We publish a brand-new video poker article from Bob Dancer every Thursday in this section. These columns are called "Dancer's Answers". Click on any of the links below for more Dancer's Answers:
This article is a continuation of last week’s, and both ran as one unit in March 2000 Casino Player.
Is there a strong reason to move up NOW? --- For me this has always been a big part of it. I have only moved up when I found some promotion at some casino that is just giving away the store. I first played for dollars when the Four Queens and Rio had promotions where I could earn about $40 per hour. To somebody used to playing for quarters, this was a BIG PROMOTION. I first moved up to five dollars when the Frontier installed 101% Loose Deuces machines and the Desert Inn offered 1% cashback on their $5 9/6 Jacks or Better machines. I first played $25 3-coin machines when Bally's had 100.5% Double Bonus games with a .2% cash club. I first played $10 machines regularly when the Mirage eliminated half their slot club cashback on lesser machines and the Mirage promotions were otherwise too lucrative to pass up. And I first moved up to $25 5-coin machines when the Mirage eliminated half the cashback on the $10 machines too. These particular machines and promotions won't be returning in exactly the same way, but there will be other comparable opportunities.
My philosophy has been that if there isn't a good reason to move up in stakes, don't do it. Because for many people, once they move up they cannot move down again. For these people, once they get used to playing for dollars, the thrill just isn't there when they play for quarters.
Also keep in mind that, in Las Vegas at least, it is EASIER to win for quarters than it is to win for dollars. 100.76% Deuces Wild is widely available for quarters here but virtually non-existent for dollars. The most prevalent game for dollars here is 100.17% Double Bonus. It returns a lot less and is MUCH more difficult.
How well do you get along with the IRS? --- The IRS enters your life to a much larger degree as you increase in stakes. We have neighbors who are retired and in a comfortable financial position but insist upon playing for quarters because they want to avoid all tax records of what they are doing. They prefer to play for $8 an hour for quarters than $20 an hour for dollars for this very reason. I don't know any exact details of their finances at all, but I suspect they have the financial bankroll to play $25 games. It will never happen. They are quite content where they are.
The IRS comes in more and more as you increase your stakes. Obviously, hitting a dollar royal for $4,000 generates a tax form but royals don't come along very often. For each royal cycle of 40,000 hands you get one $4,000 W2G.
When you move up to $5, assuming you are playing Jacks or Better, that same royal cycle will generate about 4 straight flushes (worth $1,250 each) to go along with the royal. That generates $25,000 worth of W2Gs. Nothing surprising here.
If you move up to $10, however, now the tax forms take a huge leap forward. In addition to the $40,000 royal and the four $2,500 straight flushes you also get 94 quads worth $1,250 each. This adds up to $167,500 in W2Gs per cycle. This is quite a jump from the $25,000 in tax forms you got as a $5 player. It is possible to convince the IRS that even though you got $25,000 in W2Gs over the year that you are just a casual player. Try having that same conversation when you have $167,500 in tax forms.
And these numbers are for Jacks or Better. $5 and higher Bonus Poker and Double Bonus generate a lot more tax forms simply because the size of the quads is larger. You get a larger total of W2Gs for a cycle of $5 Double Bonus than you do for a cycle of $10 Jacks or Better.
How well do you play? --- It seems pretty basic, but have you been winning at the stakes you are playing? It is one thing to read a magazine article written by somebody who says HE is a winner at video poker and being a winner yourself. If you are not winning, why move up? You'll just lose more.
And I don't mean one winning trip. Those happen even to terrible players sometimes. I mean winning over the last 100 or more hours you have played. Another way to check this is on your computer. Using Bob Dancer Presents WinPoker, you can get a session "Percent Correct" rating. For me personally, if I cannot play for at least an hour on a game with 100% accuracy, then I am not ready to play it for any stakes at all. For recreational players this goal is much too lofty. But you should probably insist for yourself that you play at the 99% or higher level before you go up in stakes.
How sure are you of the payback of the machine? --- An easily understood analogy is that before you can drive fast safely you need to know you have good brakes. I trust IGT, Bally, CDS, Silicon Gaming and a few other manufacturers. I will play for big stakes on their machines. But there are machines in some parts of this country manufactured by companies I have never heard of. Some states have machines that I KNOW have casino-controlled dip switches in the back of them but cannot tell you the manufacturer's name because I don't want the hassle of a lawsuit. You won't find these gaffed machines in Nevada, Mississippi, New Jersey or other states with strong regulatory bodies, but you will find them in certain other states.
Do you have the bankroll for multi-play machines? The bankroll required for quarter Triple Play is intermediate in size between single play quarter machines and single play dollar machines. Probably between five and nine royals is an appropriate bankroll for Triple Play machines and between seven and eleven royals is an appropriate bankroll for Five Play. But these amounts assume you are playing 10-7 Double Bonus close to perfectly with a slot club. Playing Deuces Wild or Double Double Bonus or any game other than 10-7 Double Bonus means you are playing a game where the house has an advantage and you will end up going through any bankroll.
Can you handle the amenities that come along with the higher stakes? --- I personally found my belt leather shrinking when I was regularly entitled to gourmet meals seven days a week. This sounds like a nice problem to have, but it doesn't look that way from here.
That's it for this month. Until next time, go out and hit a royal flush.
Bob Dancer is America's best-known video poker writer and teacher. He has a variety of "how to play better video poker" products, including the software "Video Poker for Winners," Winner's Guides, strategy cards, his autobiography Million Dollar Video Poker, and his two novels, including Sex, Lies, and Video Poker. Dancer's products may be ordered at www.bobdancer.comor by telephone at 1-800-244-2224 M-F 9-5 Pacific Time.
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