Page 8 - February 2004 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Why Do Different Pay Tables Require Different Strategies?
by Bob Dancer
Let’s compare the strategy for 9/6 Jacks or Better (that is, returning 9 for a full house and 6 for a ush) with the strategy for 8/5 Jacks or Better. To be sure, the strategies are similar. But not identical. Let’s see why.
Let’s take the hand A♥-Q♥-K♠-J♠-9♠ as an example, and assume we are playing for dollars. e relevant choices are A-K-Q-J and K-J-9. ere are some other possibilities, but they are worth quite a bit less.
In 9/6 Jacks, A-K-Q-J is worth $2.98 on average. How much do you think its value will change when you go to the 8/5 game? It won’t change at all. e only good things that can happen when you draw one card to A-K-Q-J are either a straight or a high pair. And neither of those hands change values between the two games. So if it’s worth $2.98 in one of the games, it is worth $2.98 in the other one as well.
the A♥-Q♥-K♠-J♠-9♠ hand in 9/7 Double Bonus, for example, the value of the straight is higher than it is in 9/6 Jacks and the value of two pair is less. Both of these factors tend to make A-K-Q-J preferable to a suited K-J-9. 9/7 Double Bonus also returns more for a flush than does 9/6 Jacks so this tends to make the K-J-9 strategy preferable to A-K-Q-J. The value of A-K-Q-J to dollar players in this game is worth $3.40 while the suited K-J-9 is worth $3.24 — so we go for the straight.
Every other game (Double Double Bonus, Deuces Wild, White Hot Aces, etc.) has its own strategy. Winning players practice each of these games on a computer before venturing into a casino.
Bob Dancer is America’s best-known video poker writer and teacher. He has a variety of “how to play better video poker” products, including Winner’s Guides, strategy cards, videos, and the award-winning computer software, Bob Dancer Presents WinPoker, and a brand-new book Million Dollar Video Poker. Dancer’s products may be ordered at www.bobdancer.com
In 9/6 Jacks, a suited K-J-9 is worth $3.11 in this hand, so naturally it is the preferred play over the $2.98 A-K-Q-J. When we draw to a suited K-J-9 we are trying to get a straight flush, but we will end up
play the 9/6 version as it returns over $70 per hour more than the 8/5 version. And anybody smart enough to learn 9/6 Jacks will be smart enough to never play 8/5 Jacks. Probably true.
play as 9/6 Jacks, many players prefer the game because the bonus for four aces feels so much better to get.
But whatever the game, every different pay schedule requires a different strategy. Players who do not take the time to learn the strategy deviations when they change games are giving a lot more to the casinos than they have to.
In addition to different pay schedules requiring different strategies, as you switch between games, the strategy changes again. When you consider
with a regular flush
about 4% of the time.
The lower value of
the flush is worth
about 20¢ in value,
so in 8/5, a suited
K-J-9 combination
is worth only $2.91.
(It is also possible
to get a straight,
three of a kind, two
pair, or a high pair
from this starting
position, but the
value of these paying combinations didn’t
between the games.) Therefore, in the 8/5 game, A-K-Q-J (at $2.98) is the better play.
A case can be made that nobody will play both games. If you can nd both games, you’ll certainly
“But whatever the game, every different pay schedule requires a different strategy. Players who do not take the time to learn the strategy deviations when they change games are giving a lot more to the casinos than they have to.”
change
However, the strategy for 8/5 Jacks is almost identical to 8/5 Bonus Poker — a game that returns 99.17% to the expert player and is much easier to find than 9/6 Jacks. Even though the 8/5 Bonus Poker game isn’t worth as much to
Page 8 February 2004
Column: Video Poker With Bob Dancer