#1: I am really into probability (especially video poker)
#2: It was free at the time.
I admit, most of the time they just go into the recycling bin after I thumb through them, but every once and a while I stumble on some fun articles.
In this one, there was just a blurb about a new style of video poker: "Guaranteed Play(tm) video poker".
In one test version at a 25-cent denomination, a $20 ticket bought 100 guaranteed hands of Deuces Wild. Instead of starting with 80 credits on the meter, as in a regular 25-cent video poker, the meter starts at zero - that's the key to casinos being able to offer the guarantee. Bet, and the credit meter moves to minus-5. Hit four of a kind for 20 credits in this Deuces version, and the meter moves to plus-15.
At the end, if you have positive credits, you can cash out. If the meter is negative, you just walk away - you never pay more than your original buy-in, no matter how negative the credit meter gets.
So what are the potential winnings here? Let's say you break even every hand. At the end of the session, you walk away with the same amount of money as if you lost every hand - nothing... for a net loss of $20. So in order to actually make out, you have to not only stay in the black to get paid, but you need to be up MORE than the amount of your buy-in. How many people actually double their money in a casino?
To combat this problem, there has got to be some user-side benefits or else the system would fail. You'll get more hands than $20 would normally buy or much better odds.
So what about strategy? When you're playing with virtual money and you're in the hole anyway nearing the end of your session, you might as well go for the gold. A low pair with some face cards? You would save the face cards normally... but when you're -100, being -95 won't do you any good, so go for the four of a kind.
So what's going on here - why this over regular video poker?
Read: Article
No comments:
Post a Comment