A few weeks ago, I wrote about a drawing at the ROW in Reno (a Caesars property where the Eldorado, Silver Legacy, and Circus Circus are all connected indoors), where Bonnie and I had each accumulated more than a half-million tickets during our stay. While that is a lot of tickets, everybody gets free tickets […]
Posts in category Advice for Players
How Do I Figure?
I received the following email. It requires more analysis than I normally do without charge for strangers, but since I can get a column out of it, why not? Upcoming video poker excursion commencing Friday, leaving Saturday evening. Playing exclusively $1 9/6 JOB 99.54%. My Offers for this Trip: 1 night comp’d in the best […]
Comparing Bonus Poker with Super Aces Bonus Pok...
I recently came across a dollar 8/5 Super Aces Bonus Poker game and it’s been years since I played it. I know 8/5 Bonus Poker cold, and because the full house, flush, and straight are the same between the two games, the strategies must be similar. Still, they differ in the amount of the straight […]
This Made Me Uncomfortable
Bonnie and I were at Harrah’s in Cherokee, NC for a Caesars Seven Stars trip. Cherokee is in the Smoky Mountains and a world away from Las Vegas. Plus, they have $5 NSU Deuces Wild. For a Seven Stars trip, you get up to $1,200 airfare, $500 in resort credit, and transportation to and from […]
Figuring the Return for 8/5 Bonus Poker with Fo...
Note to reader: The original version of this contained an arithmetic mistake. It was pointed out to me by a man who posts under the name “New2vp”. The error, which affected one of the tables in the chart, are in the section relating to quad 5s-Ks. The corrected version follows. Thank you New2vp. I received […]
The Old Man
Today’s column is less technical and more about “how I do things” that aren’t specifically related to video poker. Most of you have heard of Adele, one of the premier singers of our time. She is performing a series of concerts at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and I was invited to receive two tickets. […]
A Mailer to Appreciate
I recently wrote that I had hit a $120,000 royal flush at Dotty’s in October. I mused that possibly the plug had been pulled on my welcome as I had hit a number of big jackpots there in the past. Several readers responded that surely my time was up there. In November, I received no […]
Adventure at Railroad Pass – Part 1 of 2
Railroad Pass was built some 90 years ago. Insofar as Las Vegas casinos go, that’s ancient. Railroad Pass isn’t actually in Las Vegas, of course. It’s in Henderson, almost to Boulder City. At the time this story happened, almost 20 years ago, they actually had a traffic signal in the middle of the 95 freeway […]
Dazed and Confused
I recently received this email — slightly shortened and lightly edited: Just got back from my first trip to Mohegan Sun in Connecticut and Foxwoods. Game: 9/7 Double Bonus. $1 denomination. Five credits at a time. Results: Day 1: +$1,400.00. Mohegan Sun. Day 2: -$2,000.00 Foxwoods. (Only hit one four-of-a-kind in 4 hours of […]
What Was Your Best Gambling Decision?
Pick your one or two best gambling decisions throughout your life. Pick them before reading on. Take however much time you need. This blogpost will be here when you get back. This post has been inspired by my recent reading of Annie Duke’s books, “Thinking in Bets” and “Quit.” I wrote about these books last […]