A number of people have inquired as to why I play 26 lines on the $1 multi-line Jacks or Better machine. The reason is this. At 9/6 Jacks or Better, a full house pays 45 coins, so a dealt full house on 26 lines pays $1,170, which is $30 short of the $1,200 that necessitates receiving a W2-G. If I play 27 lines and am dealt a full house, the payout is $1,215, which would lock up the machine for a handpay and a tax form.
Some people did figure it out, then commented, "Ah. It’s so you don’t hit a taxable jackpot." That’s not really the right way to say it, because all winnings are taxable. I’m not trying to avoid the tax man. I get so many W2-Gs that it would be silly for me to try to avoid getting a few more.
My reasons for prefering not to get handpays are twofold. First, it slows down the game while I have to wait for the casino floor people to get the cash and paperwork together. Second, every time you’re handed cash, there’s an expectation of a gratuity. I prefer to avoid these two hassles by coming in under the paperwork threshold.
When playing 26 lines on a $1 machine, being interrupted by a hand-pay jackpot is infrequent. Of course, any royal flush ($4,000) will lock up the machine. A dealt 4-of-a-kind or dealt straight flush will lock it up. Other than those rare cases, it’s unusual to have a stop in play.
What’s nice about the 100-play machine is that you can opt to play fewer lines. The usual number of hands I recommend for avoiding these handpays is as follows:
9 hands –- a dealt 4-of-a-kind does not trigger a handpay. (4OAK pays 125 coins so if you play 10 lines a dealt quads will lock up the machine)
26 hands –- a dealt full house doesn’t lock up the machine (26 x $45 equals $1,170)
39 hands –- a dealt flush doesn’t lock up the machine (39 x $30 = $1,170)
If you play more than 39 hands, you’ll be stopped out several times per hour. If you play more than 50 hands, your action will be interrupted frequently.
Note that playing 26 lines is risky. It’s quite possible to lose at a 5%-10% rate over a somewhat small sample size (losing $7,500 to $15,000 on $150,000 in action, for example). It’s not for everyone.
