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
I received an email from somebody, “John,” who wanted to know if I was willing to pay a finder’s fee for information about a $5 video poker game on the East coast that had so far slipped under everyone’s radar. He thought the game was worth more than $200 per hour. I know John and I trust John–which is a very good start.
Before we went through the “How much do you want?” “How much are you willing to pay?” two-step, I needed to know some information, including: Continue reading Contemplating Foxwoods, Part 1 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
Author’s note: A somewhat similar version of this article appeared in 2005. The argument remains valid.
During the 1980s, I worked in the computer departments of three different corporations. As I explained in my autobiography, Million Dollar Video Poker, I needed to go to work as a computer programmer because I was not sufficiently successful at my profession of choice, namely being a professional backgammon player.
The language I programmed in was COBOL–this was way before personal computers were common. I haven’t had anything to do with programming since the early 1990s and do not claim any current proficiency. Continue reading Lessons Learned as a Programmer
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
I discuss gambling subjects with many people. There is a small group whom I consider “equals or better” and who know as much or more than I do about various gambling games. (My radio co-host Richard Munchkin is in the “or better” part of this group. Although he knows relatively little about video poker, there are numerous table games and “gambling situations” where he is extremely knowledgeable. The gambling public is very fortunate that he shares some of what he knows weekly on our program.) There is a much larger group of people who don’t know as much as I — they are in various states of ignorance.
Continue reading You Have to Pay Your Dues
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
A writer for a Vegas-themed website emailed me that question. It’s a question I’ve been asked before, and it’s a fair question, I suppose, but one that is difficult to answer (answer for the opposite question below!). In my case, just divulging the amount of the win would provide sufficient identifying information to compromise the participants and consequently the play itself. Continue reading What’s Your Biggest Win?
In video poker, I am interested in whether or not I am winning for the year. I care very little about whether I am winning today, and I care not at all about individual hands — unless that hand is something like Kâ™ Qâ™ Jâ™ Tâ™ 5♣. That hand gets my blood pumping. Especially when I am playing multi-line games like Triple Play, Five Play, Ten Play, Fifty Play, or Hundred Play. Continue reading How Often Do You Win a Hand?
I used to play a lot of backgammon for money. Backgammon is not a casino game, but it is a gambling game nonetheless. From 1973 through 1991 I spent many thousands of hours playing competitive backgammon. I was good, but not great. I was only able to keep my head above water by competing with players not as skilled as I was. To do this consistently required strong backgammon skills, but also many social skills. Fortunately for me, I was the favorite in most matches for at least the last five years that I played. Continue reading Learning How to Lose
