Video Poker question

[so.cal.fan]

I was wondering.......
would professional poker players/tournement players have a better chance at making better decsions on video poker machines than those who don't know all the percentages that well?

[Dave Schwartz]

SoCal,

The best video poker players are those who have mastered "video poker strategy" for the particular game.

Dave

[so.cal.fan]

Can you actually improve your chances of winning by doing so, Dave?
Or are they just slot machines?
Reason I ask, is I hate gambling (seriously) and we are going to visit an Indian Casino next week, and I thought about playing a few hands of video poker....I don't know percentages and don't play real poker....my husband does and the few times he has played video poker, he seems to win a few dollars, that's why I asked.
I'm sure you're right.
Any suggestions on my play, if I decide to get brave?

[superfecta]

Can you actually improve your chances of winning by doing so, Dave?
Or are they just slot machines?
Reason I ask, is I hate gambling (seriously) and we are going to visit an Indian Casino next week, and I thought about playing a few hands of video poker....I don't know percentages and don't play real poker....my husband does and the few times he has played video poker, he seems to win a few dollars, that's why I asked.
I'm sure you're right.
Any suggestions on my play, if I decide to get brave?
Watch them indians So Cal,we're takin America back a quarter at a time.Some indian casinos do not have the same machines as Vegas as far as true video poker machines.They look like poker machines but the payoffs are too low or you don't get true odds on some machines that actually are bingo based slots.Another thing to add about visiting a casino you have not been to before...Watch how many people are winning,look at the cashiers window and listen to see if the machines are paying off on a regular basis.Some casinos here in okla are tighter than others.If you dont see a line at the cashiers window but one at the ATM,thats not good.even if the people arent winning large amounts,there should be activity at the cashout windows.
As far as playing the true video poker games,get a book showing favorable types of machines and basic strategy.Don't bother to play if you dont get the odds in your favor.

[Dave Schwartz]

SCF,

I have a friend who has made his living for the last 15 years or so playing video poker and slots in Las Vegas. (He and I were 21 partners back in the '70s.)

He does it through "casino management" of sorts. That is, he is on every casinos list and they all think he is a sucker. He plays perfect strategy and only plays on "triple-point days" or when they offer promotions to come.

He never buys gas or a meal, always has comps for his friends, a houseful of big screen TVs and DVD players (which he sells out the back door).

He works very hard to avoid working. All this for around $18 per hour. (Pays no taxes, is a non-person to the govt.)


Anyway, in answer to your question, yes, playing well helps.


Dave

[ljb]

I could be wrong here but, somewhere it was written that you look at the payoffs for a full house. If it doesn't pay 9 to 1 the machine should be avoided.

[Dave Schwartz]

I am not much of a video poker player but there are lots of payoffs to note.

The lower the payoff that is out of kilter, the more important it is to move to another game.

A funny story relating to VP:

Twenty-one years ago I moved to Reno. Times were pretty hard then (for me). Anyway, a year or two later a friend-of-a-friend called me up and said, "Could you do me a favor and play my video poker machine for a couple of hours so I could get some rest?"

I said, "WHat do you mean by 'Your machine?'"

He said that he had been playing this machine for almost 4 days and was making money and didn't want it to "get away" while he was napping.

I thought he was joking but he said the machine occasionally overpaid.

Anyway, my then-wife and I went down to Harrah's to meet him. (She liked to play video poker but we just didn't invest in losing propositions very often.)

So I find him at a $0.25 machine, playing one quarter at a time. He has been playing as he said and only took breaks to go to the bathroom or a quick sandwich. (If you ask, they will hold a machine for about 30 minutes for you.) He also took a break whenever they had to fill the machine. (Remember that he is kicking its little machine ass so they have to fill it a couple of times per day, I guess.)

He explains that almost every time you get a small payoff (i.e. jacks or better whcih returns your quarter or two pair which wins you even money) it would drop an extra quarter.

So, we begin to play. For the first 3 or 4 hands, nothing. Then we hit a pair of jacks - the machine hesitates - clink... then hesitates again - clink. A second quarter!

Joan was just in heaven! She could play to her hearts content and know she was profitable! Funniest thing I ever saw. Couldn't drag her away from the machine. When he came back, he could barely get her off of his machine.

When all was said and done, we played for about 4 hours and made, as I recall, about $75, one quarter at a time.

Two things to mention - One is that this illustrates just how important an extra quarter is... if the payoffs are short the extra quarter comes out of your pocket instead of theirs.

Second thing - Nowadays, they have software in place to track stuff like this. I guarantee that Harrah's would never allow a machine to be in use that needed to be filled multiple times each day without checking the machine for new drop. (That is, checking it for profitability.)


One more interesting thing - I asked him, "How did you find this machine?"

His response was that he just "sometimes tries machines." Well, I don't buy that for a minute. This guy was a professional sports bettor. Never could figure that one out.

(Note: This is a 100% true story... no embellishment.)

Regards,
Dave Schwartz

[so.cal.fan]

Thanks, you guys....I knew you would know ;)

I better not play, because I don't know the odds well enough and Dave S. knows, I hate to gamble....LOL
It does seem excellent advice to know which machines and types of games to avoid. Like anything else involving gambling or investing....why take the worst of it?
Thanks again. Handicappers always know the best answers!

[JackS]

Dave's story reminded of a story I read about a guy that witnessed a million dollar pay-ot on a progressive in one casino then began to figure how many days of playing would it take for the casino to pay this amount the next time it was hit. He figured in the casino take plus the approximate number of dollars per day and came up with a date that (as I remember) about six months away.
He planned his next Vegas vacation on this date and returned to this casino and the progressive slots and hit as he had hoped and planned.