Criss Cross Poker (CCP) is yet another stud poker clone. Like all poker clones, CCP faces a very tough road towards success. In recent months I’ve been contacted by a few people who have asked me to take a look at hole-carding CCP. Criss cross poker online. So while your buddies are trying to locate enough players for a poker night, you can criss cross poker online already be winning cash. The last player to open with a bet or raise is required to show their cards first and anyone else can fold.

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Nice game. Better than 90% or more of new games I see. The number of combinations is 84,284,272,800 so there is no reason I couldn't analyze it. Compared to some other games, this is a small number.It seems Discount Gambling, A.P. Heat, and me are all in the process of publishing something in Criss Cross Poker. I haven't finished my main page yet but do have a full expected value table up. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 4.33%. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the first published analysis on the game on the Internet.
My full page should be ready later today.

http://wizardofodds.com/games/criss-cross-poker/
On the paytable at the bottom, shouldn't the right-most column say Down & Across Bets Pay instead of Raise & Across Bets Pay?

Actually, it should say 'Raise & Middle Bets Pay.' The Ante bets, known as the Ante Across and Ante Down, never pay more than 1 to 1. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.I note that some columns on the Full Expected Value' table, (e.g., 'Combinations', 'Probability' and 'Return') of several winning hands (e.g., Across = Loser, Down = Flush) appear incomplete. Is the analysis continuing, or is it on purpose?

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Agree on the Miss Stud comment.....that also hits about 25% of the time.

I feel that 25% is way to low for a base game. I used to really like miss stud at first but after more than a few sessions where i literally lost every hand on 400 i rarely will ever sit down at the game anymore. When it comes to criss cross, it has even more wagers then miss stud, so i feel that eventually the same effect will take place and form other opinions as well. Its a good concept but as you can see by several locations with miss stud, it seems to be losing its fire slowly but surely.

Have any board members played it? I'd be interested in a report.

I sat at a table for a couple hours or so this afternoon. It's actually a lot of fun. I didn't know the proper strategy, and I couldn't get a decent data connection in the casino to look it up, so I guessed that the best play would be on the initial wager to fold 10-small and lower, 1x 6-7 and higher, and 3x any guaranteed push and higher. I can see I was off a bit.

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The minimum bet at Borgata is $5. I was betting $10. I bought in for $100, and eventually used $300.
The downside: it is maddening to have $60 on the table with for example a hand of 9-6 offsuit, and a board of J-7 Down and 2-3 Cross. But a 9 or 6 middle gets a push on both, and a J or 7 pushes the Down hand and wins the Board.
The upside: if you get dealt a good hand you get paid big time. One guy at the table turned Q-Q into a full house with trips on the board, 7-7-7 across. And of course he had $30 on all spots. Twice I was down to my last bets and reached into my pocket to raise a guaranteed push, and won both times. At one point I had A-10 of hearts, and the first two cross cards were Q-J of hearts. I had an inside draw to a Royal! I tripled up my Middle bet, and 1x on my Down bet. The Down cards came up A-Q, and the Middle came up A, so I had 2 pair on the Board, a pair of Aces on Cross, and trips on Down and Middle.
After playing for a couple hours, I cashed out $315. I was up as much as $225, and as much down about the same, the second time I had to go to pocket for another black chip.

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The dealers are having a hard time with the game. I saw two different dealers pay 10s rather than push them. In one instance, the dealer swept a player's hand that had a pair of 10s: the player stopped him, expecting a push, and the dealer called the supervisor over, backed up the cards, and then PAID the 10s rather than pushing them, with the supervisor standing there agreeing. This was about 15 minutes after I'd asked the same dealer and super when looking at my hole cards, '10s push, right?' And getting an affirmative. My lips were sealed, it wasn't my hand. The other time, it happened so fast I had to rewind in my mind, but it definitely happened. That player, too, was surprised. I imagine lowering the pay table to pay 10s changes the expected value of the game.
Chit chat around the table about how to play is split. Most players play every hand. Others play similar to how I played. I didn't see anyone getting aggressive with stuff like QJ suited. Everyone recognizes that there is a bet/bankroll situation, where if you want to bet more than $5 a hand you'd better have a big bankroll, but it doesn't make a lot of sense to big a big bankroll to a game like Criss Cross. So, it's pretty much a $5 or $10 ante game, or things get out of hand pretty quickly. One dealer (I experienced 4 of them, playing at 2 separate tables) said that on the board in the back room, Criss Cross has far and away the highest hold in the casino. Players like it, the casino likes it, I think it's here to stay

It's still new. That high hold low hit is going get old really quick. Of course this is only my opinion. The game is certainly spreading fast.

