Page 22 - January 2014 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Bob Dancer: Video Poker
WShy Don’t Straight Flushes Pay More?
traight ushes, which consist of ve consecutive cards in the same suit, excluding the akqjt royal ush, are tough to get. In Jacks or Better (also called Draw Poker), straight ushes happen every 9,000 hands or so, and are paid 250 coins. Compare that to 4-of-a-kinds, which
happen every 430 hands or so, and are paid 125 coins. In that game, straight ushes are paid twice as much, but are 22 times as hard to get. Doesn’t seem fair.
People who end up with a straight ush and “only” receive 250 coins often feel they should receive more. Okay. Let’s hypothesize a “Straight Flush Jacks” game that pays 750 for a straight ush and reduces the pay for 4-of-a-kind to 100. is game returns very close to the same amount as the earlier mix, but the return on straight ushes is more in line with how di cult it is to earn.
Would this be a better game? I don’t know. It would certainly be di erent and would require a di erent strategy. On a hand such as 5♥ 6♥ 7♥ 7♠ K♦, the correct play would be 567 rather than the usual 77. On a hand such as Q♦ J♥ T♥ 5♣ 3♦, the correct play is JT rather than the normal QJ. And from K♦ Q♦ T♦ K♠ 5♣, now you hold the 3-card royal (which becomes a K-high straight ush as often as it becomes a royal) in preference to the pair of kings. In fact, appropriate play would increase the frequency of straight ushes from
1-in-9,000 hands to 1-in-7,000.
Would I like to see such a game
appear on casino oors? As a player, I’m going after the game with the highest return. If a game with a higher return for the straight
ush and lower return for a 4-of-a-kind ends up paying
more, then I’ll learn it and play it.
If the net return on this game is lower
than that for existing games, I’ll avoid it. As
a writer, I like new games because they give me something to analyze and discuss. e more I can write about new things without repeating myself too directly, the longer I can be successful at this gig. Even
if I end up rejecting a game, it might be worth a column or two explaining why.
Would casinos be interested in putting such a game on their oors? Maybe. A casino is looking for games that are popular enough so that players play them, and di cult enough so that the games are pro table to the casinos. If this game were built in as part of a multi-game platform (such as IGT’s “Game King” or Bally’s “Game Maker” series) so the casino could add the game quickly and inexpensively, I’m sure many slot directors would take a chance on it. If it had to be a standalone game, fewer slot directors would take a chance because it costs several hundred dollars to make each switch, and unless they were convinced the game would be more lucrative, why go through that expense?
Of course, when players ask for more for the straight ush, they aren’t really talking about something else being reduced. ey want an extra 500 coins for the straight ush with everything else remaining as it was before. Dream on! Anyone who seriously believes this will happen must be convinced that it’s
Christmas every day!
So why spend an entire column discussing a game
that will never happen? Two main reasons, really, that are obvious to advanced players but not-so-obvious
to beginning players.
First, every change in the pay schedule changes correct strategy. Players who seriously want to win enter the schedule changes into a computer program to discover whether the game returns enough, and if it does, how to play it. e software I recommend, Video Poker for Winners, does this for you quite nicely.
Second, it’s not that hard to gure out what a casino will do when you look at it appropriately. Casinos are not charities, nor are they these awful places trying to gouge people. Casinos attempt to o er games that will be popular to the players and pro table to themselves. If they can do this, they’ll be successful. If they can’t, they won’t. I nd it easier for me to thrive within a casino environment when I understand what motivates the other side.
Listen to Bob’s radio show Gambling With An Edge, on Thursday evenings 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Paci c Time on radio station 1230 AM in Las Vegas online at klav1230am.com. Dancer’s products may be ordered at bobdancer.com or at 1-800-244-2224 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Paci c Time.
Connect with us online
for the latest Southern California Casino and Slot News!
Facebook.com/TheGamingGuide @theGamingGuide
PAGE 22
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
JANUARY 2014