Even if I find the best payables possible (9/6 full pay machines), I still take my lumps when playing video poker. You state that the chances of hitting a royal flush are about once every 40,000 hands. I know I have played far more than 40,000 hands and have never hit one. Will I ever hit a royal flush? Daniel D.
You may be rendezvousing with the correct playing conditions, Daniel, even using the best possible video poker strategies, but there are no guarantees that you will hit a royal flush on every hand, or every 40,000th hand, or ever.
There’s a subtle and costly difference between the concepts of “one royal flush with each 40,000 hands” and “forty thousand-to-one against a royal in every hand.” That 40,000-to-one statistic does not involve a cumulative total, but represents independent trials.
Even if you were to play 39,999 hands without a royal, there is no greater likelihood of your hitting a royal on the 40,000th hand than there was on the first.
Yes, the best-of-the-best video poker machines are said, theoretically, to return 100% or more of the coins played. But look closely at that word “theoretically”, and you’ll understand why even professional video poker players need a decent sized bankroll to sustain them through those long dry losing streaks, the sort you’re currently enjoying.
And, as you’ve certainly noticed, even with those full pay 9/6 machines, the house still has more than a 3% edge against you through that parched and dusty season before the royal rolls in. ‘Nuff said.
Dear Mark,
I have never understood the correct strategy when doubling against a 10. Should a player double down on an 11 when the dealer has an up card of 10? I suspect you lose more often since you get only one card against a powerful dealer card. Harold G.
Even though the 10 is a potent card for the dealer, I recommend sticking with correct basic strategy and doubling on an 11 versus the dealer’s up-10. Blackjack ‘rithmetic 104 (the advanced course) verifies that you will gain an additional $6 per $100 wagered when you double down as against just hitting. True, Harold, you will win less often by doubling than you would by drawing more cards, but by being paid double your initial wager when you win results in a greater overall gain.
Dear Mark,
Why the hand signals at blackjack games? To avoid confusion, wouldn’t it be much easier to say you just want a hit instead of scratching? Dana H.
Hand signals, Dana, are used in Login Sbobet blackjack to eliminate any confusion between the player and the dealer. In most casinos, the surveillance cameras in the ceiling (eye in the sky) do not pick up any verbal dialogue. Instead, by monitoring hand signals, casino security can fully comprehend the action at the blackjack game, keeping player and dealer chicanery to a minimum.
Dear Mark,
Most casinos today have multiple deck blackjack games. Aren’t multiple decks harder to count cards? Cliff W.
The house likes you to think so, and when playing on multiple-deck games, Cliff, you do give up a slight edge to the house. But actually, it is no more difficult to assess cards one at a time, whether you are playing against six decks or one. Card counters assign a numerical value like plus one, minus one or neutral to every card played. Be it 312 cards or 52, counters will simply add or subtract the plus or minus values for every card dealt, then wager and play accordingly.
Gambling thought of the week: “The one sure thing about luck is that it will change.” Bret Harte
