CasinoCityTimes.com

Home
Gaming Strategy
Featured Stories
News
Newsletter
Legal News Financial News Casino Opening and Remodeling News Gaming Industry Executives Author Home Author Archives Search Articles Subscribe
Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter!
Recent Articles
Best of Jerry Stickman
author's picture
 

Bonus Poker – 8/5 Standard or 7/5 Progressive?

17 December 2022

From Norman:

Hi Stickman,

So, progressives.

I have always kept in mind what you told me a while back that you can
add about .5 percent per $500 on a progressive machine.

So, a couple of my observations. One, it seems like every pay table for BP is 7/5 at a
progressive machine. If BP is 7/5, and the meter is $1500 I believe it becomes a 98.57
game.

The meter at $2000 would make it a 99.07 payback if my math is right. So, let’s
say I sit down at the bar and the meter is $1250. To me that makes the game a 98.32%
pay back. I also figured that on a 7/5 quarter BP game I’m giving up $97 in full house
payouts. (a full house 1 in 90 hands x 700 hands an hour, x 10 hours).

So, do you play an 8/5 BP game on the casino floor or go for the progressive?  Note: the
progressive games require 10 credits to get the 800-for-1 pay for a royal flush.

Norman,

Thanks for mentioning that the progressive games were 10-credit maximum games. It
does make a difference.

Here are the calculations for the 10-credit max 7/5 Progressive Bonus Poker.
10 Credit Jackpot                           Return  Variance
$1,000 ($500 / 5 credits) 97.09     8
$1,500 ($750 / 5 credits)               97.52     13
$2,000 ($1,000 / 5 credits)           98.01     21
$2,500 ($1,250 / 5 credits)           98.52     32
$3,000 ($1,500 / 5 credits)           99.08     47

Based on these numbers, the $500 increase in jackpot size does equal about 0.5
percent increase in return. It takes a jackpot of $3,000 to match the return of the 8/5
non-progressive game and the variance for that is more than twice the standard 8/5
(99.16 return / 21 variance).

Now, the 7/5 5-credit max progressive Bonus Poker game.

Jackpot                Return  Variance
$1,000                  98.01     21
$1,700                  99.56     61
$2,300                  101.03   108

Notice how much more quickly the returns increase when it is a five-credit maximum
game.

As far as my choice for play, because of the higher variance, I won’t play the game at
less than a $2,000 jackpot. I probably would not even play if there were several others
on the same progressive bank unless the jackpot was at least $2,500.

I am not a fan of variance. I am a fan of return at the lowest variance available – but I do take a flyer now and then with the right incentive. That incentive is a return significantly higher than 100
percent.

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
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.

Jerry Stickman Websites:

www.goldentouchcraps.com
www.goldentouchblackjack.com
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.

Jerry Stickman Websites:

www.goldentouchcraps.com
www.goldentouchblackjack.com