A question on a gambling forum: “South Point advertises 1000 pts = $3 freeplay/cash back. How do you know what rate that is?”
This is a question that troubles many new students of smart gambling – as well as, it seems, many experienced gamblers who will confess their weakness in math. However, there are several ways to learn how to find the value of slot club benefits. Perhaps you have a software program that includes a Slot Club Calculator. Or, I devote a whole chapter to this subject in the Frugal Video Poker book, plus there is a lesson in the back of this book that explains step-by-step how to use the Slot Club Calculator in the Frugal VP software program.
But here is what I call my Simple Calculator. (I’m good at “simple” – remember I am better with words than with numbers and I used to teach slow learners English in high school. So I have used that experience sometimes to “uncomplicated” some math for gamblers.)
Once you know how many dollars it takes to earn a point and how many points it takes to redeem a dollar (whether in cashback, free play, or comps), here is what you do: Take the big number into the little one.
Okay, let’s figure the South Point example above. It is an easy one because, like many casinos, it takes $1 to get one point. (Some use another amount, in which case you need to first figure how much coin-in it takes to get one point.)
$3 divided by $1000 (which is the coin-in to get 1000 points) is .003. Don’t forget your grade school math – so now you need to move the decimal point two
places to the right to get a percentage. That gives you .3%.
You can add that .3% to the percentage EV of the game you are playing. For example, if you are playing 9/6 JoB, add 99.5% and .3% for a total EV (theoretical expected value) of 99.8%.
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Want some automatic help in calculating? Here are two nifty little calculators you can find online.
1. Play at a Vegas MGM property? Want to know how much free play you can get for your Holiday Gift Shoppe (HFS) points during the redemption period (must be in person) December 2-11? Sign into your Mlife account, click on your HGS balance, and a calculator will appear to do all the heavy mental lifting.
2. Want to know how to compare various video poker games? The TomSki Index (TSI)is a tool to help determine the attractiveness of alternative video poker opportunities. See this calculator on vpFREE. (If not already a member of this valuable Web site, subscribe for free at [email protected]. )
Good answers, Kevin. Saved me a lot of time and I couldn’t have answered them any better!!!
To Larry: It’s really not all that difficult. LVA (lasvegasaddvisor.com) has a chart that gives you all the slot club redemption rates. vpFree2.com lists the coin-in required to earn one point, including whether and how that varies for slots, positive VP, and negative VP, for each casino. You can also simply ask the slot club representative. If you are confused by bonus point multipliers, just remember that it will take the same amount of coin-in to earn a BASE point, then the points earned will be multiplied.
To Steve: a drawn card being replaced by another of the same rank will happen 3 out of 47 times. The cards dealt by a VP machine are completely randomized. There is no bias. What you are experiencing is the innate human tendency to overweight “unusual” events. This is typical of the brain wiring that makes us think erroneously about gambling, probabilities, and randomness. If you throw away the 8 of clubs and get back the 8 of diamonds, that is EXACTLY as unusual (or usual) as receiving the King of hearts or the 4 of spades, but your brain remembers that “unusual” event and stores it away for future reference, even though the event doesn’t mean anything. That’s why you THINK it happpens more often than it “should”.
I’ve never known how to contact you. I’ve wanted to ask someone who knows a lot about video poker a question. Do you know if a study has been done as to how often a card not held is replaced by another card of the same rank? It seems to happen a lot. More than the odds justify. Thanks and I enjoy your writing.
Anyone who posts to a gambling forum surely knows that 3/1000 = 0.3%. The much, much bigger problem is knowing the coin-in required to earn a point. This varies from casino to casino, day to day, and even inside the casino where in most cases, slots earn at one rate and VP earns at another.
And then you have different redemption rates and specials from day to day. Or special prizes bases on points earned that day, awarded without affecting your point balance.
Honestly, I’ll visit LV for several days at a time and I just can’t make any sense of it. As soon as I start to figure things out, it’s time to go home. And when I return, the rules will be totally different.