VIDEO POKER

March 06, 2001

Tournament Strategy is Different from Regular Strategy

As in any event, you first have to know the rules. Here, thousands of entries each week will be trying for 50 cash prizes and 100 "trips to the finals." Many people will have multiple entries. When I entered a similar event there a year or so ago, I earned 60 entries. I earned $100 or so on one of them, and ended up with two entries in the 400-entries finals.

One important factor in any such tournament is to use up all of your credits. Here you have 15 minutes and most people finish in about 5 so that is no problem. You don't have all day to work out how to play the hands, but you don't have to race, race, race. On the contrary, there will be times when you need to figure out whether to take the conservative play or the go-for-broke play, so it is okay to take a bit of time to make that decision.

The game you will play for the tournament is Double Bonus poker --- probably 10/7 but it doesn't really matter. Everybody is on equal machines and the only difference between 10/7 and 9/7 pay schedules is the amount you receive for a full house. And full houses are largely irrelevant in determining whether you win.

You have 300 hands per entry. In that 300 hands, you need to either hit a royal or to hit four aces PLUS SOMETHING ELSE. There will be 15 or less people each week hitting a royal (and all of them will win a nice prize and advance to the finals) and maybe 200 people hitting four aces. Since only 100 people total each week go to the finals, four aces by themselves will not be good enough.

Other quads (paying either 250 or 400) are largely irrelevant unless you also have a set of aces. Although theoretically you could get four fours three times in the 300 hands and qualify that way, practically speaking it isn't going to happen.

The way I played these tournaments is to play "regular" 10/7 strategy for the first half of the tournament, and then "do or die" strategy for the remainder. That is, if I were dealt Kh Ks Qh Qs Qd early in the session, I would hold it. After all, it would provide me with 50 points that would be needed to add on to my aces (that I hoped to hit later on.) If I got this hand late in the session and had already hit aces or better, I would also keep it. But late in the round, if I had not already hit my aces or a royal, I would hold Kh Qh or Ks Qs and gone for the royal.

Drawing three cards to the royal is more than 16,000 to one against me. Probably won't happen (and it didn't during my 60 sessions). But it was my best chance at the time. Remember, about 1200 points is needed to make it to the finals. (Won't know the exact number for sure until everybody has played his or her sessions, but it will probably be close to that.) Ending up with 1050 points is not any better than ending up with 150. They are exactly tied. If you don't end up with AT LEAST 1200 points, you have NOTHING. To be sure, getting 1350 may end up better than getting 1340 (depending upon where the exact dividing line between prize amounts ends up), but unless you are over the minimum, you are tied for last.

This makes for some weird plays. Late in one round I was dealt a Jack high straight flush, and so I threw away the 987 and went for the royal. (Didn't connect.) One of the people who had attended some of my free classes saw me do this. He came up to me and remarked that he wouldn't have had the courage to make that play. I told him that courage had nothing to do with it. A 250-point straight flush wasn't going to get me into the finals. Keeping the straight flush was a give-up play. My only chance was to hit the royal. It didn't happen this time (it usually doesn't), but going down swinging is much better in my book than in taking the play that will guarantee you will lose.