Tom Robertson wrote:
Dan wrote:
<snip>This is not to say that either or both of these reported anomalies
actually exist, for if they did it should be possible to take
advantage of this knowledge by playing quickly after getting quads or
better, then pausing awhile if the next hand is not a winner. My own
experience shows the anomaly to be so consistent it's scary, yet, as
for other strange occurrences, neither the anomaly itself nor the
attempt to take advantage of the knowledge seem to affect the long
term payback of the game.This last sentence makes it unclear whether you are advocating playing
one coin or not. If the anamoly is so consistent, it should be simple
to take significant advantage of it. It implies that, enough to draw
fairly meaningful conclusions, you've attempted to take advantage of
it by playing one coin, but have found the results to contradict the
consistency of the anamoly. Or does "neither the anomaly itself nor
the attempt to take advantage of the knowledge seem to affect the long
term payback of the game" refer to "other strange occurrences" and not
to the anamoly in question?
I was not advocating either. I was merely reporting what several readers had said in letters or e-mails to me and making some observations. Remember, this is from a booklet that carries the disclaimer that it is to be read for fun only.
<snip>
But I still feel that anyone who believes that anomalies can't
possibly exist in video poker games is putting entirely too much
faith in government regulations.The probability that video poker machines are perfectly random, at
which I can only guess, directly affects their value, and is one of
several reasons I "fudge" in the direction of conservatism.
I have never recommended "fudging" in either direction. Any deviation, either way, reduces your expected return. Obviously the machines can not possibly be completely random since they are driven by a computer program, and mathematicians have proven that truly random numbers cannot be generated by any kind of algorithm. Even so, the way that the RNG is used to repeatedly shuffle the deck should make it impossible for us to detect any pattern and use it to our advantage. We "see" patterns in the way the cards are dealt in the same way that we see faces and animals in cloud formations. If you see what looks like a dog in the clouds, can you then predict what shape you will see next? You would have just as much luck predicting the next deal on a video poker machine.
Dan
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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