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QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO PLAY THE LOTTERY HOLD ‘EM GAME
Questions about the Hold ‘Em Poker® games on the ticket. A: In each Hold ‘Em game, the object is to have a 5-card poker hand that is better than the opponent's 5-card poker hand in that game, in order to win the PRIZE shown for the game. Q: Can I decide which five cards to use in my hand or the opponent’s hand? A: There will be one and only one possible BEST 5-card hand for YOU and one
and only one BEST 5-card hand for the OPPONENT. There are no decisions involved
in the game. You just reveal the cards and determine which cards make the best
possible hand for you and for the opponent to determine if you have won the
prize. A: In each game, you look at a total of seven cards - "YOUR 2 CARDS" plus the 5 "COMMUNITY CARDS" - to find the five cards that will make YOUR best possible 5-card poker hand. The OPPONENT'S best 5-card poker hand is determined by looking at the "OPPONENT'S 2 CARDS" and the same 5 "COMMUNITY CARDS" that were used by you. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO US BOTH OF THE CARDS UNDERNEATH “YOUR CARDS” NOR DOES THE OPPONENT HAVE TO USE BOTH CARDS UNDERNEATH “THEIR CARDS”, ONE CARD WITH OUR COMMUNITY CARDS IS ALLOWABLE WHEN MAKING THE BEST 5-CARD POKER HAND. On the back of the Hold ‘Em ticket there is a chart that ranks all of the possible poker hands that you will find in the Hold ‘Em game, with examples of what those hands could look like. For example, the best 5-card poker hand you can make with YOUR 2 CARDS and the 5 COMMUNITY CARDS might be a STRAIGHT, that is, any five cards that can be ranked in consecutive order and that are not all the same suit. In addition to the example shown on the ticket, some other STRAIGHTS would be (9 – 10 – J – Q – K) or (3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7), as long as at least one of the cards in the series was a different suit than the others. With a STRAIGHT, YOUR hand will beat any OPPONENT'S hand that is less than a STRAIGHT, those hands being any THREE OF A KIND, TWO PAIR and ONE PAIR. In those cases you win the prize shown for that game. But if the OPPONENT'S hand is FLUSH, FULL HOUSE, FOUR OF A KIND, STRAIGHT FLUSH or ROYAL FLUSH, any of those beats YOUR STRAIGHT and the game is lost. Q: Who wins if my hand and the opponent’s hand are the same? A: The hands will never be the same in this game – one hand will always
be higher than the other. For hands that depend on the VALUE of the cards,
you will need to understand that the value ranking of the cards from highest
(Ace) to lowest (2) is Ace (A), King (K), Queen (Q), Jack (J), 10, 9, 8, 7,
6, 5, 4, 3 and 2. So, for example, if YOUR best 5-card poker hand includes
only ONE PAIR, two Jacks, and your OPPONENT'S best 5-card poker hand also includes
only ONE PAIR, two 7s, YOU would win because the Jacks are ranked higher than
the 7s. A: To recognize a FLUSH or STRAIGHT FLUSH hand, you will need to mindful of the suits of the cards. There are four suits: HEARTS, DIAMONDS, CLUBS or SPADES. A FLUSH or STRAIGHT FLUSH requires that all five cards be of the same suit.
A: As one old saying goes: "The cards speak for themselves." For example, if the OPPONENT'S best 5-card hand is a FULL HOUSE, and your best 5-card hand is TWO PAIR, you cannot use the other two cards available to the OPPONENT to “take away” the FULL HOUSE and claim a lower valued hand for the OPPONENT than YOUR HAND. Q: What if the cards in my hand are not in the correct position? A: There is no "correct position" for your cards to be in. For example, if your best 5-card hand is THREE OF KIND, three 6s, the first 6 could be the second of YOUR 2 CARDS, the second six could be the third of the five COMMUNITY CARDS and the third six could be the fifth of the five COMMUNITY CARDS. Q: What if the cards in my hand or my opponent’s hand are different from the ones in the examples on the ticket? A: The cards shown in the RANKING OF POKER HANDS table are just examples - YOUR hand and the OPPONENT'S hand can be, and most of the time WILL be, different hands than the ones shown in the examples. Also, the cards in the Hold 'Em play area do not have to match the exact position of the cards as shown in the RANKING OF POKER HANDS table on the back of the ticket. They just have to be the best 5-card combination you can make for YOUR hand and the OPPONENT'S hand. The example hand for TWO PAIR on the back of the ticket shows two eights and two Jacks making up the TWO PAIR, in this sequence: 8 – 8 – J – J - ?. You could have the same exact best 5-card poker hand on your ticket with the cards NOT in sequence, like J – ? – 8 – J – 8. Another example: let’s say when you reveal YOUR 2 CARDS and the 5 COMMUNITY CARDS, you see these seven cards: 5 – 7 – Q – 3 – 6 – J – 4. Assuming that the suits are not all the same, you will use the 5 – 7 – 3 – 6 – 4 to make your BEST 5-card poker hand, because those five cards make a STRAIGHT (3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7). Q: What is the meaning of the question mark (“?”) on some cards in the example hands? A: In some of the RANKING OF POKER HANDS examples that are shown on the back of the Hold ‘Em Poker® ticket (THREE OF A KIND, TWO PAIR, ONE PAIR), a question mark (“?”) is used in place of an actual card. The question mark indicates that no other card available to you in the game from the combination of YOUR 2 CARDS and the 5 COMMUNITY CARDS can improve the best 5-card poker hand in this game, so it can be any card. In a real game of Hold ‘Em Poker®, those other cards could come into play against an OPPONENT with a similar hand, but in the instant lottery version of the game, YOU and the OPPONENT will never have such similar hands. Q: Is the Hold ‘Em Match Game on the bottom of the ticket the same as other Mass