About Those Strategy Quizzes

7 October 2023

By Jerry Stickman

From Mark:

Dear Stickman,

I enjoy your articles about video poker. I especially enjoy the video poker quizzes. But I have noticed that at times the difference between the best hold and others is a very small amount. My question is, why should I even bother about the small difference. Some of the differences are as little as 0.011 credits. Playing this wrong will not ever be noticed.

Never the less, please keep the quizzes coming.

Looking forward to your response,

Mark

Hi Mark,
I am glad you enjoy the articles and the quizzes. You are absolutely correct that at times the difference in return is a very small amount.

Ther quizzes are designed for a wide range of player’s knowledge of the playing strategy.

Most readers are probably more casual players – those playing only a few times a year. Other readers are avid video poker players. They play several times a year – maybe monthly for a few days at a time, or nearly weekly. They can play hundreds of thousands of hands a year.

For these players, even a very small difference in return can make a real difference in their results. On a dollar video poker game – five dollars a hand – a 0.011 credit difference amounts to only 1.1 cents. That hand can easily occur 1,000 times in a year when playing hundreds of thousands of hands. Now the difference in total return is 11 dollars.

This is not an isolated case. There are many more close hands, and each 10 or 11 dollars adds up.

Do not stress about the close hands. But if you truly want to get the best return possible, every hand counts – no matter how small the difference.

As I stated above, the quizzes are designed for players of all types. For this reason, there must be some hands with close holds. Serious players who play frequently normally get the close calls correctly. They have to in order to make their play more rewarding.

As always, may all your wins be swift and large, and your losses be slow and small.

Jerry “Stickman”

Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack and video poker and advantage slot machine play. He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines. He authored the video poker section of "Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Pai Gow Poker!" You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at stickmanjerryg@gmail.com