{"id":6720,"date":"2017-08-15T09:18:14","date_gmt":"2017-08-15T16:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/?p=6720"},"modified":"2017-08-15T09:18:14","modified_gmt":"2017-08-15T16:18:14","slug":"a-matter-of-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/a-matter-of-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"A Matter of Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re a computer programmer working on a video poker game, the hand A\u2660 Q\u2665 T\u2665<\/span> 8\u2660 3\u2665<\/span> is equivalent to A\u2666<\/span> Q\u2663 T\u2663 8\u2666<\/span> 3\u2663, but both of those are different from A\u2663 Q\u2665 T\u2665<\/span> 8\u2660 3\u2665<\/span>. Can you see why?<\/p>\n

The ranks of the cards are the same and in all three hands QT3<\/em><\/strong> is suited. In the first two hands, the ace and eight are suited with each other. In the third hand, the ace and eight are unsuited.<\/p>\n

To 99% of all players, 99% of the time, that distinction is irrelevant. It could possibly be important, for example, in a Double Bonus game where there is a progressive on four aces. At reset, you hold QT<\/em><\/strong> on this hand. If the progressive on four aces is high enough, you just hold the ace. How high the progressive has to be will be different if there are 12 cards still in the pack unsuited with the ace than if there are \u201conly\u201d 11.<\/p>\n

With that kind of thinking in mind, assuming you are playing 9\/6 Jacks or Better, do you see any difference between A\u2666<\/span> Q\u2663 T\u2663 8\u2666<\/span> 3\u2663 and A\u2660 Q\u2665 T\u2665<\/span> 7\u2660 3\u2665<\/span>?<\/p>\n

For anyone who would hold just the ace on either of these hands, you\u2019re a hopeless Jacks or Better player. Holding the ace can be correct in certain other games, but not Jacks or Better.<\/p>\n

The Basic Strategy play on both hands is to hold the QT<\/em><\/strong>. It\u2019s the second-best play in both cases, but AQ is better. The fact that AQ is better than QT<\/em><\/strong> in these two hands is because the 3 is suited with the QT<\/em><\/strong>. This is known as a flush penalty and is generally only of concern to advanced players. Many players have enough trouble just learning the basic plays without dwelling on the fine points. What makes the hands different is that in the first hand, the 5-coin dollar player is making a nickel mistake versus a 2-cent mistake in the second.<\/p>\n

The difference in the size of the mistakes is due to the 8 interfering with the straight possibilities of QT<\/em><\/strong> and the 7 not doing so. Why is this important? Well, it\u2019s not if you\u2019re playing the game with a 4,000-coin royal.\u00a0 But if you\u2019re playing a progressive, holding QT <\/em><\/strong>is correct in the first hand when the royal is at 4,685 and above, while in the second hand, holding QT<\/em><\/strong> is correct at 4,365 and above.<\/p>\n

So, for whom is this kind of analysis important? Frankly, only to a pretty small self-selected group. Some pros learn these things — many don\u2019t. A few recreational players become competent in these distinctions — although it may never be cost-effective for them.<\/p>\n

Some of us just plain like studying things. This has been one of my \u201csecrets to success.\u201d The more I know about how and why things work the way they do, the easier it is for me to learn and memorize strategies.<\/p>\n

If you think my secret is worthless to you, that\u2019s your right. But in general, the more people study these things, the better their results turn out to be. Whether it makes sense dollars-and-cents-wise if you put a value on your time is debatable. But if it gives you pleasure to gain insight into these games, why the heck not do it?<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"youtube\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re a computer programmer working on a video poker game, the hand A\u2660 Q\u2665 T\u2665 8\u2660 3\u2665 is equivalent to A\u2666 Q\u2663 T\u2663 8\u2666 3\u2663, but both of those are different from A\u2663 Q\u2665 T\u2665 8\u2660 3\u2665. Can you see why? The ranks of the cards are the same and in all three hands […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[29,2,3],"tags":[459,196,1679],"yoast_head":"\nA Matter of Perspective - Gambling With An Edge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/a-matter-of-perspective\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Matter of Perspective - Gambling With An Edge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you\u2019re a computer programmer working on a video poker game, the hand A\u2660 Q\u2665 T\u2665 8\u2660 3\u2665 is equivalent to A\u2666 Q\u2663 T\u2663 8\u2666 3\u2663, but both of those are different from A\u2663 Q\u2665 T\u2665 8\u2660 3\u2665. 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