Seven Deadly Sins of Video Poker Play: Pride

28 December 2024

By Jerry Stickman

While browsing through the offerings on television the other night I came across Se7en. It is a 1995 movie about detectives hunting a serial killer that uses the seven deadly sins as motivation for killing. While I am not much of a fan of the movie, lessons can be learned from it regarding video poker play and gambling in general.

This is the first in a series of seven articles that each cover one of the seven deadly sins – first article, first deadly sin – Pride.

The well-known phrase, “pride goeth before a fall” is taken from the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament. The definition of pride in dictionary.com states “people who are overconfident or too arrogant are likely to fail.”

The definition is true in general life, but it can also be true for video poker players (or gamblers of any type). It is a part of human nature.

Serious video poker players learn the proper strategy to maximize the return from their play. Most feel they have the strategy down pat after just a brief period of study. They feel confident in their understanding of the strategy. They head to the casino and play. The overconfidence and arrogance cause them to make mistakes without even realizing that they are. These mistakes hurt their return. The more they play, the worse they get – and the more they lose.

Another form of pride as it relates to video poker is one of which I was once guilty. For several years I played video poker for about six hours a day during monthly three-to-four-day trips. I became over confident in my play. I did not practice before each monthly trip – nor any other time for that matter. I felt the sheer volume of play was good enough to keep me sharp.

A review of the statistics of my play indicated something was wrong. After a few sessions of practice, the problem became apparent. Certain specific hands were consistently misplayed. My overconfidence and arrogance kept me from obtaining the maximum from my play. Fortunately, I finally realized it and corrected the errant behavior.

Blackjack players can also be guilty of the same manifestation of pride. They know basic strategy at blackjack can help them win, or at minimum, lose less. They will practice for a while and feel they have mastered it perfectly. They go to the casino and play – but they play poorly. They are overconfident in their actual abilities and end up giving the casino more than they need to.

Casinos are leery of card counters. But just because a player counts cards does not mean it is being done properly. Pride gets in the way of realizing the full potential. Card counting only works if it is done properly. Doing it properly requires constant practice and evaluation. Done improperly, the player can lose more than a basic strategy player. In addition, the errant player can be barred from the casino without ever having an edge.

Pride is vicious. It makes the infected person blind to the problem. One needs to always reflect on what is happening. Rely on practice results to indicate how well you perform – not your own opinion of how well you are doing.

Do not let your pride go before your fall.

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
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