Contemplating Foxwoods, Part 2 of 2

Check out Part 1 of this story here. I’ll wait until you come back.

I asked John to provide me with a number of things before I flew to Foxwoods, including:

a. A photograph of the pay schedule and denomination. A one digit mistake in how much a flush pays, for example, can change whether the game is playable or not.

b. Pictures of the top glass of the machine with enough detail so I could read any restrictions, such as “This machine not eligible for slot club points,” or “Play this game too much and we’ll kick your butt you out.” Or whatever.

c. According to www.vpfree2.com, you can exchange your points for gift cards at a better rate than you can for cash back. So I wanted a list of which cards were available, including a printed explanation of any gift card restrictions. Bonnie’s sister and her guy just bought a fixer-upper house. They’ll happily take all the Lowe’s and Home Depot cards I can get at 80% of face value. Since Foxwoods will let you choose between exchanging points for $100 in cash or $150 in gift cards, I could select the cards and then sell them for $120—a better option all around than just taking the cash.

d. I was planning on leaving Las Vegas on Sunday August 17. It turned out that there was a big casino-wide drawing at Foxwoods on August 24. If I was allowed to play $500,000 a day (very possible on these machines), I would have sufficient coin-in to make it worthwhile for me to show up at the drawing. I needed the exact rules of the drawing.

I couldn’t know, of course, whether I’d be allowed to continue to play after my first day. A machine that has largely been ignored suddenly getting hammered with a half-million dollars a day in action by a guy they’ve never seen before who says he’s playing so much because he wants to win the Mercedes in the drawing is going to get more than a little scrutiny. At any time, Foxwoods management could shut down the machine, change the pay schedule, or strongly suggest I leave the premises.

e. Since the game is so simple and there is no draw, I figured I should easily play 2,500 or more hands an hour. One time-waster is a W2G, which I would get with every 4-of-a-kind and higher. Since a dealt 4-of-a-kind occurs every 4,165 hands (and straight flushes and royal flushes much less frequently), I figured to get two W2Gs about every three hours. I wanted to know how fast they paid them off. (Answer: Not very. A $5 tip or more each time should help some. Since we’re looking at $200+ per hour, if $10 can save ten minutes, it’s a very smart investment).

f. I wanted John to verify that I would get slot club points when I doubled down. About one quarter of the time, I would bet an extra $25. I needed to know if I would be earning Lowe’s gift cards on that extra bet.

I was going on the play anyway and we had already agreed on a sharing percentage, but still, inquiring minds always want to know.

g. Finally, I wanted a good description of the machine location. Foxwoods is HUGE and has a LOT of machines. (It’s in the Grand Pequot casino immediately in front of the Hampton Room). Since I would also have a picture of the front of the machine, that should make it easy enough to find.

Although I know some people who play at Foxwoods, I couldn’t just ask various people to go check out a specific machine in the Grand Pequot casino right outside the Hampton Room. The fact that I would be potentially interested in a machine provides a LOT of information to people — some of whom would tell their friends who would then tell their friends. Even if the machine was exactly as I hoped, by the time I got there it would likely be occupied 24/7 until the casino took it out.

So John made his trip. While he was doing his due diligence, he shot a picture of the pay schedule. On the left below is what we were looking for. On the right is what Foxwoods actually has. There is one difference and it’s not easy to find. Can you see it?

Although all of the numbers are exactly the same, Foxwoods has a QUEENS OR BETTER pay schedule rather than a JACKS OR BETTER pay schedule. I wasn’t sure how much this would reduce the return. So I used Video Poker for Winners to compare 10/6 Double Double Bonus based on Jacks or Better with the same game based on Queens or Better. The return went from 100.06% to 95.88%. This is a different game, to be sure, but since our edge was so slim to start with, if the change takes away more than 4% in one game, it was an easy decision to make for me to “stay home.”

The strategy for DDS wouldn’t change much between the two pay schedules. The hand AKQJ should not be doubled in the Queens or Better version and it’s an even-money bet (if the addition bet does not receive slot club points) in the Jacks or Better version. On a hand like JJ54, you still double it. You don’t get double money for the pair of jacks in the Queens or Better version, but since it’s still in the “6s or Better” category, you get your money back and you should double because it might turn into trips or two pair. But even though the strategy might be easy, a game returning less than 96% holds no attraction for me.

You might wonder if I was mad at John for leading me on a wild goose chase. The answer is “No.” It was an easy mistake to make and I believe he was acting in good faith. All good players check pay schedule amounts. It’s not so often we check pay schedule categories.

I’m mainly glad I performed enough due diligence to prevent me from flying across the country before I discovered the pay schedule change. My “send me a photograph” suggestion paid off. I haven’t always had this much foresight.