Page 6 - December 2006 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Page 6
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
December 2006
Bob Dancer: Video Poker
IWhich One is More Valuable?
n each of the combinations below, decide which one, if either, is better. Sometimes one of the two combinations will be quite a bit better than the other. Sometimes they will be tied. But in no case will one be only slightly better than the other. In other words, there are no
close calls here and good players need to understand these distinctions cold!
Video Poker with Bob Dancer
Usually I teach that pay schedules matter a lot. And they do! But in today’s quiz they are not important.
When considering Jacks or Better in today’s quiz, how much you get for ushes and full houses is largely irrelevant. When considering Deuces Wild, you need to know that three-of-a-kind returns even money (and that two pair and all single pairs return nothing), but the exact value you receive for ushes, four-of-a-kinds, straight ushes, etc. is irrelevant, as long as these values are somewhat close to normal.
In each case, consider the value of the combinations “before the draw.”
Q1:In Jacks or Better, which is more valuable J♥J♠ or A♥A♠?
Q2:In Jacks or Better, which is more valuable J♦ or A♦?
Q3:In Jacks or Better, which is more valuable Q♣J♣ or J♣T♣? (T stands for “ten”)
Q4: In Jacks or Better, which is more valuable 2♥3♥4♥ or 3♥4♥5♥?
Q5:In Deuces Wild, which is more valuable Q♠T♠ or Q♠J♠?
Q6:In Deuces Wild, which is more valuable WW5♦6♦ or WW6♦7♦? (W stands for wild card, in this case a deuce)
Q7:In Deuces Wild, which is more valuable WW5♣6♣ or WW5♣7♣?
jacks pays as much as three aces and four of one pays the same as four of the other. In various “Bonus” games, where four aces pay quite a bit more than four jacks, AA would be worth more than JJ. People who play bonus games, and are used to AA being worth more than JJ, sometimes forget to adjust their thinking when they are not playing the bonus game.
A2: J is worth more than A. Either one is equally likely to pair up, become four of a kind or a royal. But in terms of straights and straight ushes, J is quite a bit better. Other than the royal, the A can only be part of an A2345 straight ush. e J can be part of a KQJT9, QJT98 or JT987 straight ush. e same goes for straights, although you can add the AKQJT straight to both.
A3: QJ is much better than JT in Jacks or Better. QJ has two high cards and JT only has one. is is by far the dominant fact. e fact that you can get more straights and straight ushes from JT than you can from QJ is not close to being strong enough to compensate for the extra high card.
A4: 345 is quite a bit stronger than 234. 345 is truly open-ended, and can be part of three di erent straight ushes: 7-high, 6-high and 5-high. 234 is too close to the bottom of the deck and can only be part of two di erent straight ushes: 6-high and 5-high.
A5: QJ is identical in value to QT in Deuces Wild. Any straight, straight ush or royal ush containing QJ also must contain the T, and any of these nice hands containing QT must also include the J. e
distinguishing factor between this problem and Q3 above is that in Deuces Wild, there are no such things as “high cards.” No pair of cards gives you your money back in Deuces Wild.
A6: WW67 is more valuable than WW56. e reason for this is how much room there is to move before the combination runs into the deuce. From WW67, there are 8 perfect cards giving you a straight ush. Speci cally three cards on top (the 8, 9, and T), three cards on the bottom (3, 4, and 5) and the other two deuces. From WW56, there are only seven perfect cards. ere are still three perfect cards on top and two deuces, but now there are only two cards on the bottom (the 3 and the 4).
A7: WW57 has exactly the same value as WW56 in Deuces Wild. We showed in the last example that there were seven perfect cards to complete the straight ush from WW56. From WW57, you’ll notice two cards on top (the 8 and the 9), one in the middle (the 6), two on the bottom (the 3 and the 4) and the remaining two deuces. is also adds up to seven perfect cards. In any game where holding WW56 is correct (which would be games where the amount you receive for a ush and the amount you receive for a one-coin straight ush add up to 12 or higher), holding WW57 would also be correct. In any game where holding WW57 would not be correct (which would be games where the amounts you receive for a one-coin ush and straight ush add up to 11 or less), you would also not hold WW56.
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, his autobiography Million Dollar Video Poker, and his two novels, including Sex, Lies, and Video Poker. Dancer’s products may be ordered at www.bobdancer.com
JJ is worth exactly the same as AA in Jacks or Better. ey both give you your money back. ree
A1: