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

For more details and a schedule of Bob's free classes, visit www.bobdancer.com.

March 17, 2009

They'd Love You in Illinois!

Perhaps senility has set in. The event that inspired this article happened several months ago and I don't remember whether I've written about it or not. I've done a quick check and can't find it anywhere (I submit original columns to a lot of different places), but I'm not positive. If it is a repeat, please forgive me. At a minimum it was freshly done this time without consulting any other piece.

I was playing $10 Five Play NSU Deuces Wild (99.73%) during a Palms Casino promotion where, for once, these machines counted. Usually they exclude the machines in the high-limit room from their promotions and occasionally they don't -- and often it's hard to know until they get there. (The machines all say "This machine is not eligible for any promotion," but it's not always enforced. Sometimes the rules explicitly exclude "NSUD and other full pay machines" and sometimes they don't --- never mind that NSU is not a full-pay machine but their rule-writers don't seem to know or care about this, even though it's been pointed out to the slot club many times.) This is one reason why they've lost so many high-limit players. This is an excellent game to play if you are eligible for their promotions. If you're not eligible, there are better places to play.

On average you get a W2G on this game every 10 or 15 minutes or so. It only takes a "win" of 120 credits or more ($1,200) when you're betting 25 credits, so all wild royals ($1,250) or higher, dealt straight flushes ($500 per line) or 5-of-a-kinds ($800 per line), and various combinations add up to at least $1,200. On this particular day I was running luckier than average and in one half-hour period I collected six or seven hand-pays. (Most days aren't that much fun.)

A fellow playing $2 single-line 9/6 Double Double Bonus (where hand-pays are much less frequent) came over to me and commented that they'd love me in Illinois. I asked why and he said that there's a non-refundable state tax on W2Gs there. He didn't know who I was at the start of the conversation, but soon he recognized me and we talked about various video poker subjects. But as he left he commented again that the State of Illinois has serious budgetary problems and it would be a big help to the state if I'd come there and play.

He meant to be facetious, of course, but I was still amazed by his comments. Tax considerations are a part of the overall package I consider when I choose to play a game. Apparently he assumed I'd play the same game for the same stakes even under oppressive taxation conditions. If that was his assumption, he was very wrong. Smart players adapt their play to their environment. Were I to play in Illinois I'd know the state tax structure (at least approximately) and base my play accordingly.

Perhaps he just doesn't understand this. 9/6 Double Double Bonus (98.98%) is a poor choice in both Nevada and Illinois if you want a decent shot at winning, so anyone who'd play that game is missing a pretty basic part of winning video poker, namely to only play when you have an edge. (They must love him in Illinois as well!)

Having an argument there just didn't feel right, so I let it go. Whether he was right or wrong, it was a friendly conversation and it didn't appear he was in the mood for a "lesson." Besides, since I write for so many places, I knew this would be good fodder for a column eventually.

Also, it's very nice to be loved, even in Illinois, although there are significant limits to how much I'm willing to pay to receive that love.