Video Poker – Page 24 – Las Vegas Advisor

Posted on May 25, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 28 Comments

New Casino Opening Up

Resorts World Las Vegas is set to open on June 24. You can bet I’ll be there in the first few days to check things out. If I find anything playable, I’ll play a lot and sit back and wait and see what comes in the mail. I suppose you could say that’s my standard M.O. at casino openings.

Some of my best results ever have been at casino openings. Often the new slot director was an assistant slot director at the last place worked and doesn’t understand how much of a difference there is between the two positions. The net effect is that new casinos sometimes open much looser or more generous than is profitable for them — and that’s good news for the players.

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 11, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 16 Comments

Did You Notice?

I wrote the following article (minus the epilogue which I added later) and then passed it by South Point management for a fact check. As a sponsor of my podcast and the place where I teach my free classes, I have a special relationship with that casino, and I don’t want to screw it up by getting things wrong.

Turns out, I did get a rule wrong. At the end of what I originally wrote, I’ll explain how that rule change affected my behavior.

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 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.

Posted on March 30, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 19 Comments

A Very Different Approach

On February 23, my blog addressed the subject of quitting while you’re ahead and other similar strategies that do absolutely nothing to the expected return of a game. I received a number of comments to that blog, including the one I’m going to share with you today:

“I stop when I’ve won a decent jackpot, usually a four-of-a-kind that kicks out $200 or more. I’m good with winning a $200 hand. $200 will buy a nice evening out with my wife, so really, we both win.”

Posted on March 23, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 19 Comments

Looking at a 50-coin Penalty for the Straight Flush in 10-6 Double Double Bonus

There is a version of 10-6 DDB that pays 200 for the straight flush rather than 250 and that change drops the return from 100.06% to 99.96%. Casinos which have a firm policy of never offering a game returning more than 100% sometimes have this game. I refer to the games as 10-6-50 and 10-6-40, where the 50 and 40 represent the one-coin return for the straight flush.

The strategy for the two games is very similar, of course, but not identical. If I had places where I could play both games, I’d likely use one strategy for both. But I don’t know of any casino with the 10-6-50 game where I want to and am welcome to play, so I concentrate on the 10-6-40 strategy. The Dancer/Daily Winner’s Guide for Double Double Bonus covers the 10-6-50 game completely. Today I’ll just discuss the differences between the two games. All money amounts assume you are playing for dollars, betting five coins at a time.

Posted on March 9, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 18 Comments

A Birthday Present That Keeps on Giving

I turned 74 years old in mid-February. Not a big deal. I have a birthday every year. But this time it turned out to be special in an unusual way.

My Nevada Driver License expired on my birthday. Again, not a big deal. It always expires on a birthday, every three or four years. But this time it turned out to be special in an unusual way.

Category: Video Poker