Advantage video poker

Video poker games in which skilled players can claim an edge over the house have become increasingly rare.

Games such as 10-7 Double Bonus Poker, which pays 100.17% with expert play, and full-pay Deuces Wild, 100.76%, survive in limited numbers in Nevada. But in Atlantic City, there are a few 99%-plus games, maxing out with a 99.9% version of Double Joker Wild. Scanning reports at VPFree2.com finds top games at 99.8% in Colorado and Illinois, 99.7% in Mississippi and 99.5% in Pennsylvania.

And so it goes throughout the country. Gaming labs are better at rating video poker games than they were in the 1990s, and casinos are not letting games that rate at 100% or better on their floors.

Nevertheless, a disproportionate share of my video poker-related e-mail is about beatable games. Let’s try to answer a few of the most frequently asked questions.

• If games pay more than 100%, why would any casino offer them?

Most players don’t know expert strategy and don’t get 100%. Casinos still make money on these games.

Not only that, the games can be an attraction. Las Vegas locals casinos sometimes mark banks of the games with signs saying “Certified 100 Percent.” The slot director at an Illinois casino that once offered 10-7-5 Double Bonus told me it brought in players, their spouses and their friends.

• Should I drop everything and take money out of the ATM if I get a chance to play 100% games?

Not necessarily. Unless you’ve studied, practice and know the expert strategy for the specific game, you won’t get the 100% return.

Also, the published payback percentages include big payoffs on rare hands such as royal flushes and, in Deuces Wild, four 2s. In 10-7-5 Double Bonus, 1.67% of the overall return comes from royals, leaving a 98.5% game without royals. In full-pay Deuces, 1.77% comes from natural royals and 4.07 from four-deuce hands, leaving 94.92% without the jackpot hands.

• If I take the time and learn strategy inside and out, can I make a living at 100% games?

Probably not.

Casinos that offer 100% games almost always put them at the 25-cent denomination. They’ve found $1 and higher games are too attractive to pros.

If you play 800 hands per hour making the maximum $1.25 bet on quarter machine, you risk $1,000 per hour. Your average profit would be $1.70 on 10-7-5 Double Bonus or $7.60 on full-pay Deuces. You’d be making more at a minimum-wage job.

Even at that, it’s an extremely volatile return because you lose money on the large majority sessions that do not include a big jackpot hand. You need enough cash in reserve to survive potentially long losing streaks – basically, you can play these games professionally if you don’t actually need the money.

One more thing. Casinos that offer 100% games often offset that by excluding them from rewards programs. The return at the game is all you get.

• Are those the games video poker pros play?

No, they want higher returns, so they play games that pay more than 99 but less than 100 percent but are eligible for rewards programs. Then they zero in on multiple-points days and gain their advantage through cash back, free play, tournaments, contest entries and other perks.

Still, for most of us, 100% games are rare treats. I play them whenever I’m in Nevada. You can’t make a living at these games, but I find playing with any kind of edge to be a reward in itself.

Look for John Grochowski on Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/7lzdt44) and Twitter (@GrochowskiJ).

This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net.