Should you use a player's card?

3 December 2016

By Jerry Stickman

Some of my friends and acquaintances refuse to use a casino player’s card while playing video poker. They believe that their payoff will be reduced because of the comps they receive from having the card inserted. If you happen to be someone who always uses a player’s card when playing your favorite machine, congratulations. There is no need to continue reading (although you are entirely welcome to do so).

You are getting all of your hard-earned rewards. If, however, you are someone who doesn’t use a player’s card or has considered not using one at times please read on.

Some of what is presented below may not be the case in certain Indian casinos that are not governed by the same laws as major gambling venues such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Tunica and others.

Major gambling destinations are required by the state gambling boards to offer demonstrably random games. This is true whether it is table games such as blackjack or Three Card Poker, roulette, craps, slot machines and, yes, even video poker.

Video poker hands are determined by a random number generator that is constantly running in every machine. This random number generator is tested by the gaming commission in order to guarantee the results are close enough to random to be considered random. There have been lengthy online chats that have argued that a machine cannot generate truly random numbers. That may be true, but the testing done by the regulatory agencies proves the games are “random enough” to be considered random.

There is no conceivable way any pattern can be recognized and each possible hand appears as often as any other over the long run.

Here is how the process inside a video poker machine works. The cards dealt are determined by the random number each time you hit the deal button. The cards selected will be exactly the same whether or not there is a player’s card inserted. The actual selection is determined at the exact instant you hit the Deal button. This is how it works. It doesn’t matter if you have your player’s card inserted or not, five cards determined by the random number generator at the instant you hit the Deal button are what will appear.

Think about it. There is no need for the casinos to add any gimmick to reduce your wins. The casinos already have virtually every game tilted in their favor. The points you get for having your player’s card inserted are worth something to you.

The more you use the card the more you will gain. Don’t give up anything to the casino by not inserting your player’s card. Get everything you are entitled to.

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

Jerry “Stickman”


Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack, 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 stickmanjerry@aol.com