Intro
DJ Wild Stud Poker is a table game, similar to games like Mississippi Stud Poker, played at a sparse number of casinos in the United States and Great Britain.
It is a rare variation of table poker. However, DJ Wild is a very fun variation because it adds wildcards to the game, increasing the possibility of very strong Poker hands leading to stronger payouts.
How to Play DJ Wild Stud Poker?
DJ Wild Stud Poker actually utilizes a different deck from most Poker games. It uses the 54-card Joker variant of the standard Anglo-American deck. One of the Jokers is removed from the deck, leaving a total DJ Wild deck of 53 cards.
Table Layout
The game is designed for 2-8 Players, with each Player having a designated seat at the table. In front of this designated seat are a set of Play-zones, or “boxes” which Players use to place their wagers. These boxes are:
- The Blind
- The Bet
- Trips
The Ante
The Ante, like the Ante in other Table games, is a wager that must be made before Players are dealt their cards.
The Table will have a maximum and minimum wager that is posted on signage around the table. The Player’s Ante must be between these two values, or equal to one of them.
Blind Box
Next to the Ante box is the Blind box. The Blind must be equal to the Ante. The Blind is the wager which the payout table will be based on.
For example, if your Ante is $5, then your Blind is $5. If you win a 100x payout, then you will receive $500 from your blind wager.
Bet Box
Next is the Bet box, which Players use to place their proper betting wager after their cards have been dealt. The Bet must equal 2x the value of the Blind. The Bet Wager and the Ante wager have “even odds” meaning that they payout 1:1 on a victory.
Trips Box
Finally, there is the Trips box, a side-wager Players are able to make. The Trips bet cannot exceed the table’s betting maximum.
The Trips wager is essentially a gamble that a Player will receive a Three-kind or better in their hand. The Trips wager has its own special payout table, explained in the relevant section below.
The Trips wager pays out even if a Player loses against the Dealer.
Fold
In addition, a Player is also able to Fold. If they Fold before putting any other wagers into their boxes, Players only surrender their Ante and Blind without losing any further money.
Gameplay
Once a Player’s Ante and Blind have been wagered, each Player will be dealt 5 cards. From those 5 cards, Players decide if they want to Fold, or Play. If choosing to Play, Players then place 2x their Ante into the Bet box.
Once all Players have settled their wagers, and decided to Fold or Play, the Dealer will reveal their cards and compare them against each Player one by one.
Players receive relevant payouts, lose money where they are not paid out, and then a new game begins with the cards being collected and the Dealer shuffling the deck.
Players place new wagers on their Ante and Blind, and a new hand begins.
Hand Rankings
In DJ Wild, the Joker as well as all 2s are considered Wildcards. They can stand in for any card of any suit or rank in a hand.
For example, a hand of 2♦ 5♣ 6♣ 7♣ 8♣ would be considered a Straight Flush, with the 2 acting as either a 4♣ or a 9♣.
In DJ Wild, it is possible to have a five-card hand composed entirely of Wildcards. This is the best hand in the game, and is worth significantly more than a Royal Flush. This will be further explained, in the Payouts and odds section below.
DJ Wild Rules
A summary of the rules for DJ Wild Stud Poker can be found below.
- The Ante and Blind must both be paid at the start of the game, and must be equivalent to each other.
- The Ante and Bet boxes pay out equal money, while the Trips and Blinds boxes have special payout tables which award money depending on the quality of a Player’s five-card Poker hand.
- Players are free to fold without putting money into the Bet or Trips box, but to be dealt cards Players must place money into Ante and Blind boxes first.
- Unlike in other table-poker games, there is no qualification mechanic for the Dealer. If the Dealer has junk, they must play with it.
Payouts & Odds
Blinds Payout
Below is the normal payout table for the Blinds box. Players are only paid out the winnings from this table if their five-card Poker hand is stronger than the Dealer’s five-card hand.
The multiples from this table are based on the value of money in the Blinds box after a Player has won their hand against the Dealer.
| Meld | Payout |
|---|---|
| Five Wilds (Joker, 2,2,2,2) | 1000x |
| Royal Flush | 50x |
| Five-Kind | 10x |
| Straight-Flush | 9x |
| Four-Kind | 4x |
| Full House | 3x |
| Flush | 2x |
| Straight | 1x |
| Three-Kind | Push |
Players do not lose their Blind bets unless they fold or lose against the Dealer. If a Player wins, but their hand is a three-kind or less, their blind bet is simply pushed, or returned to them.
Trips Payouts
The following table is the Trips payout table, which is somewhat more complicated.
Remember, that the Trips table always pays out if a Player has trips or better, even if they lose against the Dealer. The Trips table distinguishes between Natural and Wild Melds.
Natural melds contain no wild cards, while Wild melds contain at least one.
| Meld (Natural) | Payout | Meld (Wild) | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 1000x | Five Wilds | 2000x |
| Straight Flush | 200x | Royal Flush | 100x |
| Four-Kind | 90x | Five-Kind | 100x |
| Full House | 40x | Straight Flush | 30x |
| Flush | 30x | Four-Kind | 6x |
| Straight | 20x | Full House | 5x |
| Three-Kind | 6x | Flush | 4x |
| Straight | 3x | ||
| Three-Kind | 1x |
The Wild melds have two additional melds impossible to form naturally, the Five-Kind and the Five Wild.
The odds of losing the Trips Bet are about 77-78%, meaning that the Trips Bet is very unlikely to provide any kind of payout whatsoever.
However, when a Player does receive a Trips payout, as shown above, they are liable to receive a significant payment. The Trips, therefore, is a high-risk, high-reward style of wager.
Over the course of a hundred games, it is a very bad idea to Play Trips every time. Remember, you will lose three out of four times playing it. However, on the occasional hand, where you feel very lucky, maybe put some money on trips, you might get lucky.
Example Hand
Imagine the following is your hand in a game of DJ Wild:
J♠ 9♠ 10♠ 5♠ 6♠
Although you weren’t quite lucky enough to get the Straight Flush, a Flush is still a powerful hand in DJ Wild. The Dealer cannot disqualify, which means you are guaranteed to receive a payout from any trips wager.
Assuming you do beat the Dealer, then you would receive a 30x payout from your Trips wager, as well as a 2x payout from your Blind wager. You would also receive a 1:1 payout on your Ante and Bet wagers as well.
Strategy
DJ Wild Poker is a game of luck, as there is very little you can do to actually change the course of the game. However, like all gambling games, DJ Wild is scored using money.
While you cannot alter the course of the hand itself, you can use gambling strategy to try and control the flow of your money.
Learn when to Fold
Folding is the gambling master’s tool of choice, because it is always better to lose two small wagers than it is to lose 4 small wagers.
If you cannot likely win a hand, do not bother wasting money trying in a vain and unlikely attempt to play. Simply fold, and wait for the next hand.
Avoid the Trips Bet
It is impossible to have the cards be in your favor 100% of the time, and this is why the Trip Bet is best avoided overall. You are far more likely to lose the Trips Bet than you are to win it.
Even if you do manage to not lose the Trips Bet, you are more likely to be paid practically nothing for the risk.
The odds of getting a 3-kind on your Trips Bet are about 14%. This means that the odds of losing OR only receiving 1:1 on your Trips bet are 90%. You are only 10% likely to get anything above a 1:1 payout on your trips wager. You are, essentially, throwing away 90% of the money placed on the Trips box.
