Category: Video Poker

I memorized 9/6 Jacks perfectly almost 20 years ago. (I knew the strategy very well before that, but there were some rare hands that nobody had written about and it took me a while to find them all.) It’s fairly simple, as video poker games go, and the exceptions aren’t numerous or difficult. Additionally, I’ve played 9/6 Jacks for perhaps 2000 hours and taught the game in class close to 100 times. Given all of that, I suspect I’ll have the game memorized for as long as I’m mentally competent. Continue reading More Interesting Hands in Bonus Poker

A few weeks ago, Bonnie was having dinner with her sister who lives near us. I could have gone along if I had insisted, but Bonnie needs her “Girls Night Out” periodically. That Saturday evening I decided to go play video poker at the Palms — in part because I was in the mood for Chinese food and I like their Fortune restaurant. (In actuality this restaurant is closing within a week — and on August 1 a new Asian restaurant will open where Little Buddha’s used to be) I took the novel I was reading at the time and asked the hostess for a “table for one, in the Chinese section, under a light.” Continue reading Dealing with Distractions

I used to play a lot of backgammon for money. Backgammon is not a casino game, but it is a gambling game nonetheless. From 1973 through 1991 I spent many thousands of hours playing competitive backgammon. I was good, but not great. I was only able to keep my head above water by competing with players not as skilled as I was. To do this consistently required strong backgammon skills, but also many social skills. Fortunately for me, I was the favorite in most matches for at least the last five years that I played. Continue reading Learning How to Lose

In last week’s column I gave the rules for when you should choose an unsuited AK, AQ or AJ in Double Bonus, and when you should choose the A by itself. Since everybody has access to that article on-line, perhaps you should review it before you continue with this one.

The question I get most about these rules is: “Why?” Looking for the presence of low cards and off-suit tens seems strange. So this article addresses the “how come?” Continue reading More on unsuited AK, AQ and AJ in Double Bonus

Video poker is the only game at which I gamble. Although I moved to Vegas more than twenty years ago to count cards at blackjack and used to play both bridge and backgammon for money, today it’s video poker exclusively for me. But I still read publications devoted to other games. Occasionally I’ll read something by someone writing about another game that will give me insight into how I can improve my video poker play. Poker magazines, especially the free ones given out in poker rooms, are part of my library. Continue reading Money Management Rules Are Largely Worthless