Cash out, then clear out
19 October 2007
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark: So I sit down at a bank of video
poker machines and quickly hit a four-of-a-kind
for $800. Every bone in my body says I should
move to the next machine if I want to keep
playing, but I know your counsel is that it
won't matter as far as the odds go. Are all
video poker and slot machines hooked together in
every casino? Does it ever make sense to move on
after a decent win? I want you to say yes, move
on, but what do the odds say? Dick D.
You are spot on, Dick, in that "it won't matter
as far as the odds go," so long as the paytables
at adjacent machines are the same, and as I've
stated far too often in this column, random is
random. Those millions of outcomes created by a
random number generator that map into any set of
cards ensure that each hand and game outcome is
completely random, and no amount of seat
stratagem is going to change that one iota.
As for "are video poker and slot machines hooked
together," yes, they can be, but they are hooked
together to create progressive jackpots; still,
each electronic machine within that network
plays independently.
Using Megabucks as an example, although you are
playing an individual machine, you are hooked up
to a statewide network of progressive slot
carousels linked together to produce those
prodigious payouts.
A small computer chip in each machine monitors
every coin played and communicates that
information electronically to a mainframe
computer at IGT's headquarters. The central
computer keeps track of every Megabucks slot and
maintains a constant tally of the jackpot. Then
the computer projects the ever-changing jackpot
total to all Megabuck units where it is
displayed on the digital tote board.
By the way, Dick, to grow any progressive, a
portion of each bet made funds the winning
jackpot. The rate at which the meters progress
upwards is based on a pre-set percentage of all
the money cycled through the machine. The meter
rates will vary from machine to machine, and
casino to casino. If you are playing an
individual progressive, expect an advance rate
of 5 to 10 percent of the money played. Example:
When a dollar is wagered, the jackpot goes up
10¢. Machines that are tied together, like a
bank (carousel), as well as networked slots like
Megabucks, involve a much lower progressive
rate. In return, you are provided the hope for a
life-changing jumbo jackpot.
For video poker, it's usually the payout of the
Royal Flush that rises. Here several machines at
a carousel are linked together so that each bet
at any of them increases the jackpot. On your
typical video poker machine, the meters rise on
the average between 0.25 and 2.0 percent, with
one percent being the industry average.
The final part of your question, "Does it ever
make sense to move on after a decent win?" gets
an affirmative aye. You move on by cashing out
that $800 you won from that four-of-a-kind and
moseying out the front door.
Dear Mark: What are your thoughts about the
bonus of getting paid two to one for a same
colored blackjack? By adding this rule is it a
player advantage or disadvantage? Dale G.
You might be slightly confused, Dale, as your
question should have been about a suited
blackjack, meaning of the same suit (Ace and
Queen of spades), not a blackjack of merely the
same color (such as Ace of spades, Queen of
clubs).
Ordinarily a blackjack pays 3:2 (win $15 for a
$10 bet) whereas a suited blackjack pays 2:1
(win $20 for a $10 bet). All other rules being
equal, when a suited 2:1 blackjack is offered,
it's a positive to the player of .57%.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week:
"Poker is generally reckoned to be America's
second most popular after-dark activity. Sex is
good, they say, but poker lasts longer," Alfred
Alvarez.
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