Dear Mark: Is there any point when the
player actually has an edge in video poker
over the house? Vic D.
There
is, Vic, but you’ll need to master this
combination. Play on a full pay machine, use
an optimal playing strategy against that
select machine, play progressives over a
certain amount, and take full advantage of
the goodies casinos give away.
Full pay machines are machines that pay out
more for certain winning hands than do other
comparable ones. For instance, a full pay
jacks-or-better machine pays (per coin
inserted) 9 coins for a full house and 6
coins for a flush. This payout is better
than what you get from a machine that pays
only 8 coins for a full house and 5 coins
for a flush, and is far superior to some
paytables that you’ll find out there today
that pay only 6 coins for a full house and 5
coins for a flush.
You’ll also need to learn an optimal playing
strategy for the type of machine that you
are playing on. What I mean by optimal
playing strategy is that you must learn
which cards to hold and which ones to
discard.
A marriage of both, Vic, playing on full pay
machines and using an optimal playing
strategy, will get you pretty close to you
that edge that you’re looking for in video
poker.
Then pile on the advantage you take of
casino comps. For example, a video poker
player playing a 9/6 machine and using
optimal strategy can expect a 99.5% return.
By getting cash back for your play by using
your Player’s Club Card, it's very possible
for the overall return to exceed 100%.
One other possibility is playing on a
progressive machine where the jackpot
exceeds a certain amount, which creates the
opportunity -- that is, if you hit the
jackpot -- to have a payback that is
temporarily over 100%.
For example, on a one-dollar jacks-or-better
8/5 progressive machine, the break-even
point would be a jackpot of $8,800. When the
jackpot exceeds that amount, there’s your
edge. On a quarter jacks-or-better 8/5
progressive machine, look for a jackpot over
$2,200. Again, factored in, is your chance
of hitting the royal.
Dear Mark: Every time I get ahead on a crap
game, I end up giving it all back. It’s
tough for me to walk away from a hot game. I
get all caught up in the frenzy of the game,
and then all of a sudden, it’s all gone.
Help! Kenny J.
Fortunes in craps are won when the dice are
hot, lost when they go cold. You just keep
forgetting to leave when the dice begin to
chill.
Besides making the wisest bets on the
layout, successful gamblers buck this memory
loss by setting loss limits and win goals.
You can only end your playing session a
winner by walking when ahead. Sticking
around when your karma is fishtailing, as
you seem to do, is what gets me this e-mail.
From this moment forward, Kenny, pledge to
set loss limits and win goals for yourself.
For example, if you bought in for $200 and
your win goal is doubling your buy-in, say
adieu to the table when you hit it. Or, if
you bought in for $200, and the gambling
gods have allowed you to win $500, set aside
the $200 buy-in, plus your $200 profit, and
play with the remain $100. When it’s gone,
Kenny’s gone.
Oh, one more thing. You are making the best
bets (pass line, odds, placing the 6 and 8)
on the layout, right? Oh … you didn’t know
there’d be a quiz?
Gambling Wisdom of the Week:
Piker (PY-kur) noun: A stingy person, a
cautious gambler, or one who does things in
a small way. --Wordsmith.com
