First, note that I did not start this thread, and
I am keeping this post completely objective. When
someone criticizes my work, I have a right and an
obligation to set the record straight. And I
especially didn't say anything negative about
Jazbo. I have great respect for him, and I
credited him with evaluating my Precision Play
rules to show that, when followed objectively,
they would yield within 0.01% of perfect play EV.
And Jazbo volunteered that information; I did not
request it.
Bob Dancer wrote:
The first strategy I saw by Paymar was the 8th edition of his book,
"Video Poker Precision Play." (Since the editions kept fixing errors in
earlier editions, I shudder to think what the first seven editions were
like.) There were TWO Jacks or Better strategies in this book. The main
one (I think) was a list of what he called Precision Play rules, and in
an appendix there was a hand-ranking, accompanied by footnotes. The
strategies were not identical. There were significant errors and
omission on both strategies, and in some cases the footnotes made the
strategy worse. He is correct that they were more accurate than what
Frome had published. But they were still quite flawed.
The strategies were virtually identical in all
editions of "Video Poker - Precision Play" and
still in "Video Poker - Optimum Play." No
"corrections" or "fixes" have been needed,
although part of rule 5 was moved to prevent
intentional misinterpretation. The numerous new
editions of the book were not to fix errors but
to add new information and update the survey of
good games in the back of the book. (The first
edition was 44 pages, the 8th edition was 68
pages.)
As bad as Dan's strategies were (and are), they are still protected by
copyright. If he wants to print his 8th Edition strategies here, I will
gleefully explain to everybody how bad they are. And you can judge for
yourselves whether my strategies copied his work --- other than EVERY
9/6 Jacks strategy is similar to every other simply because there's one
unique way to play every hand. (Except in two cases: With a hand like
4444K, there are two different plays that are both worth 125 coins, and
with an essentially unsuited KQJTT, there are two separate ways to hold
KQJT. Those are the only ties in 9/6 Jacks.)
True, all strategies for a given game will be
similar because there is only one "perfect" way
to play, but although all strategies must be
similar, my way of presenting them as a set of
rules was unique until Bob's "Reports" were
published.
OK, Bob, here are my Precision Play rules exactly
as the appeared in the 8th edition (and actually
the same as in the 1991 first edition). Do your
best.
Precision Play Rules for Jacks-or-Better
Always follow the first rule that applies to the hand you've been
dealt. Of course, if you're dealt none of the hand types described,
you must discard all five cards.
1. Never break any made pay of two pair or better, except
Break anything but a pat straight flush for any 4-card royal
2. Break a high pair only for a 4-card royal or any 4-card
straight flush (including an inside draw); also for K-Q-J
suited if a royal flush pays at least 4300 coins
3. Break a low pair only for K-Q-J-10, any 3-card royal flush,
or any 4-flush or straight flush
4. Break a 4-flush or open-end straight only for a 3-card royal
5. If you have both a 4-flush and a 4-straight, go for the flush
(and never draw to an inside Straight unless it includes 3 honors)
6. Draw to any 3-card straight flush (even a double inside
draw) unless it requires breaking a made pay, any pair, or
any 4-flush or open-end straight, except draw to one or two
high cards rather than a double inside straight flush with no
honors
7. Break A-K-Q-J only for suited Q-J or any three suited honors
8. Break any three of A, K, Q and J for any two suited honors
9. Hold any one, two or three honors, except
Discard Ace from A-honor-honor (but keep A-honor if suited)
10. Keep a suited 10 when you have only one of A, K, Q or J,
and no discard is of the same suit, except don't hold a ten with
an ace if the jackpot is less than 4600 coins
BTW, an "honor" is elsewhere defined as an A, K,
Q or J, as opposed to the game of Bridge where
tens are also honors. In "Optimum Play" the rules
were refined a little, and the word "honor" was
changed to "high card." But it was the above
version that Jazbo determined would yield within
0.01% of perfect play.
I recommend to Dan that he does not list his strategy here. He should
have learned from previous encounters that when I criticize his writing,
I do so accurately, and when his actual writings are produced, it's
always embarrassing to him. Also, another Dancer versus Paymar squabble
would be annoying to most people on vpFREE --- not to mention the
administrator.
I have accepted Bob's challenge. He should have
learned from previous encounters that I am fully
capable of showing the errors in his criticisms.
If he wants to go into the hand rank table, I am
willing to post it here, too.
My reports contained three strategies. The first one (Beginner's) was
somewhat similar in style to Paymar's Precision Play rules, although
with many fewer errors. The highest level, which I called Professional
Strategy, was perfect (something Dan has never published), although the
format Liam W. Daily and I use today to show the same strategy in our
strategy cards and Winner's Guides is much easier to understand than
what I published in 1995.
Perhaps someone else would care to compare the
style and wording of Bob's rules with mine. And
as everyone here knows, I have never attempted to
publish a "perfect" strategy for any game except
the trivial Double Down Stud. Instead, my
strategies are optimized to help the
non-professional player achieve the highest
per-hour expected win rate. Most players will
give up more when trying to play perfectly due to
reduced speed and unintentional deviation from a
complex strategy.
Dan
···
--
Dan Paymar
Author of best selling book, "Video Poker - Optimum Play"
Editor/Publisher of VP newsletter "Video Poker Times"
Developer of VP analysis/trainer software "Optimum Video Poker"
Visit my web site at www.OptimumPlay.com
"Chance favors the prepared mind." -- Louis Pasteur
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