It's easy to get hooked on it. Mrs came over to watch, and said, 'You're playing a game that you don't know the rules for?' And the only thing I could say was, 'It's fun!' Later, when it was time to go, I did the 'just a couple more hands' three times.
The high hold is going to be because players aren't going to toss 3X on suited QJ and low pairs, and because they won't fold the middle bet after betting 4 units when all is lost, and they'll bet on every hand or they'll be too conservative like I was.
I find Wizard's strategy description somewhat vague. Let's say I hold 9-3 off suit. I 1x raise the Across. The Across cards are flipped, and they are 6-7. According to what is written, I should raise 1x on the Down. Right?
Let's say I hold Ah-10h, 1x raise the Across, and the Across cards come up Qh-Jh. Okay, I should raise 1x on the Down, right? Under what circumstance, excepting paired 6s in hand or higher, should the Down bet be anything other than 1x?

Criss Cross Casino Game

Is there ANY time that the Across cards influence the Down bet? Is there ANY time that the entire hand should be folded after seeing the Across cards, assuming the Across bet is made according to proper strategy? Is there ANY time the Down bet should be 3x after the Across bet was 1x, assuming the same?
And under what circumstances should Middle be folded? Maybe 9-6 unsuited in hand, and an Across of 5-3 and Down of 4-2? That might knock me out, even after a couple 1x raises.

It's easy to get hooked on it. Mrs came over to watch, and said, 'You're playing a game that you don't know the rules for?' And the only thing I could say was, 'It's fun!' Later, when it was time to go, I did the 'just a couple more hands' three times.
The high hold is going to be because players aren't going to toss 3X on suited QJ and low pairs, and because they won't fold the middle bet after betting 4 units when all is lost, and they'll bet on every hand or they'll be too conservative like I was.
I find Wizard's strategy description somewhat vague. Let's say I hold 9-3 off suit. I 1x raise the Across. The Across cards are flipped, and they are 6-7. According to what is written, I should raise 1x on the Down. Right?
Let's say I hold Ah-10h, 1x raise the Across, and the Across cards come up Qh-Jh. Okay, I should raise 1x on the Down, right? Under what circumstance, excepting paired 6s in hand or higher, should the Down bet be anything other than 1x?
Is there ANY time that the Across cards influence the Down bet? Is there ANY time that the entire hand should be folded after seeing the Across cards, assuming the Across bet is made according to proper strategy? Is there ANY time the Down bet should be 3x after the Across bet was 1x, assuming the same?
And under what circumstances should Middle be folded? Maybe 9-6 unsuited in hand, and an Across of 5-3 and Down of 4-2? That might knock me out, even after a couple 1x raises.

Im not trying to say the game isn't fun. The high hold is the result of a 4.3% HA with a horrifically low hit rate in the vicinity of 1 in 4 hands. People on this forum used to tear games like this to absolute shreds.

Im not trying to say the game isn't fun. The high hold is the result of a 4.3% HA with a horrifically low hit rate in the vicinity of 1 in 4 hands. People on this forum used to tear games like this to absolute shreds.

Wizard rates the element of risk at 1.48%.
My grandfather used to design games, in his spare time. This was in the 40s/50s/60s; he was always looking for the next Monopoly, or Parcheesi, or whatever parlor game was the big hit of the day. He would sketch out the rules, he would cut cards out of heavy stock using an X-acto knife, he cut game pieces out of balsawood, and designed and printed boards. And he would get them patented, and send them off to Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley, and anyone else. He was especially proud of a game called Checkadice, which involved using checkers and dice.
The problem wasn't that his games weren't intricate, or strategic. the problem was that they weren't any fun to play. As kids we used to moan about going to his house because we'd get shown the latest game, and have it tested on us. And god help us when the Checkadice cup came out of the closet.
As a carnival game player, I appreciate more than most the information at WoO; I go to the tables with my eyes open. I understand: if you crave variance, it will cost you. I can sit at a blackjack table with a bunch of jerks and grind out a win using perfect strategy. Or I can sit at a Criss Cross table and hope for the Kh on the middle space. If I wanted to MAKE money, I'd go to work instead of the casino. Come on! King! King! King!

