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I am mainly a craps player, but find myself playing more and more
video poker. To you video poker pros:
I don't understand the tendency to play anything other than 9/6
Jacks or Better when trying to run up the comps. It seems like a
lot of you play the Bonus, DD Bonus, NSUD, etc. machines that have a
lower percentage return (but a higher pay-table on the higher
hands).
Also, even with these machines (other than JoB) that have a higher
percentage, the big payoff that shifts the percentage higher than
JoB tends to be with the rarely seen "bonus hands" or in the case of
a progressive machine, the Royal.
I understand from the point of expectancy and pure strategy to make
money, there are benefits from machines other than JoB, but I'm
looking at this from a rookie standpoint of wanting to put as much
money through the machine and stay relatively even.
Since the majority of the hands result in 2 pairs, trips, straights,
and flushes - aren't you better off playing the machines that give
more frequent smaller payoffs (rather than the really big payoff on
the monster hand) so that you can keep the comp-clock running longer?
If you are primarily a craps player, then you aren't playing to beat the casino. At least you should understand that the casino's edge on the game is there, and you cannot develop a strategy to beat the casino at the game, the best you can do is hope to get lucky and have a short term win.
Video Poker provides one of the few oppotunities for players to actually beat the casino (play a game where the player has an edge over the long term).
Even for those who chose not to play VP for advantage play, it's still worth learning how to play the games you are going to play so that you lose as little as possible along the way.
Now to your questions - first NSUD has a higher return than 9/6 JoB does. Depending on the exact pay tables for the other games, some of them also can have higher returns than 9/6 JoB does.
Unless the comp rate is reasonably high (greater than .5%), then from one standpoint it couild be said that it makes no sense to play JoB for comps, as you are spending more in expectation to get the comps then you would spend to purchase the room/food/shows/other goodies outright.
But, if you like to play video poker, and are going to play it, then why not get the comps that come from the play. I assume that you enjoy the comps that come from your craps play, and don't mind that you pay a premium to get those comps because you enjoy the game you play.
If you enjoy playing VP, then you might find that JoB turns out to be a relatively boring game, with few "jackpot" hands, and little chance to post a very large win unless you get a royal or have a very uncharacteristic run of luck elsewhere. The jackpotty games have a higher chance of posting a large win with only a little bit of luck. Part of the thrill of gambling is the rush of winning, and 9/6 JoB provides a relatively infrequent rush of winning, where the other games provide that adrenaline rush much more frequently.
You can play many more hands of VP than you can of almost any other game (even most slot machines) in the same amount of time, so those "rare" jackpot events become routine events if you start to put in a lot of hours at video poker. Even if you play a relatively slow pace of 500 hands/hour, you should get a royal flush about every 80 hours of play on most video poker games. Other lesser jackpot type hands occur much more frequently. In a non-wild card game, 4 of a kind occurs about every 400 hands.
Then there are the players that want to play for advantage play. Unless the casino promotions are very strong, 9/6 JoB provides rare opportunities for advantage play. Some games are over 100% return off the top, and provide the opportunity for advantage play with little to nothing in the way of casino promotions. Other games by themselves fall below 100% return, but with the right promotions offer opportunities for advantage play.
Not all casinos offer 9/6 JoB, and other games may be required in order to find the best play in the casino.
People choose to play the games they play for many reasons. First, the games must be available where they go to play. Then they decide which games they like for whatever reason, for the chance of the rush of winning, for the chance to beat the casino, to wash action for some other purpose with the minimum expected loss, for the promotions linked to the game, or whatever.
A true video poker pro wouldn't play 9/6 JoB just for comps, unless the comp rate was really high, and the comps could be turned back into cash via some mechanism. Often the pro that is playing 9/6 JoB or NSUD is doing so for cashback, bounceback cash, and other promotions that have real value.
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From: "waltsurtac" <diceslinger@sbcglobal.net>
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