Secrets and No Secrets of Video Poker

28 September 2013

By Jerry Stickman

Hi Jerry,

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you to say thank you. I have been so busy.
I have other questions: If the secrets are in your book, then you don't have to tell me - I mean I will buy your book. If you don't cover these questions in your book, would you be able to fill me in on the trick/s (if there even are any).

• How do you recognize when a jacks or better machine is hot?


• Do you notice when someone puts a crap load of money into the machine then loses it all, then you run to that machine and play?


• Are there a certain number of hands you play when you start, then bail out if it's not paying?


• When do you know to keep playing on a certain machine?


• Do you watch what hands a player is being dealt and if it's dealing crap, you avoid that machine?


• Are there any other things you watch for or do that make you play on a certain machine?


• When do you continue or bail from a machine when you're playing?


• Are there a certain number of days between hot and cold cycles of machines?

These are a lot of questions but they will give you something to think about too. Thank you so much for reading this message. I hope you'll be able to help me.

Also, another question – I hope you don't mind.

• Are there certain days that are better than others to play?

I guess this could also help you. I mean this could give you something else to think about.....
Thank you so much for taking some time out to answer my questions. I'm real grateful that I have someone like you to help me. I hope that I've somehow helped you too.

Jody

Dear Jody,

There are some general statements regarding random events around which your questions center.

• How do you recognize when a jacks or better machine is hot?


• Do you notice when someone puts a crap load of money into the machine then loses it all, then you run to that machine and play?


• Are there a certain number of days between hot and cold cycles of machines?


• Are there certain days that are better than others to play?

It is easy to recognize when a machine is hot – it is paying a lot. What cannot be determined is how long the machine will stay hot. It could stay hot for 10, 20, 100, 500 or 1000 hands or it could turn cold the next hand. That is what random means – you cannot predict what is coming, you can only observe the present and past.

There is no way to predict how many days there are between cycles (actually, it is more associated with the amount of play rather than time). There is no correlation of cycles to days of the week other than when a machine is played more – generally weekends – it will go through more cycles (both winning and losing).

All the rest of your questions generally deal with how to determine when you play, don’t play or leave a machine. How a game is chosen is very personal. Maybe you had good luck at a certain machine in the past; maybe you want to sit away from other people; maybe you want to be near other people; maybe you like loud machines; maybe you like quiet machines; heck, maybe you hear the machine calling your name.

In reality, it really doesn’t matter which machine you pick when it comes to knowing whether it will be hot or cold – you don’t know. I personally detest cigarette smoke so I choose to play machines that are as far from smokers as I can get. This is as good a method as any other of finding a hot machine.

How long should you stay at a machine? This is covered somewhat in the book. As long as things are going well with your bankroll and your disposition by all means stay at the machine. You never know when the next royal flush will happen and since random is, well, random; this machine is as likely as any other to have the next royal.

The better question is when to leave a machine. You leave when you start making mistakes in play such as not noticing a better hold. You leave if you become irritated with the flow of the game, the person next to you, or with the noise. You leave when you are no longer in control. In short, you leave when you are no longer having fun.

Jody, nothing you do from a machine selection or exit strategy standpoint will matter in the long run. Over time the casino will get its cut regardless of which machine(s) you play. While hot and cold streaks can be seen looking back, there is no way in random casino games that anyone can predict when they will happen. A machine could be devouring credits for 30 minutes and then hit two royals in the matter of 5 minutes. The games are random – and random is just that. It is unpredictable.

May all your wins be swift and large and all your losses slow and tiny.

Jerry “Stickman”



Jerry “Stickman's" new book is "Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo and Pai Gow Poker." He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines. In addition, Jerry “Stickman” along with his partner, #1 best-selling gaming author, Frank Scoblete gives private lessons in dice control. You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at stickmanjerry@aol.com