EXAMPLES

Okay, it’s time I got around to giving the examples I promised earlier in the month, providing  some help in figuring out the EV (expected theoretical value)  of video poker plays. If you are an old hand at these math calculations, you won’t be interested in this. However, if you are a new player who wants/needs some techniques to help you lose less, these examples might be just what the VP doctor ordered. There is another group who might also welcome this information: long-time experienced players who had gotten used to finding good plays back in the golden era of VP before the recession. So many positive opportunities were available that they didn’t worry so much about EV. They could choose the one that was closest to where they lived, or was on their favorite game, or gave the extra players club benefits they liked – and be assured they were playing with an edge over the casino.

As I often say – that was then and this is now. Choosing good VP plays is much harder work now; and, especially if you are in an area with a choice of casinos, figuring and comparing EVs  is a must-have skill if you want to lose less and possibly pull out a long-term win. One important note: there are non-math factors that might be considered when you are choosing a VP play. But a wise player might want to first look at the math and then decide on the importance of personal-choice factors.

Here is the “formula”:

1. Learn the expected value of the game you want to play. (EV)
2. Find the base players club point percentage value (CLUB %)
3. Add 1+2 for value of the total play (TP)
4. Start adding extra benefits

Some examples I will be giving are from my own experiences, both present and past. But first I will show you how I find information for a casino in which I have never played or at least not for many years, helping you learn how to do this “from scratch.”  I will choose the Silver Sevens Casino in Las Vegas since I haven’t played there since it has new owners who changed the name from Terrible’s.

My best research tool for this task is vpFREE2 where I click and scroll until I come to Silver Sevens Hotel and Casino. I see that they have VP games from 1¢ to $5, quite a wide spread.  Another reason that this is such a good research tool is that not only does it give the available games and their location but the paytable and EV of each. (If you want look up the EV of any VP game, you can click on the “Pay Table” tab at the top of the site.)

I next check out the “Player’s Club” tab, where I find this information:

• $2 Coin-In = 1 Point on Video Poker
• Free Play or Comps: 400 Points = $1 (0.125%)

Okay, I put that information together and here are several choices that might appeal to various levels of players:

100.17 (EV) DB                       99.17 (EV) Bonus Poker            98.49 (EV) Bonus Deluxe

1¢ Spin Poker                                25¢, 50¢, $1                            $1, $2, $5

.125 (CLUB %)                       .125 (CLUB %)                            .125 (CLUB %)

100.295 (TP)                            99.295 (TP)                                   98.615 (TP)

This is how you can get the basic information you need for starting your search for a good game choice.  Every search needs a solid foundation.  Then you can start adding the EV of the extras to boost your total play EV:  multiple-point bonuses, tournament and drawing opportunities and other special promos, bounce-back cash/free play, and comps.

However, this is just the starting point.  You need to double-check this information and search  for much more because there are some problem areas and warnings as you continue your research:

1.  Nothing takes the place of eyes-on scouting.  Although vpFREE2 does a pretty good job, keeping information current is a big task and depends on the reporting of many volunteer players to track the constantly changing game inventory and benefits in hundreds of casinos across the country.  So you may not find some machines that are listed – or find they have been moved – and there may be newly-installed machines that haven’t been as yet reported.
2. Watch for exceptions.  For example, notice that on the Silver Sevens page we used above, there is a note about one set of machines that aren’t eligible for multiple point promos.  The vpFREE site will note this when that information is reported, but often you will not know about this until you sit down at the machine and notice the dreaded restriction sticker.  Such stickers may exclude this machine from promotions or state that it requires more than the regular coin-in to earn points or even earns no players club points at all.
3. Players club information may not always be as simple as our example above.  There may be several point-earning levels depending on the game – the best games often take more coin-in to earn a point.  And there may be several more levels depending on your tier.  In some casinos the higher-tier players can earn points faster because there are tier bonuses.

I’m going to pause here. Explaining this makes me tired and I need to rest. And I bet many of you get tired reading about all these complex issues and you need to take a break too. My next blog entry here needs to discuss October promotions so that will give us all a break. Then hopefully we will all be rested and I can continue with some more examples after that!