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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 Next Dancer's Answers column coming on July 31, 2008! |
More Answers to Questions About Video Poker MachinesThis article, along with the one published here last week, were originally published in Casino Player in September 1997. Answers to Very Common Video Poker Questionsby Bob Dancer How come you recommend holding a suited 'JT' but not a suited 'AT'? Both hands have two cards to the royal flush and one high card. Aren’t they equivalent?No. Although 'JT' and 'AT' will lead to identical numbers of high pairs, full houses, royal flushes and a few other hands, they will have very different numbers of straights and straight flushes. Starting from 'AT', it is not possible to get a straight flush (besides the royal). Starting from 'JT', you can receive a K-high straight flush, a Q-high straight flush, and a J-high straight flush. Similarly, you’ll get a lot more straights starting from 'JT' than you will with 'AT'. Depending upon the game, and depending upon exactly which three cards you throw away, 'JT' is worth about 25¢ more than 'AT' when you play for dollars. In most games, holding the A by itself is a better play than holding 'AT'. Do the casinos lower the pay schedule on the weekends and increase it during the week? I don’t know if they do or don’t. And it shouldn’t matter to you even if they do! Why not? Because all of the information you need to decide whether to play a particular machine is clearly printed on the front. The pay schedule is the key to this decision. If they change the innards of the machine, they have to change the pay schedule, too. The concern over payback switching is more valid on slot machines, which are very different from video poker machines (see the next question). What is the difference between slot machines and video poker machines?Although the machines are the same size, look somewhat similar, and are usually made by the same companies, they are very different, and appeal to very different sorts of gamblers. While video poker machines can be successfully analyzed by looking at the pay schedule on the front of the machine, slot machines can not. A “Red White and Blue” slot machine that returns 90% is physically indistinguishable from the same machine returning 97%. The casino slot can purchase different computer chips to make the return anything it wants. And he doesn’t have to tell you a thing about the returns Playing slot machines generally requires no skill; a monkey can play as well as a genius. You can play just as well intoxicated as when you’re stone sober. Playing video poker machines successfully requires great skill. Most importantly, you need to be able to tell the difference between a pay schedule where you have a chance to win from those where you don’t. Every hand may be played 32 different ways, and only one of those 32 is best. It takes diligent study to learn how to play all of the 2.6 million different hands. If you compare these two gambling options to going somewhere in an automobile, playing video poker is like driving yourself, and playing slots is like riding shotgun. Some people like to make decisions and are good at it. These people can be good at video poker. Other people do not particularly like making decisions, or do not have the ability, time or interest to acquire the skills necessary to play video poker. These people will do better playing slots. Can the same strategy be used on all machines and pay schedules?Hardly. Consider the hand Qª J© T¨ 6§ 5§. In jacks or better, QJ is best. In deuces wild, smart players throw all five cards away. In joker wild, 56 takes the prize, and in double bonus, QJT is much the better play. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy. I like to compare it to trying to use the same racquet for badminton, tennis, ping pong, racquetball and squash. Players who go from game to game either learn the subtle differences or find themselves to writing checks to the casino. 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 More Classic Dancer coming Sunday July 27, 2008. |
