Perfect Video Poker Play

13 July 2024

By Jerry Stickman

From Randall in California

Stickman,

I very much enjoy your articles and read them every chance I get. You have written several articles about how to get the most out of casino play and they make a lot of sense to me.

Recently you wrote an article about casinos being able to track your video poker play to determine how good a player you are. I know these systems are in their infancy, but as they become more mainstream (and I believe they will), what would that do to the benefits of using the casino’s slot club card while playing video poker? If they can see you are playing perfect or near perfect strategy, I believe they could also ban you for that.

What do you say, sir?

Randall

Hi Randall,

You are right. Things seem to be getting tougher all the time for video poker players. Returns have been eroding for years. Now the casinos have access to a system that can tell them how well you play the game.

Let’s look a little closer at what may likely happen should these systems go mainstream. What could this mean for you?

Virtually all casino slot player’s clubs give points for playing video poker. The number of “tier points” (good for obtaining higher levels of player cards) and “bonus points” (good for spending on certain things in the casino) are based on the game and amount played. Usually, video poker pays significantly less that slots. The game and amount you play might also trigger other offers such as free room, food, and drink as well as other promotions and/or tournaments and drawings.

Assume that you play perfect strategy for the game and pay table you choose to play. The casinos still make money off your play – just not as much as those who do not know the strategy or play it well. I do not see any way the casino will change the tier and bonus points based on the skill of the video poker player. Other offers such as free room, food, etc., could easily be on the chopping block.

I also do not think casinos would ban anyone based on perfect play since even with perfect play, the casino makes money. They could raise the requirements for earning tier and bonus points. Banning someone would be too drastic and cause too much negative PR. Casinos are in it for the money. These tracking systems can show them where they can cut back on certain comps for good players to help the bottom line, however.

For now, I do not see any reason to stop using the casinos player’s club card for video poker. Use it. Get everything you can from your casino play.

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 and 888casino.com. 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