variance

[Albert_Pearson1]

The main reason for the low variance in pick-em, is because the Royal flush doesn't contribute a lot to the total payback of the game.
In most versions of Video Poker, the Royal contributes about 2% to the total payback of the game. In Pick-em the contribution is only about 1/2%, and the Royal is extremely infrequent in Pick-em.

But don't let the Low variance number fool you, the game can be quite a drain. If you don't hit your share of quads (and they don't come nearly as often as in regular VP)

Regards

A.P.

···

----- Original Message ----
From: markhaslem <markhaslem@yahoo.com>
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 6:27:04 AM
Subject: [vpFREE] variance

Hey looking through the glossary it says that pickem's have the lowest
variance. I'm not sure I understand that, I can see for the versions
that pay double for two pair why that would be, and they all come in
lower than the rest. Anyone care to explain why the pickem's come in
so low. Also speaking of mysteries why is JW2 in the glossary
described as 2 pair JW when the description says that there is only
one joker in the deck? Why 2 pair, what 2 pair, what are they talking
about?

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Terrence_Murphy]

I once described Pick'Em this way in an article:

Pick'Em poker is a game that has been around for a long time and is
found in many casinos around the state. It still has one of the best
payback returns found on any casino game, (99.95%) especially east of
Vegas. The rules are quite simple:

1. The game is played with a virtual deck of 52 cards.
2. You make your bet of one to five coins. (Please, play max coins,
always)
3. You are dealt four cards, face up. Let's call them A, B, C, and D.
4. The A and B cards are locked into your hand. You must take them.
5. Your only option is to choose either the C or the D card. You can
only hold one of them.
6. That's it! Just one choice to make. Sounds simple doesn't it.
A look up at the pay scale tells you that if you hit a royal flush,
you will win 6,000 credits. And as you go down the scale you can see
what the other winning hands pay. You will notice that this game pays
a lot more for the various winning hands such as a Full House or a
Flush than the other games pay. This is because you never start out
with anything more than three cards...never! What that really means
is that, unlike other games where you are dealt and can keep five
cards, you will never be dealt a Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-
a-Kind, Full House, Flush, or even a Straight. So, as you probably
figured out by know, the best hand that you can ever start out with
would be a Three-of-a-Kind which would give you a two card draw at
the forth and 600 credits if you hit it.

Compared to other video poker games, the proper strategy is a lot
simpler and easier to remember. If want to know more about how to
play this game, type Pick'Em poker into a good search engine like
Google, or go to wizardofodds.com where the Wiz himself will have
lots of info online about it, including a printable strategy card
that you can get for free.

Terrence "VP Pappy" Murphy, Midwest Casino guide

   "Variance is the component that provides the kick to the thrill of
gambling."
                    --TomSki

···

______________________________________________________

----- Original Message ----
From: markhaslem <markhaslem@...>
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 6:27:04 AM
Subject: [vpFREE] variance

Hey looking through the glossary it says that pickem's have the

lowest

variance. I'm not sure I understand that, I can see for the

versions

that pay double for two pair why that would be, and they all come

in

lower than the rest. Anyone care to explain why the pickem's come

in

so low.