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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
May 1, 2008

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

An Easy Yet Important Quick Quad Puzzler - November 20, 2008

Some Quick Quad Mathematics - November 27, 2008

Barona Improves its Video Poker - December 4, 2008

An Interesting Quick Quads Puzzle - December 11, 2008

Shirley Plays Suduku - December 18, 2008

How Often Does One Time in 360 Occur? - December 25, 2008

Earning a Free Cruise - January 1, 2008

Next Dancer's Answers column coming on January 8, 2009!

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More Video Poker Fallacies

This was part of an article that ran in August 1999 Casino Player.

Video Poker Fallacy No. 3

"The secret to winning is to only play a machine when it is in a giving mood."

Every machine sometimes becomes real loose and gives you full house after full house, quad after quad, and even two or more royal flushes in the same day. Those same machines sometimes dry up and give you nothing at all for hours at a time.

A considerable number of people attempt to identify these cycles and to play along with them. They will stay on a machine that is paying, and desert one that is not. They might make strategy adjustments based upon what they have seen. For example, if nines have been coming up a lot, they might hold a single 9, waiting for the machine to produce more.

I have never met a winning player who regularly plays like this. When you use these techniques, the only question is how much you are going to lose. Winning players tend to play like a computer. Every time they are dealt a particular card combination, they play it the same way. They choose a machine because it has the right pay schedule, not because it paid off earlier today.

A lady once told me that it would take away her fun if she had to play every hand by the book. I responded that having fun was a worthy goal, but frequently an expensive one. If she doesn't mind the cost, by all means go for the fun. This is related to the next item.

Video Poker Myth No. 4

"It's not whether you win or lose, it's whether or not you are having fun."

Every casino owner and casino host regularly repeats this little gem. They desperately want you to believe it. If they can get you to agree to this "fun" concept, then you'll keep coming back losing trip after losing trip. Leave your money, and go away with a smile!

Slot players, keno players, and roulette players (among most other gamblers) MUST sign up for this concept. They are going to lose. Maybe not this trip, but certainly over all. If they are not having fun while they are at it, why do it?

But video poker players have a choice, at least if they can get to Nevada. Over three fourths of the casinos in the Las Vegas area have one or more video poker machines where the knowledgeable player has the advantage. Twenty-four hours a day. Seven days a week. And these same casinos have frequent promotions where these good machines become even better. A considerable number of players INSIST on playing only these games.

It isn't easy to learn to play these machines well, but it is possible for many people. For a one-weekend-a-year gambler, it probably isn't worth the effort. But for a frequent casino visitor, learning more about the games will pay off in dollars and cents. And the "how to" isn't real complicated. You want to read what the experts say and practice on your computer. Do that and your results will improve.

Fallacies of Video Poker No 5

"I don't have the nerve to make that play"

Playing standard deuces wild for quarters, Sally was dealt 2h 2s 2d 6c 9c. A straight flush! Congratulations! She quickly held all five cards. However, a much better play would be to throw the clubs away and draw! But many players won't do this. They can't bring themselves to throw away such a nice hand. The logic seems to be "I can never go broke while I'm taking a profit." Nonsense.

Drawing to the deuces is worth over 30 coins more than keeping the straight flush, which is $7.50 for a quarter player. To put this into perspective, a player would have to play 800 hands perfectly to make up for an error this size. And you can be sure that anyone who is making this kind of mistake isn't playing anywhere CLOSE to perfectly.

George tells me he can make the correct play if he is winning today, but not if he is losing. Of course, for players who have any chance at all of winning for the year, today's score isn't a factor at all. If throwing away a straight flush is too rich a play for you, consider playing for smaller stakes. Anybody who makes special-circumstance plays because they are losing today is likely to lose more, not less.

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.

Click here to visit River Belle Casino and play video poker games, including Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild.

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