... may indicate that multistrike variance is 3.625 times greater than
the base game since regular coin toss has a variance of 1.
...That's an analogy that was introduced in a parallel discussion over on
acvpp (AC vp group) by Effen Dolts.
I feel that it has some validity, but my gut feeling is that the resulting
indicator of MS variance is a bit inflated based upon my
limited experience with the game and various anecdotal player reports.
FWIW...
We had another crack at the Borg's MS on Monday afternoon ... one of those
postcard promo "cash drawings" at 7pm; we'd never seen so many people in any
AC casino on a Monday evening. (Afterwards, we briefly stopped at Trump
Marina, and they must have had about as many employees standing around as
playing customers.)
Two things -- first, Borgata's added 5 more MS machines, over by the Megabucks
nickel slots. (If you come in from the parking garage and that's a "6" on the
clock dial, then the five new MS are about at the "9" position on the main
floor. The original bank of MS (when Bob Dancer was there) is approximately
at the "12" -- almost directly opposite the entrance, in the approximate
vicinity of Club Mixx. (If you can see the Regis Cash Club slots, face that
machine bank, then do an about-turn and this MS bank is 150' away on the
facing wall.)
Second -- I made up for my earlier playing experience with 4 of a kind on the
4th line (8x). BUT it's still completely unnerving to throw away low pairs
(lines 1 and 2) and hold high cards. Yes, it makes sense. No, it's not a
comfortable feeling -- like steering a car into a skid, you need to "learn"
yourself into the right way.
The variance is still scary, because it's not out of the ordinary to hit a
long dry gulch (and never get off line 1). My first attempt at the machines
had a run of 15 20-coin bets like that -- $75 down the tube in under 3 minutes
is very fast for a "quarter" machine. OTOH, it's also possible to have 15
wins in a row.
A final observation... it did my heart good to see so many people playing
Multistrike with the WRONG strategy (i.e., holding low pairs early), because
that means the casinos'll keep them around longer. This might have been part
of the strategic decision causing Borgata to remove All-American so soon after
opening -- that is, players who found them knew the correct way to play.
John