This article was first published in 2005. The specific game I was playing is no longer found at this particular casino — and now I’m married to Bonnie rather than Shirley. But the point the article makes is still a good one to remember.

I was playing NSU Deuces Wild one evening recently at the Palms. Depending on the specific promotion, I frequently play on multi denomination ($1, $2, $5) Triple Play / Five Play machines that have several choices of games to play. I hear a female voice to my right querying, “Why does everyone play Deuces Wild on these machines?” Continue reading First Things First

Check out Part 1 of this story here. I’ll wait until you come back.

I asked John to provide me with a number of things before I flew to Foxwoods, including:

a. A photograph of the pay schedule and denomination. A one digit mistake in how much a flush pays, for example, can change whether the game is playable or not. Continue reading Contemplating Foxwoods, Part 2 of 2

Winning video poker players DO NOT think the same as casino managers. While there is no one “right way” to think, it’s wise to remember that casino managers often are the ones who make the rules. Sometimes players need to shift their thinking cap in order to understand those rules. Continue reading Thinking Like a Casino Manager

I memorized 9/6 Jacks perfectly almost 20 years ago. (I knew the strategy very well before that, but there were some rare hands that nobody had written about and it took me a while to find them all.) It’s fairly simple, as video poker games go, and the exceptions aren’t numerous or difficult. Additionally, I’ve played 9/6 Jacks for perhaps 2000 hours and taught the game in class close to 100 times. Given all of that, I suspect I’ll have the game memorized for as long as I’m mentally competent. Continue reading More Interesting Hands in Bonus Poker

A few weeks ago, Bonnie was having dinner with her sister who lives near us. I could have gone along if I had insisted, but Bonnie needs her “Girls Night Out” periodically. That Saturday evening I decided to go play video poker at the Palms — in part because I was in the mood for Chinese food and I like their Fortune restaurant. (In actuality this restaurant is closing within a week — and on August 1 a new Asian restaurant will open where Little Buddha’s used to be) I took the novel I was reading at the time and asked the hostess for a “table for one, in the Chinese section, under a light.” Continue reading Dealing with Distractions