Ask the Slot Expert: Ignorance can be bliss

It was the next-to-last point-multiplier day of the year. I still had to earn a few thousand tier points to re-qualify for a VIP parking pass. My original plan was to play until it was dinnertime and then return on the last point-multiplier day to earn the remaining points I needed.

I changed my mind. I figured that I was already at the casino so I could save myself a trip by earning all the points that day.

It had been a while since I had played 3-Way Action video poker and there was a free machine near the Egyptian-themed slot I had been playing, so I sat down to rack up some points on it.

For those who aren't familiar with the game, 3-Way Action video poker pays on three hands. First, the 5-card hand you're dealt. Second, the 5-card hand after the draw. And finally, a 7-card hand made by drawing two more cards to add to the 5-card hand.

The only paytables that matter in terms of strategy are the 5-card draw and 7-card paytables. You don't make any decisions on the 5-card dealt hand.

I checked the draw paytable. It was one of those Bonus Poker paytables that had some combination of Double and Triple in the name.

"I don't know the strategy for this," I thought. That didn't stop me from playing.

After a few hands I realized that it didn't matter that I didn't know the strategy.

How many hands would I play? A coupla hundred, if that? My luck was going to have a far greater effect on my results than making the correct mathematical plays.

The only strategic move that I knew I should always follow was to not hold single twos. This wasn't Deuces Wild.

I ended up winning $80, most of which I gave back on my Egyptian-themed slot.

A friend of mine recently signed up to play in a video poker tournament. She said she was going to study the strategy for the paytable.

I didn't think learning the strategy was necessary. She was going to play so few hands that luck would determine where she finished in the tournament, not playing the mathematical strategy.

Learning the strategy, moreover, might even be a hindrance.

All of the video poker tournaments I've played in have had both time and hand limits. You wanted to ensure that you played quickly enough to play all of the hands allowed in the time allowed. It's probably not worth taking the time to look for subtle plays and possibly running out of time before you ran out of hands.

One strategy I've used in video poker tournaments is to hold the hands that jumped out at me. If I didn't see anything right away, I threw away the hand.

I get uncomfortable not knowing the mathematically correct set of cards to hold when I play video poker. But sometimes knowing the strategy just isn't necessary.

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