Video Poker at the Palms

One of my favorite casino hotels in Las Vegas is the Palms. This property is located on the southern side of Flamingo Drive on the west side of the strip. The rooms are very nice and are abundantly equipped. Their outstanding features, however, are the beds and pillows. I have never had a hotel room elsewhere with such comfortable sleeping. If you try a stay there you'll see what I mean.

The other big attraction at the Palms, for me, is their Video Poker. To begin with, most of the Jacks or Better games, 25 cents or higher, are of the 9/6 variety. There are some $1 Triple Play and Five Play 9/6 games available; one of my favorite games. The return on these machines is 99.54% plus the cash back on a player's card (0.25%, I believe). Not all of the Jacks or Better machines are 9/6s, so check out the Full House vs. Flush ratio before you play; you should not have any trouble finding a 9/6 machine.

The Palms has three games that return over 100%. There are a number of 10/7 Double Bonus machines throughout the casino. The easiest way to find one of these machines is to check out the slant tops at the west entrance to the casino (you would enter here coming from the parking garage). There is a whole bank of these and with proper play they return 100.17% to the player.

If you walk along the southern most walkway and check across from the casino cage you'll find that there are a number of 15/8 Loose Deuce machines. The 15/8 figure refers to the payoffs on the Five of a Kind and the Straight Flush. When this machine is played optimally it returns 100.14% to the player.

Finally, at the extreme east end of the casino there is a bank of Kings or better Joker Poker machines. This type of machine, when properly played, returns 100.63% to the player.

So there you have it. There are some good Video Poker choices at the Palms. Of course, the above return figures assume five coins in and optimal play. For the latter, decide on your game and then get a good Video Poker computer simulation program and practice, practice, practice. Then visit the Palms and enjoy the game (and those great beds). See you next month.