The answer to this question is supplied by Jean Scott:
It took me a whole chapter in my new book, Frugal Video Poker to cover VP tournaments. I talk about the basics for all kinds of tournaments: how to figure equity (what the tournament is worth to you mathematically) and the various formats. But here are some quick-and-dirty tips and pointers.
Video poker tournaments require special skills, but this doesn’t mean that you use the same strategy skills that you do during your regular -- i.e., non-tournament -- play. The regular strategies must be modified in major ways to be successful at tournaments. (This is true not only of video poker tournaments but all tournaments.) Unfortunately, there are no special strategy charts to help you with tournaments. Why not? Because there are so many variables: the pay table used, the format for advancing to the next rounds, how you do in the first part of your session, how many people are in the tournament, whether speed is a factor or not -- you get the idea.
That said, if it’s a game you already know, it's usually best to start out using the regular recreational basic strategy (you wouldn’t worry about taking time to consult advanced strategy charts or to figure out complex penalty-card situations, particularly if it’s a speed tournament). If it’s a game you don’t know, you just have to look at the schedule and take your best guess at your holds, with an emphasis on trying to hit the bigger payoffs.
At some point, unless you get lucky and hit a big hand early, it becomes necessary to play much more aggressively for the big-pay hands (quads, aces, royals). You'll dramatically increase this aggressiveness as you near the end, especially if you know you’re falling behind and have no chance of advancing/winning unless you hit a big score. However, if you hit a big score early, you might want to ride out the rest of the time, reverting to a more basic strategy.
And here’s another hint. At the end of the tournament chapter in Frugal Video Poker, my co-author Viktor Nacht provides a lesson in how to prepare for a VP tournament by using the Tournament Mode in the Frugal Video Poker software. Quoting Viktor, "It won’t act as a strategy tutor, but it gives you practice in making rapid decisions. By combining a few wise strategy changes with quick play, you can give yourself an edge in video poker tournaments. It takes experience to get the hang of them, but practicing with computer software will speed up your move into the skilled ranks and help you cash in more tournaments."
Skillful luck!
You can buy the FVP software at www.shoplva.com or at a link in my NEW Web site, queenofcomps.com. Remember that I also have a new e-mail address: [email protected].
