Advanced Strategy – Page 18 – Las Vegas Advisor

Posted on July 27, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 5 Comments

A New Game for Me

I was looking at dollar progressives and found a 9/6 Triple Double Bonus Poker game where the royal was at $5,300, aces without a kicker were at $1,400, and the two kicker jackpots were just slightly higher than reset. It was a bartop game, the meters rose by 1% with each dollar played, and nobody was playing it.

I have not played a lot of progressives, but I was pretty sure this was positive. I went to my hotel room, checked my computer, and found out it was right at about 101%, including the slot club. I created a strategy using the Wizard of Odds Video Poker Strategy Calculator, studied that, practiced the game on WinPoker for about twenty minutes, and headed down to play.

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Bob Dancer — 12 Comments

Going with the Flow

This happened to somebody else in the late 1990s. I think it was at Caesars Palace about four or five owners ago. I don’t think I have written about it previously and it’s worth discussing. I might have some of the details wrong, but overall, it pretty much happened the way presented.

“Al” was playing at Caesars at an event for invited guests. It was the kind of event where you earn one drawing ticket for every $1,000 coin-in. Then at the banquet on the last night, a drawing is held and lots of cash is given away.

Posted on June 15, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 18 Comments

My Explanation

In the comments on gamblingwithanedge.com relating to a recent blog post of mine, a man named Tim wrote:

Perhaps this has been discussed multiple times, but why don’t the Strip casinos offer full pay video poker? For example, I would sit and play 10 play 9/6 Jacks or better quarters for hours (like I do at South Point). If there is only 6/5 bonus, I may sit at a bar and just play $20.

Posted on June 1, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 13 Comments

How Do You Figure?

I received an email, with numerous follow-ups, from a player wanting to know how many dollars per hour certain games were worth at a particular casino. And he wanted me to give him an answer if he played 600, 800, or 1,000 hands per hour (hph) for various denominations.

It is far easier to ask such questions than it is to answer them. Some of it can be figured by simple algebra (assuming that isn’t a self-contradictory term for you), but some of it depends on unknown things, such as what promotions the casino will run in the future, how large the mailers will be, and other such matters.

Posted on May 18, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 17 Comments

Sequential Royal

I recently hit a sequential royal flush. I was seated near a husband and wife who were playing for lower stakes than I was. The man especially was in full mumble about how bad his luck was that day. (Complainers are common among video poker players. I’m sure you’ve sat next to a guy just like this.)

We had not shared a word with each other before the royal, but they both congratulated me on it. I said, “Yes, a sequential royal is pretty rare.” He hadn’t noticed it was sequential before I mentioned it, and then he told me what bad luck it was that the game didn’t pay extra for sequentials.

Posted on May 4, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 13 Comments

A Fuller Explanation

Richard Munchkin and I regularly get “how do you do it” questions which we periodically answer on our podcast. Sometimes I have to give a briefer answer than I want on the air because a more complete answer requires that people see things written down. Plus, my blog is read primarily by players who understand the basics of video poker. The podcast is geared more towards players who play a variety of games with an advantage.

So today we’ll look at two recent questions I received at [email protected].

Posted on April 27, 2021 by Bob Dancer — 6 Comments

Backgammon Then and Now

Author’s Note: I played backgammon professionally for almost 20 years, then gave it up completely. I reached the high intermediate level, but most of the players that were interested in gambling with me were better. That was a prescription for disaster. I needed to get a job because I was not a winning player anymore. Today’s blog has nothing to do with video poker, but it does have to do with gambling.

I played most of my backgammon at the Cavendish West, which was in the West Hollywood section of Los Angeles, from about 1974 to 1993. Some of the regulars back then who are still active in tournament backgammon are Bob Glass, Jim Pasko, Steve Sax, Joe Russell, and Bob Wachtel. (There are likely others I don’t know are still playing.) They were all better than me back then, and they’ve kept studying the game while I’ve devoted my attention to other things.

Posted on April 20, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 27 Comments

Unrealistic Expectations

Many of you know that I participate in storytelling events. I’ve been regularly attending a workshop to improve my skills.

Recently, after we had all practiced our stories online for the day, Pete, the leader who lives on the East Coast, asked me if I would be willing to take him around and show him how to play were he to come to Vegas.

Posted on April 13, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 5 Comments

Further Analyzing Dotty’s Double Up Promotion

Last week I went through the basics of playing NSU Deuces Wild for $75 per hand and using the Double Up feature every hand until it was either at least $1,200 (generating a W2g) or reduced to zero.

I never played this personally. I didn’t believe the promotion would last, and so I let others do it. But, for today, I’d like to discuss my method of figuring out how much it was worth.

Posted on April 6, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 30 Comments

A Further Look at Double Up

Anthony Curtis and Andrew Hunt have a YouTube podcast called “In the Wild,” where they address Las Vegas Advisor-kinds of questions. Basically, straight talk about the basics of things gamblers want to know.

Recently, they addressed the Double Up feature in video poker seen here. Other than once confusing the term ‘Double Up’ with ‘double down’ (a term in blackjack), what they said was correct.

Category: Advanced Strategy