Lottery number games that I am familiar with playing? A: The Hold ‘Em Match Game plays like a typical Mass Lottery number match game - with one very important difference. Be mindful of a game in which you reveal the WPT™ card symbol, with the words “PRIZE” and “PRIZE PACK” under it. That’s a PRIZE PACK winner. If your ticket wins a PRIZE PACK, then claiming that prize could be your first step to the $10,000,000 Bonus Tournament Grand Prize. From all winners of PRIZE PACKs, the Lottery will randomly select 560 people to participate in the Grand Prize drawing event. Cash prizes ranging from $2,000 to the $10,000,000 Grand Prize will be awarded to those 560 participants. But to have a chance to become one of the 560 drawing participants, you must claim your PRIZE PACK prize, following the directions on the ticket and elsewhere at this web site. And, while the drawing event might sound like the kind of big money poker tournaments that are regularly on TV, you should know that all winners in the Grand Prize “Tournament” will be determined by random drawings, so no absolutely no poker skill or any other skill will be required to win. Q: Do I win if the 5 COMMUNITY CARDS have a winning poker hand, like THREE OF A KIND? A: The fact that there might be ranked poker hands included in the 5 COMMUNITY CARDS does not determine whether or not the game is a winner, because three or four of the COMMUNITY CARDS are used to make the best 5-card hands for you and the opponent. It's the best 5-card hand that wins. In real poker, it is possible for the 5 COMMUNITY CARDS to be the best 5-card poker hand. But in the lottery version of the game, the 5 COMMUNITY CARDS will never be the best 5-card poker hand. You will always have to use one or both of YOUR CARDS and one or both of the two OPPONENT’S CARDS to determine the best 5-card poker hands for you and your opponent. Q: What can I do if I think I have a winning hand but the store clerk tells me it is not a winner, or says I won less than I think I am entitled to? A: If you have a dispute over a prize amount with a sales agent, you should call the Mass Lottery at 781-849-5564 or 1-781-849-5590 for assistance. Q: I have tried but I just don’t seem to understand how the poker game works. What can I do? A: The poker game can take some time to understand, if a player is not familiar with the rules of poker. The Lottery has made special provisions for players who need assistance, like the e-mail system at the Player Information Center website and special telephone hotlines, to help players get answers to the questions they may have about the game. As with all Lottery instant games, it is always possible for you to take your ticket to a Lottery sales agent to have it validated and learn whether the ticket is a winner. Back to the top
A: Whenever the BONUS NUMBER matches any of YOUR NUMBERS, you win all 15 prize amounts on the ticket.
A: The prize packs are all valued at just under $600. Q: I don’t have the brochure with the special envelope to make my selection of prize pack. What should I do? A: Merchandise prize pack winners who do not have an official envelope to use to make their choices known can go to the PRIZE PACK CLAIM INFO page at this website and find an on-line form to use to indicate their choices. After it is filled out, the winner can print out the form and include it in any envelope with whatever else is necessary to claim the prize.
A: Each of the regular drawings will be limited to 123 entries that have not been in a previous drawing. However, it is possible that entries not selected in these drawings may be reentered into one final drawing. To have 560 drawings with 123 entries eligible for each, players will have had to claim a total of 68,880 prize packs. If fewer prize packs have been claimed when the Lottery announces the end of game sales, the Lottery will conduct one final drawing to select entries to fill any remaining tournament seats from among all prize pack winners that were not selected in the previous drawings. Q: How do I get an entry into the drawing? A: All players who win and claim a PRIZE PACK prize in the Hold ‘Em Match Game are automatically entered into the drawing. For every 123 prize pack claims, a drawing is conducted and one participant is selected from that group of 123 entries. Each of those drawings will only include 123 entries that have not been in a previous drawing. Q: When will the drawings be held? A: The Lottery will conduct a drawing for every 123 prize pack claims that are received by the Lottery. There is no regular schedule for the drawings, because the drawings are determined by the number of prize packs that are claimed. Q: Can I be selected as a tournament participant more than one time? A: Yes. You get one entry into one of the participant drawings for every prize pack claim you have submitted. If you are lucky enough to win more than one prize pack, each claim will earn you an entry into one of the drawings, where you have a 1 in 123 chance of being selected, assuming that the entries are not in the same drawing. Only one participant is selected in each drawing, except for the possible final drawing described in the answer above. Q: How can I keep track of how many tournament participants have been selected? A: Just go to the TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS page at this website to see the latest tally of participants who have been selected. Q: How will I know that a drawing has taken place? A: If you have been selected in the drawing, you will be contacted by the Lottery. If you have not been selected in the drawing, you can find out by checking the TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS page. Every name that is added to the list represents another participant drawing that has taken place. Back to the top |
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