The Casino Answer Man

Q. Video poker is my favorite game. I never get tired of playing it.

I went to Harrah's in Joliet and looked for 10-7 Double Bonus on the Williams Multi-Pay Plus on the second floor of the Southern Star. I checked every one of them and could not find the "Double Four of a Kind" icon. Maybe they took them out.

I did play Triple Play Illinois Deuces. I still am having a hard time adjusting to the large swings in credits. On quarters I was down about $400 when I was dealt a deuces royal. Then I was dealt three deuces and was able to connect for four 2s on one of the hands.

(Video poker expert) Bob Dancer says you don't need three times the bankroll to play Triple Play, but it sure seems like you do to me. I have played it three times, this time and twice on a Bonus Poker version at the Grand Casino in Tunica, Miss. I have lost about $100 each time. Guess I have to get used to it.

DietCoke, via e-mail

A. Harrah's Joliet has indeed removed 10-7 Double Bonus Poker and all other Bonus Poker variations from its Multi-Pay Plus machines. In fact, I'm feeling a bit paranoid about that. They removed the games less than two weeks after I'd recommended Southern Star among the area's best boats for quarter video poker largely because of the availability of those games.

The area's best video poker games for quarter players now are in Indiana, which is a bit odd because the strongest video poker play near Chicago has long been in Joliet, both at Harrah's and Empress. But the best pay table on a single-hand quarter game is at Harrah's East Chicago, where 8-5 Bonus Poker is a 99.2 percent game with expert play. On Triple Play machines, Trump in Gary has 9-6 Jacks or Better (99.5 percent) and an enhanced version of Deuces Wild (99.7 percent).

As for Triple Play, playing three hands at a time does reduce the volatility of video poker. Twice, rather than three times, the bankroll needed for a single-hand game should suffice. That being said, Deuces Wild is more volatile than most video poker games. Regardless of whether you're playing one hand or three, you need a bigger bankroll to withstand short-term losses in Deuces Wild than in less volatile games such as as Jacks or Better or Bonus Poker.

For more information about slots and video poker, we recommend: