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Dancer's Answers 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: Bob Dancer Articles - Main Page Vicksburg Video Poker - May 8, 2008 Vicksburg, MS Video Poker - Part 2 - May 15, 2008 Vicksburg Casino Video Poker - Part 3 - May 22, 2008 Common Deuces Wild Mistakes – Juan or the Other – May 29, 2008 Figuring Out Quick Quads - June 5, 2008 Breaking Full Houses in Quick Quads - June 12, 2008 A Quick Quads Puzzler - June 19, 2008 Let’s Go Scouting - June 26, 2008 When You're Not Sure of the Game - July 3, 2008 Can it be Right to Play Hunches - July 10, 2008 Good Hearted Woman in Love With a Good Timin’ Man - July 17, 2008 One-Way Versus Two-Way Straight Penalties - July 24, 2008 Effectual versus Ineffectual Straight Penalties - July 31, 2008 Unusual Dealt Royals - August 7, 2008 Learning from a Horse Handicapper - August 14, 2008 When Bad Is Good - August 21, 2008 I Live For These Moments - August 28, 2008 Las Vegas Do It Different - September 4, 2008 Figuring the worth when there are Multiple Progressives - September 11, 2008 Which is the Better Play? - September 18, 2008 How Much is Too Much? - September 25, 2008 Evaluating a Promotion - October 2, 2008 Sometimes the Jack, Sometimes Ace-Jack, Never the Ace by Itself - October 9, 2008 Why I Don't Play Poker - October 16, 2008 What is a Royal Flush Cycle? - October 23, 2008 A Logical Puzzler - October 30, 2008 Another Look at Changing Machines - November 6, 2008 Testing Matters - November 13, 2008 Next Dancer's Answers column coming on November 20, 2008! |
The Double Up Feature --- Does It Ever Make Sense? --- Part I of IIThis column, along with next weeks, was originally run as a one-part article in March 1999 Casino Player.
"Double Up" is an optional, built-in feature to most video poker machines. Your friendly slot director can decide whether or not to turn it on, or leave it off. Most casinos have it off on most machines because most players are not interested. Some casinos have it on all the time on a few machines. And most casinos will turn it on for you if you ask. If it is turned on, the player still has an option about whether or not to engage in the doubling behavior. After every win (from 1 coin to 4000), the machine will ask you "Do You Wish To Double Up?" If you press "NO", then the payoff proceeds as normal. If you press "YES", you then get a 50-50 chance at "double or nothing" for the amount of your last win. This bet does not change the expected value of the game. Let's assume you are playing winning video poker. You are playing dollar 10-7 double bonus perfectly with an expected profit of $5 per 600 plays. This will take you about an hour. To be sure, $5 an hour isn't very impressive, but that's the potential of this game without slot club benefits, and you have to play very well to get that much. Another way to say this is that if you are one of the relatively few people who can play winning video poker, avoid the double up feature. It will slow down your rate of winning for no expected benefit. Note that "winning video poker" has nothing at all to do with whether you are up or down TODAY. Today's score is just a small blip on your overall score. Winning video poker consists of identifying a machine where, including slot club and promotions, you have an expected return of greater than 100%, and then playing that machine close enough to perfect. But, let's face it, most video poker players and all slot players are playing a game where the casino has the advantage. Does the double up feature make sense for them? Assume you are playing dollar 8-5 jacks or better. Although it is possible to play this game with a 97.3% return, nobody does. If you know how to play that well, you know enough to look for a game where the odds are better. So let's assume you play at about the 96% level --- which is approximately average. Now playing at 600 hands per hour, your expected loss is $120. Using the double up feature has no effect on your loss, but it does stretch out that hour to an hour and a half. So on an hourly basis, you are losing less. Losing less per hour, means that on average you get to play longer for the same amount of money. If "time on machine" is your measure of value, definitely use the double up feature. You won't win or lose any more, but it will take longer. Remember that playing longer hours on average doesn't mean that you will do this every time. For players with a short bankroll, you will "tap out" much more often by using the double up feature than if you weren't using it. Why? Because the swings are bigger. Bigger swings mean that you need a bigger cushion to withstand them. Short bankroll players do not have this cushion. 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.com or by telephone at 1-800-244-2224 M-F 9-5 Pacific Time.
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Classic Dancer We republish a classic Bob Dancer article every Sunday - often these articles are updated with new insights from Bob Dancer, the master of video poker writing. Video Poker Questions and Answers - May 4, 2008 More Answers to Questions About Video Poker Machines - May 11, 2008 Losing is a Major Part of Winning at Video Poker - May 18, 2008 Video Poker VS Blackjack - May 25, 2008 The Art of Tipping Slot Personnel - Part 1 - June 1, 2008 The Art of Tipping Slot Personnel - Part 2 - June 8, 2008 Putting Your Ducks In a Row - June 15, 2008 Luck and Skill in Video Poker - June 22, 2008 Strategy Adjustments in Video Poker - June 29, 2008 One Coin vs Five Coin - July 6, 2008 Video Poker Progressives - July 13, 2008 High Pairs versus Three Cards to a Rolal in Kings or Better Joker Wild - July 20, 2008 The Double Up Feature - Does It Ever Make Sense? - Part 1 - July 27, 2008 Doubling Up - Does it Ever Make Sense? - Part 2 - August 3, 2008 Did I Quit at the Right Time? - August 10, 2008 Money Management: What Does and Doesn't Work - August 17, 2008 "I'm Playing The Wrong Game" and Other Video Poker Fallacies - August 24, 2008 You Use To Be Such a Cheapskate - August 31, 2008 Is This a Good Promotion? Part 1 - September 7, 2008 Is This a Good Video Poker Promotion? Part 2 - September 14, 2008 More Video Poker Fallacies - September 21, 2008 Not All Proposals Should be Accepted - September 28, 2008 An Opportunity Too Good to Pass Up Part 1 of 2 - October 5, 2008 An Opportunity Too Good to Pass Up Part 2 - October 12, 2008 Predicting Your Future Results at Video Poker - Part 1 of 2 - October 19, 2008 Predicting Future Video Poker Reulsts - Part 2 of 2 - October 26, 2008 Moving Up in Denomination - Part 1 of 2 - November 2, 2008 Moving Up in Video Poker Denomination - Part 2 of 2 - November 9, 2008 A Letter from a Non-Believer - Part 1 of 2 More Classic Dancer coming Sunday November 23, 2008. |
