The Hard Rock Tampa is pretty much a video poker waste land. I have been playing a 5 line Jacks or Better machine at $1.00 with, until recently, some pretty decent results. I understand that the playing strategy doesn’t change for the Hot Roll version but that the variance goes up. I read somewhere that the variance increases two times for this game with these parameters. That would put this variance at 40 (double the variance for traditional Jacks or Better) and similar to a single line 9/6 DDB game (44). Can anyone confirm these numbers. Thanks.
Variance of Hot Roll 9/5 Jacks or Better
I’ve only realized that there’s a forum on this site, after being a member for a few years. I’m replying to a random post just to see how much "traction’ it gets.
As to the question posed, with respect to the variance of Hot Roll, I’d feel comfortable to saying that $1 HR 5-play 9/5 JB would have a similar variance to $2+ 5-play 9/6 DDB. (I’m admittedly on soft ground here.)
A comparison between two plays must represent the same total dollar wager. The raw variance number is expressed in “bets” and when comparing plays, any difference in wager amount must be accounted for separately.
Further, in comparing two plays, the assumption is that the general game format is identical. So you compare 5-play to 5-play. Unless the change in game format was accounted for in your source, it wouldn’t be a comparison from 5-play to single line formats.
Unfortunately, without a reference to your source, it’s difficult to speak more accurately.
My experience with Hot Roll is limited (I play it in Tunica). I would describe my experience with “volatility” (a better term when comparing hourly $ fluctuations than the more strictly defined variance) of $.10 5-play 9/5 JB as reasonable “on par” with $.50-$1 single line DDB.