesis of FourOne Poker stems from an Omaha session I played at the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino in North Carolina back in 2013. As I shielded my cards from my opponents and watched the pixels simulate a peel on the PokerTek PokerPro table, I thought to myself, “Omaha is fun, but my hand is so good that I don’t want to be limited to using just two hole cards. I could totally destroy everybody!”
I ruminated on it, but the frustration gradually left my mind, helped by the fact that took those donks to the tune of $12,415. Thanks for paying my mortgage, gents.
Fast-forward to early 2017 and I was teaching my 8-year old how to play poker. He got lucky on the first hand, beating me with Aces versus my 9-5 offsuit, but I destroyed him in short order. Why he thought he had any chance against a man who had been in the poker news business for years, I have no idea. Perturbed, the child began taking any cards he wanted, not a concern at all about the rules or proper poker etiquette. It was like a perverted game of UNO.
But after an hour of crying and threats, it dawned on me. Could this miniature human be onto something?
The Harrah’s Cherokee section popped back into my head. At the time, I wished I could play more cards. My kid wanted to play the cards as he saw fit. So why couldn’t we do that?
It has taken a couple years of tinkering and extensive use of focus groups and field testing, but FourOne Poker is the answer. So how does work, you ask?
The 4-1-1 on FourOne
At the outset, FourOne Poker looks exactly like Omaha. Every player is dealt four hole cards, face down. Pre-flop betting round, flop, betting round, turn, betting round, river, and a final betting round. All of this works out great because the learning curve as far as the mechanics go is nil – we are all familiar with now the action goes.
But unlike in Omaha, where you must use two cards from your hand and three from the board, in FourOne Poker, you have two options for hand construction:
1. Use all four of your hole cards and just one from the board, OR
2. Use only one of your hole cards and four from the board
Look at what this does for you. Now when you have four to a straight in your hand, you don’t have to lament the fact that you can only use two of them. Or if there are four clubs on the board and you have the Ace of clubs, you are as good as gold. Imagine holding two pair and one of the community cards makes your full house. Or the board comes out A-3-4-5-T and you have a deuce. You’ve got your wheel, friend.
With FourOne Poker, you now have options. Maybe you had four hole cards you thought were good, but don’t pan out when put together. You need not fret, as your strategy can change instantly when the board produces four cards that can match up with just one of your hole cards!
Coming to a Casino Near You
In addition to revealing FourOne Poker, I am also proud to announce that Caesars Entertainment Corporation has agreed to spread the game in a test run at a number of casinos around the country this summer. FourOne will make an appearance at Bally’s Atlantic City, Horseshoe Hammond, Horseshoe Council Bluffs, Harrah’s New Orleans, Harrah’s Cherokee (of course), Flamingo Las Vegas, and the venue I am most excited about, Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino during the 2019 World Series of Poker.
“We are very excited to debut FourOne Poker during the WSOP this year,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “I know how hard Dan has worked on FourOne and how much it means to him. His passion really comes through in the gameplay. It has become our new go-to game in the Caesars offices on our lunch breaks; the action, the flexibility, it is unbelievable.”
Tournament Director Jack Effel added, “I may be jumping the gun here, but if FourOne’s trial run goes as we think it will, I could see multiple FourOne events at a future World Series of Poker!”
There is not much else to say except that I hope you enjoy FourOne Poker has much as I have enjoyed creating it. Creating it on this day, April Fool’s Day.
Lead image credit: http://smallpotatospoker.blogspot.com
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