How to Play Pacific Poker Hold’em Lottery in Canada?

Pacific Hold’Em Poker is a Texas Hold’em poker-themed monitor lottery scheme.  It is a lottery game that can be played online at PlayNow.com daily with the first draw starting at 11:02 a.m. and ending with the last draw at 2:02 a.m. This game costs $2 a ticket with two cards. Five community cards are drawn every 6 minutes. Combine these community cards with the two cards you see on your ticket. If the hand you make is better than the best hand at the table as shown in the game display, then you win!

Each ticket holder tries to achieve the best five-card poker hand using a ticket that they purchase. This ticket has two cards on it (the “Pocket Cards”).  Five cards (the “Community Cards”) are revealed on the display monitor. The Community Cards, together with the ticket holder’s two Pocket Cards are the seven available cards from which the best possible five-card poker hand is determined.  The ticket holder is playing against on-screen opponents and other ticket holders across the province.

Each ticket will display one of 630 possible pairs of Pocket Cards. The 630 possibilities for each draw will repeat once all have been sold.

How to play Pacific Poker hold’em lottery in Canada?

The process of play is simple. You need to join Play Now.com and get yourself registered as a new player.

Once done go to the lottery tab given at the home page of the online site.

You can also play this lottery at the retailer.

Get the game selection slip or request a Pacific Hold’em poker ticket and pay the authorized retailer or BCLC, where applicable, for a $2 wager for each ticket per draw.  The maximum amount that can be wagered per ticket including Raise(s) is $10.

A wager can be raised to increase the total bet amount to $4, $6, $8, or $10. If a ticket holder wins, each $2 raise gives the ticket holder an extra share of the winning Prize.  A wager is raised by paying the authorized retailer, through the use of the SST where available, or BCLC where applicable before the start of that draw.

Note that for a ticket raised at an authorized retailer, once a wager is raised, the original ticket is void and a new ticket indicating the raise amount is issued. For a ticket raised through the use of the SST, once the wager is raised, the original ticket is retained by the SST and a new ticket indicating the raised amount is issued by the SST.  For a ticket raised on the PlayNow website, once a wager is raised, the ticket display will reflect the raised amount.

Consecutive draws can be played by marking the appropriate number of consecutive draws and paying the appropriate amount. The maximum limit per selection slip (five hands X five draws X $2 price) can not exceed $50.  Where available, tickets can also be purchased from Self-Service Terminals (“SST”) and the PlayNow website. Additional copies of tickets can not be printed by the Lottery terminal for this game.

To win thus get a 2-card hand for just $2, and then combine those cards with the 5 shared community cards to create your best possible 5-card poker hand.

When playing online select how many $2 tickets you want to play per draw (1-5). Choose how many consecutive draws you want to play (1-5). Click “Buy”. Your tickets will appear below the show.

Each $2 ticket purchased will be shown as a separate ticket. You will find your tickets for 3 previous draws below the game display. To view all past tickets, go to ‘My Account’ in your PlayNow.com account.

Each $2 raise gives you a chance to win an extra share of the prize pot. To raise your bet, decide which ticket you want to raise and click “Raise”. You can raise your bet any time before the draw starts to a maximum of $10.

Raise your bet and you could win more money! If your best five-card hand Beats the Table (beats all four opponents’ hands on the screen), you win a share of the jackpot for every $2 you bet. If no ticket holder Beats the Table, all the ticket holders with the next best hand win or share the jackpot for every $2 they bet. The number of players participating in a particular draw will determine the amount of that prize pot. A tie is considered a loss.

The draw of Pacific Holdem Poker

Draws occur daily at regular intervals determined by BCLC commencing on or after 4:09 a.m. and ending no later than 4:08 a.m. Pacific Time (the “Draw Day”). Should a draw not occur for any reason at the scheduled draw time, that draw will be conducted at the next available draw time. Each draw is assigned a draw number. Tickets qualify only for the draw with the same draw number(s) set out on the ticket.

Game draws occur from all available cards from a standard deck of playing cards. After the sales cut-off time for each draw, BCLC will cause two cards to be dealt to each of four on-screen opponents (the “On-screen Opponents”) and face down to a placeholder spot  (which symbolizes a ticket holder’s Pocket Cards) at the poker table as displayed on the monitor. The first three Community Cards (the “Flop”) will then be dealt with and revealed in the centre of the poker table.  After the Flop the fourth card (the “Turn”) and the fifth card (the “River”) will be dealt.  Before each of the Flop, Turn and River cards, another card is dealt from the top of the deck, is discarded and remains face-down on the table (a “Burn Card”).

A winner is determined by making the best hand using at least one of the Pocket Cards.  At least one Pocket Card must be used except in the case of the Prize B category.

The winning selections in Pacific Hold’em Poker are divided into three sections:

Prize “A” – Beat the Table

The prize pool is shared evenly amongst all ticket holders who qualify by beating the top on-screen opponent hand by using at least one of the Pocket Cards on the ticket in combination with the Community Cards. A tie with the on-screen opponent is deemed a loss.

Prize “B”  – If no Prize A

A prize that is awarded only if no Prize A is awarded. If there is no Prize A winner, the prize pool from Prize A is carried over to Prize B and awarded to the ticket holder with the top overall hand in the Province. If there is a tie amongst ticket holders, the prize pool is split evenly between all who qualify. To qualify for this Prize, ticket holders are not always required to use their pocket cards to form the top overall hand in the Province.

Prize “C” – Bad Beat Progressive Jackpot

A separate jackpot (a progressive jackpot that continues to grow until it’s won) is awarded in the case where the ticket holder’s best five-card hand did not beat the top on-screen opponent’s hand but meets all of the following criteria :

1. The hand is either a “Straight Flush” or “Four of a Kind”. This means the ticket holder must have one of these hands and also must not have beaten the top on-screen opponent’s hand.
2. The ticket holder must use their best possible five-card hand and may not opt for a lower hand to win the Bad Beat
3. The ticket holder’s hand must be stronger than a hand comprised of the five Community Cards alone
4. A ticket holder’s Pocket Card cannot be used to make their best five-card hand in place of an equivalent card from the Community Cards when trying to qualify for a Bad Beat
5. The ticket holder’s hand must contain at least one of their Pocket Cards (and the top on-screen opponent’s best five-card hand must also contain at least one of this opponent’s Pocket Cards.)

The best Bad Beat hand will be awarded Prize C from amongst the ticket holders that meet the criteria. In the event of a tie, the ticket holders will share the jackpot. The Bad Beat Progressive Jackpot prize will be split by the number of winning shares with each share receiving an equal portion of the total jackpot.

It is possible to win both Prize “B” and the Bad Beat Progressive Jackpot prize on the same hand.  It is not possible to win both Prize “A” and the Bad Beat Progressive Jackpot prize on the same hand.

You could win the Bad Beat prize if:

• You have a Straight Flush or 4-of-a-kind and you also did not beat the top opponent’s hand.
• You must use your best possible five-card hand and it must be stronger than just the five community cards alone (your pocket card cannot be used to create your best five-card hand in place of the equivalent card from the community cards).
• Your hand must contain at least one of your pocket cards (from your ticket) and the top opponent’s best five-card hand must also contain at least one of the opponent’s pocket cards.
• Also, if multiple players’ hands qualify, only the best Bad Beat hand will be awarded the prize. In the event of a tie, the jackpot is shared.
• The Bad Beat prize, if won, is split equally by the number of winning shares of the total jackpot.