VIDEO POKER

Trolling for Trinkets

Although the schedule varies from month to month, Eastside Cannery offers trinkets two days a week. The Cannery in North Las Vegas does the same, as does the Rampart on the west side.

A trinket is a gaudy, silvery pill box. To me it falls in the range of "casino crap," which means worthless junk casinos give away for free. If you put them on display in your home or office, it means you have to dust them. Storing them (for what?) takes up space. Shirley likes them, however. I'm under stern orders to bring them home when I get them. The ECan gift shop sells them for $20-$30, so clearly they have some value to some people.

While the trinkets themselves are relatively worthless to me, they contain money (or free play), which isn't worthless. You are guaranteed to get at least $5 and could win up to $1,000. Most people get $5 or $10 and I suspect the average is around $8. I don't have enough data to get a more precise number than this, so that's the number I'll use in my calculations. Frequently when estimating what a promotion is worth you have incomplete information and must make a "best guess." This is a fact of life for video poker players.

At ECan and the northside Cannery, it takes 999 points ($999 coin-in on 100% video poker machines -- $500 on other video poker machines) to earn the $8 prize. This 0.8% added to the 100% machines or 1.6% added to non-100% machines. (The Rampart has a different point structure, which I haven't studied as closely as it is on the "wrong side of town" relative to where I live, but I believe the percentage return when going for the trinkets is similar.)

I'm at the casino every Wednesday to teach video poker classes, and since Wednesdays are a trinket day, I always take the time to play $500 through one of the machines. Most of my play at the casino is done on a 3x point day, but percentage-wise playing $500 through on a trinket day is a better deal than playing on a 3x point day. They usually have a "Swipe n' Win!" promo going on at the same time, so I'll do my swipe and sometimes collect sometimes worthwhile there as well.

Note that this is a "small ball" way to approach winning. Small ball is a term used in baseball for the teams that rely on bunting, base stealing, and strong defense to win games rather than going for home runs. At many casinos I play for larger stakes and go for the home runs. At ECan, small ball is the way to go. If you're not someone who values the small ball approach at least some of the time, this is not the casino for you to choose.

I live eight miles away from the casino and certainly won't drive there just to pick up a trinket. (If I valued the trinkets themselves more, I might make the trip. But since I don't, I won't.) But I'm there anyway on Wednesdays, so I take advantage of it. Anyone who attends my classes on Wednesdays should strongly consider doing the same. And a portion of my readers live fairly close to one of these casinos, so for these players it might make sense to go in for both trinket days each week.

Much of the benefit from playing at ECan comes from the monthly mailers. Although I don't know the exact play requirements to earn the various levels of mailers at the casino, surely playing an extra $500 per week helps move me closer to the top mailer. Since I'm going to be playing anyway, this promotion merely shifts a portion of my play from a 3x point day (where the slot club pays 0.5% to video poker players) to 1x point day (normally worth 0.17% --- but now with a 1.6% bonus). Not a bad deal for the players.

Many casinos reward players in a small ball sort of way. To learn about them you have to go there frequently, pay attention, and check out what things are worth. The Palms now rewards players in this way and since that casino is 11 miles from my home, I've decided it's just not worth it for me to play there anymore.

You, of course, live somewhere other than where I do. You know different games and have a different-sized bankroll. Wallowing in the slot clubs at casinos to find out how to take advantage of the freebies is as least as important as knowing how to play the hands.