Bonnie and I invited some friends to dinner at the Silverton. The husband, Joe, is a competent video poker player and his wife, Sarah, is a recreational player. Sarah is simply not interested in investing the time and energy to become better. Joe mentioned that neither he nor Sarah had ever been in the Silverton before. They live in North Las Vegas and for them, there are other casinos far more geographically convenient than the Silverton.
Earlier that day, I had seen Silverton’s new sign-up bonus and I told them that if they played $10,000 coin-in during the first 24 hours, they’d receive a $100 bonus. This is a 1% bonus. If they had the time and energy, it would be a nice play.
Joe asked the appropriate questions: What are the best games and what does the slot club pay? I told him 8/5 Bonus (99.17%) and 0.30%. “For $10,000 coin-in, your expected loss is $83, offset by $30 in free play from the slot club and $100 for the new sign-up bonus. That makes it a positive play by $47, for each of you, assuming you know 8/5 Bonus strategy. If you don’t know that strategy but know 9/6 Jacks or Better, your EV is reduced to $46 apiece. They have 5¢, 10¢, and 25¢ Hundred Play machines, so you can play basically any amount you’re comfortable with between 25¢ and $125 per play. Somewhere in there is a level where you can feel comfortable stakes-wise.”
Joe nodded his head. This was relevant information presented in a way that made sense to him.
Bonnie sat there quietly. She’s used to me “doing my thing.” She’s not a gambler and could not have come up with those numbers herself, but she’s seen me teach classes and believes I’m an expert.
Sarah then spoke up. “I don’t want him to play that much.”
I sat there dumfounded. Joe plays a lot, usually dollar single line 10/7 Double Bonus, but other games as well. He’s good. He plays more than $10,000 in a day probably 150 times a year. The swings on nickel Hundred Play Bonus Poker are roughly comparable to dollar single line 10/7 Double Bonus. Within an hour, he could play $10,000 coin-in on that machine. This was an okay play he didn’t know about previously. I thought I was doing him a favor by telling him about it. Why on earth would Sarah veto the play?
My surprise must have been evident. Sarah immediately got defensive about what she had said. “I don’t study the game like you guys do. I just play for fun. Dealing with all those dollars and cents matters makes it sound like work to me, not fun.”
“Okay,” I responded. “But if Joe recognizes what a good play this is, why would you outvote him? This is what he does, he’s good at it, and the money he makes is community property.”
“He can do whatever he wants,” Sarah said tightly. She wasn’t happy with the discussion and I quickly changed the subject. I didn’t want the evening ruined. I do know they each got a slot club card that night and played some, but whether or not they played enough to earn the bonus, I don’t know.
Looking back, my analysis was for Joe, not Sarah. Joe plays well enough that this promotion was equivalent to a casino giving him free money. Sarah doesn’t play that well and I don’t know what game she would play. If she sat down next to Joe he could tell her whether or not she was on a game with a good pay schedule, but I suspect she doesn’t want him watching when she plays. She’s a senior citizen from New York and she does things her own way. Period.
Was it still a good play for Sarah, even if she didn’t play expertly? Of course. If a casino is giving you an extra 1% back and you are going to play anyway, you take the 1%. Was it a positive play, meaning was she a favorite to come out ahead? Probably not. The edge on the best game in the house was only a half percent if played perfectly. It’s quite possible she’d choose a game that returned quite a bit less. And every playing mistake she made cost her additional EV.
But that’s for her and Joe to deal with and they certainly hadn’t asked for my help.
I’m glad Bonnie is happy being a non-player. However much I’m able to make as a player would be very easy for her to lose if she insisted on gambling inexpertly for high enough stakes. Bonnie and I came together AFTER I was a successful pro. She was a non-gambler before we met and she is happy to stay that way. She’s fine enjoying the perks that come along with my gambling — including a nice dinner with Joe and Sarah.
Joe and Sarah have been married for more years than Joe’s been a competent gambler. The marriage rules-of-the-game are different for them than they are for Bonnie and me. I wish them well.
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