CasinoGaming.com


	Sundays: Gaming Chips Tuesdays: Video Poker Wednesdays: Off the Shelf Fridays: Richard Eng, Player's Edge Saturdays: Pocket Aces

VIDEO POKER

Columns

Back to Bob's index
Back to columnist index

Bob Dancer writes a video poker column for beginners to experts. He also writes a column each week with Jeffrey Compton titled Player's Edge, which features information on promotions at various Las Vegas Hotel. Player's Edge is published each Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Click here to send Bob Dancer an e-mail.

Jan 14, 2003

Too Much Is Not Enough

The Plaza downtown frequently has promotions where you get a jacket for $200+ jackpots. In fact they are running another one this month. For a nickel video poker player, a $200 jackpot requires a royal flush. A quarter player needs an 800-coin payoff, which happens in some games on four aces or four deuces. In many $1 games, each 4-of-a-kind pays AT LEAST $250, so a dollar player can easily accumulate as many jackets as he wants.

Many Las Vegas local players have a closet-full of logo jackets. Getting another one has some appeal, but getting ten or more of the same kind of jacket is hardly a desirable thing to most of us. So the Plaza never had to limit the number of jackets you could win.

Except for one guy, who would win twenty or more jackets during each of these promotions. The Plaza finally put an official limit of "twelve jackets per person". This is a rule put in for very few people only, basically, as almost nobody else even wanted that many.

Now for the funny part. One guy had the nerve to go up to casino management and complain that this limit was hurting his ability to survive! He wanted to be able to earn more jackets so he could go out and sell them! If the casino so unfairly restricted him, he might be forced to go out and get a job!

This is a pretty dumb thing to say to casino management. Some casinos are always on the lookout to identify "professional players" so they can restrict them. Most successful players believe their best bet is to stay under the casino's radar.

An analogous situation happened several months ago at the Hard Rock, a casino that has had a revolving door policy for its general managers. The policies of this casino regularly change dramatically as new management teams take over and "make adjustments." One of the constants at the casino is that it appeals to a young, hip crowd.

At the time of this particular incident, the Hard Rock had tighter than average video poker --- with the exception of some full pay quarter Deuces Wild with a nice slot club. These games appealed to a group of geriatric players who look for the best plays for quarters as they want to play under the IRS $1,200 "radar".

When a new management team took over, one player (who happens to be rather prominent in the player community) lobbied to keep the games. "Please don't take them out!" she begged. "These are the only games here these players can play. If you take them out these players will have to go somewhere else."

Gee, thanks for the information. A casino geared to players in their twenties and thirties must have had to think about three seconds or less about whether they wanted to keep some games they were losing money on to satisfy some 65-year-old players whose mere presence stuck out like a sore thumb.

When the attributes of a winning player are listed, "saying appropriate things to casino employees" isn't usually mentioned. But it should be. You have to be stay in the game to win. And saying the wrong thing can end the game for you.

There are people who believe that telling the truth in all cases is the best policy. I don't think such people can possibly be winning gamblers. Sometimes a little misdirection is called for, and sometimes just plain keeping your mouth shut is the best strategy.

Remember each winning player is trying to get his-or-her share of the "profit pie." Most other players, and casinos, naturally will try to grab a little more of this pie if you let them. Telling another participant in this game, "In order to minimize my share, all you have to do is . . ." can't be a smart way to go about the game.