Hi, everyone.
1st time poster, long time lurker.
Wasn't sure where to post this thread.
Perhaps ODDS section would have been more appropriate.
or Anything Goes.
I am sure moderators will move the thread to an appropriate section if they find it necessary.

A new table game is hitting casinos everywhere.
Texas Hold'em Bonus
http://www.mikohn.com/games/texas_hold-em.cfm

Basically it's a heads-up match against a dealer's random hand.
House sets up a number of rules and limitations to increase the house edge.

What happens is, all players post an Ante before the cards are dealt.
Upon recieving the cards, players can either put up the Flop bet (x2 the Ante) or fold and lose the Ante.
Once the flop is shown, player has an option of making an Ante-sized bet for the turn, or check.
On the turn, player has an option of making an Ante-sized bet for the river, or check.

On the river all action stops, dealer shows his random hand, and evaulates it against all other players at the table.

House edge comes from taking the Ante upon player's folding *and* when player has a hand worse than the house. While when player wins, ante bet isn't matched (unless player has a winning flush or better)

for example:
Lets say we are playing a $10 table.
Fold = -$10
Win after checking turn and river = +$20
Loss after checking turn and river = -$30
Win after betting through =+$40
Loss after betting through = -$50

another house advantage lies in the optional Bonus bet that can be placed before cards are dealt.
any pocket pair, AKs to AJ will pay a bonus amount, anywhere from 3-to-1, to 30-to-1.

now, that's a lot of house advantage.
however, after playing 5 solid sessions I believe this game is beatable if proper strategy and discipline are implemented.
As you are able to minimize your losses by folding and checking, while maximize your winnings by betting as you read the board and evaluate your hand to be a favorite to other random hands.
Not playing the Bonus bet takes away some of the house advantage as well.

This game, even if frowned upon, still begs analysys, as it poses interesting odds questions.

What would be the appropriate hand selection preflop, considering you are playing against an absolutely random hand, with no folding after the flop?

What to keep in mind is, player invests $10 (Ante) before the hand is dealt, so any time they choose to see the flop, they must pay $20. That's $20 to win $30, in a way, as they lose their Ante if they fold.

What is the breaking point of the better 50% of hands vs. worse 50% of hands, if you were getting even money?
What is the breaking point of the better 60% of hands, if you consider the flop bet to be a 3-to-2 payoff?

What other interesting odds questions does this game pose?

Hope other posters find concept of this game, or at least questions it poses, interesting enough for a discussion.

I saw this game when I was out in Vegas but didn't want to spend too much time trying to figure it out.

I think the 3:2 odds definitely need to be considered when choosing starting hands. If the average hand is J7 (not sure where I read that, maybe I'm making it up) then I'd think something like Q9 or better at the minimum, unless you have a pp.

Since you can check your way through, I'd imagine hands like suited connectors or even one gappers are more attractive than normal, no?

So you lose the ante if you do not make a flush or better, no matter if you win the hand?

If so, chalk up one advantage to the house. I guess you can equate this to always playing out of the blind, which is heavily -EV.

Bottom line, it's a casino game and the house is going to have an edge. Otherwise, why would they offer it?