Dear Mark: My
husband is critical of my video poker play,
so much so that I hate sitting next to him.
He keeps saying, “well, if you held this
instead of that, you would have gotten a
better hand.” I strictly play each hand
using a printed cheat sheet based on the
perfect strategy for that game, but he
believes I should deviate my play. Help.
Carol R.
Each hand dealt has what’s called
an “expected value,” which is the average
value of all the wins attainable after the
discards are replaced, assuming that the
optimum cards are retained (per your cheat
sheet) and that each possible draw occurs.
You are playing correctly, Carol, in that
you must hold the combination of cards with
the highest expected value, because those
are the cards that will win you the most
money over the long haul, not your spouse’s
suggestions screeched in your ear.
Your husband seems to think that if you are
holding, say, three Jacks, and you correctly
discard a Queen and King, and then you draw
and receive another Queen, in that case, had
you held the Queen, possibly you could have
gotten a full house.
The correct strategy is to hold only the
Jacks, since you, me, and especially he,
each and all of us hasn’t a clue as to what
cards will be drawn from the deck to replace
what you just discarded.
As for the squabbling amongst spouses, my B-
in Psychology 101 hardly qualifies me for
further comment. (Some casinos do sell
earplugs.)
Dear Mark: A friend of mine claimed he was
dead broke walking out of a casino and
played $1 on a crap game and within a minute
had almost a $1,000. I think he’s full of
it. Is his claim possible? Dan D.
Absolutely, Dan, and it can be done
with just two rolls of the dice.
I’m guessing here, but I figure he put a
dollar on the two or twelve, hit for $30,
and then he let the $30 ride for a $900
payday.
Long odds, yes, but I’ve seen a lot crazier
things happen on a crap game than
back-to-back snake eyes.
Dear Mark: I have always wondered how the
newspaper where I live can give an accurate
figure as to the payout percentages of slot
machines. Am I to trust those figures? Kerry
A.
There is no reason not to, Kerry.
Payback percentage numbers on slot machines
come from your state’s (Nevada) Gaming
Commission. Those figures are the amount
paid out by the areas casinos, divided by
the money wagered, and then multiplied by
100.
To simplify, let’s say area casinos paid out
$10,000 in jackpots, but patrons wagered
$11,000 to win that 10 grand. Divide $10,000
by $11,000, multiply by 100, and you get a
figure of a 91% payout percentage on your
local slots.
Dear Mark: I read somewhere that if you bet
the Banker hand in Baccarat you win more
hands than you lose. Why would the casino
offer a wager where you have an advantage
over the house? Paul D.
“Read somewhere” might have been
here, Paul, but I also stated that even
though the Banker hand does win 50.68
percent of hands, excluding ties, the house
collects a five percent commission on all
winning bets.
Nevertheless, even with a five percent
commission, the Banker hand is one of the
best bets in the casino, with a house edge
of only 1.17%, thus, keep that wager in your
arsenal.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week:
"In a metaphorical sense, the host
is the snake in the Garden of Eden. His job
is to talk Adam into taking a bite from the
forbidden fruit from the Tree of Good and
Bad Bets." Whale Hunt in the Desert by Deke
Castleman
