Do You Think That Pretending a Push Is a Win is Misleading?

Why on Bonus Poker and the like, when you hit a pair of jacks, queens, kings, or aces, does the machine make a big deal out of it? The machine makes it seem like a win, when all it is is a tie. Do you think this is a deceptive practice?

Yes, returning your bet on a pair of face cards or aces on a Bonus Poker video poker machine is definitely not a win. It's a push, no more, no less.

And yes again, it’s misleading to say that "You Win!” something on a push. But that’s the nature of machine gambling, where your bet is subtracted from your total credits when you hit the deal or spin button, then added back when your result is a tie.

It’s even more pronounced when, for example, you make a max bet of $3 on a Megabucks machine and the reels line up in such a way that pays you back $1. “Congratulations! You Win $1!” is a lot more exciting than if the machine came out with, “You’re a sucker. It looks like you ‘won’ $1, but in reality, you lost $2.” Of course, the latter is the truth, while the former is spin (pun intended), pure and simple.

Contrast that with blackjack where, when you and the dealer have the same card total, your bet just sits there in the circle, waiting for the next hand. There’s no illusion that you won something.

All that said, we’d be remiss if we didn’t repeat one of Jean Scott’s favorite lines: “Breaking even at gambling is a wonderful thing.”

Back to your push on a pair of face cards or aces at Bonus Poker. Imagine that you play a $100 machine with a $500 max bet for a couple of hours and wind up with a pair of jacks or better on every hand. At the end of the session, you’ll have the exact same amount of money you started with. But your comps will be through the roof.

So although you didn’t win any money on your jacks or better, you didn’t lose any either. And you added a bit of weight on the comp scale.

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Comments

David Miller Feb-17-2024

All of That Noise

 The "You Win" and the "Congratulations" are just incorporated bullshit to make those who are donating feel good while they are getting fleeced. Just like politicians, they smile at you as they shove a hand deep in your pocket while they take advantage of you - and they do so under to guise of calling this "entertainment".

Kevin Lewis Feb-17-2024

When video poker was played on stone tablets

When IGT first brought out its VP games (see: Book of Genesis), there were a number of casinos that set up their players' clubs so that you earned comps based on what you won, not what you played. Boyd casinos did that, for example. This wasn't very popular with slot players, because they would not only take a bath; they would earn nothing for it. But VP players? Yeah! All those pushes earned comps! So IGT wasn't kidding; you had actually won something under that system.

I was told that what really killed the "win points" (as opposed to the present-day "coin-in points") was that some players learned how to rack up huge comp balances by playing the "double up" feature on VP machines where that feature was dead-even (no house advantage).

thebeachbum Feb-17-2024

Simply Stated

Jean Scott is right again.  Some of my best trips to Vegas have been even money.

Larry Meginnis Feb-17-2024

Digital Age

As more digital coupons are added tracking their usage will be easy. It's probably just a matter of time before all coupons are digital. In my opinion digital coupons are easier for the coupon user but more importantly LVA.

jay Feb-17-2024

Psychological

Ding ding ding
Penny slots were all about the psychology that you could not get ma & pa to throw 3 quarters into a machine but they will easily play 100 lines at 1c a line.
Bet $1.00 win 0.60 lots of noise and flashing lights. Keeps you coming back for another kick in the nuts. The studies all pointed to that $20 should equate to 20min of stimulation to keep the player engaged. This was based on the $1.00 per spin penny slot. Win too much they cash out, lose too fast they cash out and walk away. $20/20min generally kept the player engaged up to 1.5hrs roughly allowing the casino to put $100 of your money in their coffers.

At home I have several slots in my basement that I run on tokens. If I put a bucket out with unlimited coins. My friends will drop a couple of coins in and walk away. If I give them a bucket with a roll of coins they go through the entire roll and come back looking for another roll. If there is no sense of loss there is no sense of win

O2bnVegas Feb-17-2024

This is so funny.

Picture it (as Golden Girl Sophia would've said): player standing in front of slot machine, knees bent, arms up in boxing position, snarling at it for saying "Winner!" after a high pair returned his money.  The machine shaking, cowering in fear, drops of perspiration spraying out?  LOL.  

Somebody draw a fitting cartoon for this one.

Personally, machine or table, I'm good with a push.

Candy

Mufasa Thedog Feb-17-2024

Need the Money

Whenever I go to a casino, I always hope I break even.  I really need the money.

dblund Feb-17-2024

Perception is your reality

Optimist: I didn't lose anything!
Pessimist:  I didn't win anything!
Both are true on a push, but the pessimist is going to be irritated by the screen message.  They don't bother me in that case, but I don't like to see it when I've 'won' 60 cents on my dollar.  It would probably be easier on my psyche to always look at any bet like that money is spent, so any return is a win.  I think I'll try to file this under the 'small irritations that I have no control over' and ignore it whenever I can.

Donzack Feb-17-2024

Noise

It’s just part of the casino  come  on. Sound or visual. Breaking even is better than losing. In the long run it’s not important.

Question of the Day - 17 February 2024

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