Wizard rates the element of risk at 1.48%.
My grandfather used to design games, in his spare time. This was in the 40s/50s/60s; he was always looking for the next Monopoly, or Parcheesi, or whatever parlor game was the big hit of the day. He would sketch out the rules, he would cut cards out of heavy stock using an X-acto knife, he cut game pieces out of balsawood, and designed and printed boards. And he would get them patented, and send them off to Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley, and anyone else. He was especially proud of a game called Checkadice, which involved using checkers and dice.
The problem wasn't that his games weren't intricate, or strategic. the problem was that they weren't any fun to play. As kids we used to moan about going to his house because we'd get shown the latest game, and have it tested on us. And god help us when the Checkadice cup came out of the closet.
As a carnival game player, I appreciate more than most the information at WoO; I go to the tables with my eyes open. I understand: if you crave variance, it will cost you. I can sit at a blackjack table with a bunch of jerks and grind out a win using perfect strategy. Or I can sit at a Criss Cross table and hope for the Kh on the middle space. If I wanted to MAKE money, I'd go to work instead of the casino. Come on! King! King! King!

Haha, good story. I can can certainly appreciate that.
As far as EOR goes... I can create a game with a HA of %400, but make the average bet high enough to lower the EOR to virtually anything I want (yes this is a ridiculous example). EOR has been explicitly stated to not be a fair determiner of how a game will perform.
The numbers on the game are virtually identical to Miss Stud, and in my opinion, isnt the game simply Miss stud x2 with a five card community bonus? I personally think so.
I agree with you on trying to get lucky and win big, but you said it yourself in your story that you had to reach into your pocket twice rather quickly. It bothers me to think about the fact that to sit at a $10 table and buy in for $100, there is a chance you will have to drop another hundred to complete that FIRST hand (although you would either be pushing or winning in this case.)
I am personally not a fan of a game where the average bet is in the vicinity of 5 units. Again as always this is just my personal opinion. And keep in mind also, I used to be a fan of Miss Stud at first. Until I started loosing hundreds in a matter of 4-5 hands.

Haha, good story. I can can certainly appreciate that.
The numbers on the game are virtually identical to Miss Stud, and in my opinion, isnt the game simply Miss stud x2 with a five card community bonus? I personally think so.

Pretty close in concept, but the playout is different and more interesting.

Wizard Of Odds Criss Cross Poker

I agree with you on trying to get lucky and win big, but you said it yourself in your story that you had to reach into your pocket twice rather quickly. It bothers me to think about the fact that to sit at a $10 table and buy in for $100, there is a chance you will have to drop another hundred to complete that FIRST hand (although you would either be pushing or winning in this case.)
I am personally not a fan of a game where the average bet is in the vicinity of 5 units. Again as always this is just my personal opinion. And keep in mind also, I used to be a fan of Miss Stud at first. Until I started loosing hundreds in a matter of 4-5 hands.

Yeah, I did the double reach. But my initial intent was to only play a couple hands. But but you are correct, the number of units at risk is rough. The way the game plays out, on a fair number of hands you win back a partial. Not being a math guy, I don't have the numbers. As a player, it equates to 'I only lost $20 on that one.'

The house edge on these games, IMO, is a waste of discussion.

Every single table games person will tell you that that statement is ridiculous. Hit rate/HA are incredibly important for the longevity of a game. Again, Im not saying the game isn't fun, for at least a little while. The longer you play, the more likely you are to eventually feel those effects.
I don't mean this to sound as if I am taking shots at you because I do value your opinion as a player. But I think that statement about HA is absurd.

Yeah, I did the double reach. But my initial intent was to only play a couple hands. But but you are correct, the number of units at risk is rough. The way the game plays out, on a fair number of hands you win back a partial. Not being a math guy, I don't have the numbers. As a player, it equates to 'I only lost $20 on that one.'

It has a 25% hit rate, you aren't winning partials that often ;) lol
In the end can one person get lucky and hit a huge hand? of course he can. Can someone sit down at virtually any game on the market and get lucky and win big? of course they can. That isnt the point I am attempting to make.

Wizard Of Odds Criss Cross

But again this is all coming from me and the game is getting installs, only time will tell the fate of the game.

Criss Cross Poker Table Layout

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