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.”
At the restaurant that night were two large parties, including one that was quite noisy. After scanning and verifying that I knew none of the diners, I ordered my dinner and read my book. After 30 pages and an enjoyable meal, I signed the comp, left a tip, and stopped by the hostess station to say goodbye and grab a toothpick. The hostess commented that she couldn’t understand how I could have possibly read in that environment. “I need perfect quiet in order to read. And tonight was so noisy,” she said.
The noise hadn’t bothered me at all. For whatever reason, I am able to concentrate on what I am doing and shut out extraneous events. I don’t consider this very often, but I expect that this is one factor in video poker success.
Casinos are noisy places with a lot of extraneous things going on, both unintentionally and by design. Machines come with built-in sound effects. Somebody is always hitting a jackpot somewhere in your vicinity. Cocktail waitresses are often selected for their distract-ability, not to mention the potency of the drinks themselves. Winners need to be able to put these things out of their minds and concentrate.
Video poker is a form of applied mathematics. Each machine has a predetermined optimal return, which can be evaluated (with a computer) by using only the information found on the pay schedule. Every hand is a problem, and (except for a very few ties) there is only one correct answer to each of these problems. Most of the hands in video poker are quite simple. Which is why many people think it is such an easy and enjoyable game.
In 9/6 Jacks or Better, as in every other video poker game, several times an hour you will see hands requiring careful thought, even for the best of players. Distinguishing between hands such as A♥ Q♠ J♦ T♠ 8♠ and A♥ K♦ Q♠ T♠ 8♠ is not trivial. Both hands have a choice between a 4-card inside straight with three high cards draw and a 3-card straight flush with one high card and two insides draw. For some players it is always a guess. For other players, they play so fast that they don’t even see both choices. Some players think it doesn’t matter much. Still others believe that luck is much more important than skill.
Winning players know that there is a difference. Going for the straight flush is appropriate for the second hand, but not the first. And they are able to focus on the problem in the casino — which is a lot different than focusing on the same problem in a quiet living room.
Perhaps it is a good idea to practice when the TV and the radio are both blaring loudly and your home is either too hot or too cold for your optimal comfort. If you can do well practicing in that environment, you should be ready to also do well in a casino.
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