Ask the Slot Expert: Switching speed, games and machines

Question: In over 30 years of video poker play, I do not remember ever seeing any discussion, etc. regarding pros or cons of switching between speed settings on the same machine during a period of play. Have you?

Same question regarding switching from one game to another on the same machine.

Same question regarding switching from one machine to another on the same group of machines.

P.S. I am the one who had a Royal in each of six consecutive sessions that you discussed in your column.

Answer: I remember you. I'm still jealous of your six-peat.

I've mentioned speed settings on video poker (and short-circuiting spins on slots) in past columns. If you have a short bankroll or are running out of money, you can stretch your bankroll by slowing down your pace. Let each hand take as long as possible. Take some time between hands.

Yeah, right. That last piece of advice -- wait between hands -- is impossible. I've tried to stretch a short bankroll by waiting for several seconds between spins. In less than two minutes I was back to hitting Spin or Deal right after the last hand ended.

When I first started playing NSU, I would set the speed to minimum. It was calming having the cards displayed slowly one by one and I could think about how to play the hand. At some point, I decided that I had a small advantage on multiple points days and the faster I played, the more I could earn. I've played max speed since then.

Red Rock used to have a multi-hand machine that had four speed settings. Like the Spinal Tap amp that goes up to 11, speed setting 4 was 1 better than 3. Setting 4 was tournament speed. On setting 4, the results of all hands were revealed at once with a bonk noise. I could play a lot of hands in a short period of time on that machine.

The speed setting you choose has no effect on your long-term results.

Switching games, on the other hand, will affect your long-term results. You should play the highest-paying paytable that you know how to play on a machine.

Or you can play whatever paytable and gimmick you like. Recreational players don't play enough hands for long-term payback to have a greater effect on their results than luck.

What about switching games because you're having a run of bad luck? Pros don't do that because they know cold streaks happen and they don't last forever. Recreational players can do whatever they want. If they have better results on the new game, the reason is that they're hitting Deal/Draw when the state of the RNG was favorable to them.

Finally, switching machines. The same answer as switching games. If you have better luck on the new machine, it's because you're hitting Deal/Draw when the RNG has selected cards that are better for you.

Many years ago, I was playing with Jean Scott and Brad and another couple. The husband in the other couple was having horrendous luck. He moved to another machine.

His wife was next to me. She asked me what I thought about switching machines. I said, "What does it prove?"

Your long-term results are the same on every machine when you play the same paytable. Feel free to switch machines if you want. It does no harm.

I dealt with the issue of switching settings on a machine in my final session on my run to requalify for elite status before the end of the month. I needed about 30,000 in action. I had decided to play Illinois Deuces at $15 per hand on a multi-hand machine. Should I play three hands at dollars or 60 hands at nickels? I went for 60 nickel hands to try to minimize my losses with the lower variance.

I started with $500. I hit a number of good hands right off the bat and continued hitting enough hands to keep my credit meter in high three figures. I thought that as long as I was hitting hands, I might as well Max Bet and play 100 hands. I continued hitting good hands and my credit meter went well over $1000. I thought about switching to dimes, but I didn't want to do anything to break the spell I had cast over the machine. Eventually reason won out and I upped the denomination.

At some point I implemented an asymmetrical plateau system to determine how much I was going to bet per hand. Below $500, 60 hands at nickels. Switch to 100 hands at nickels over $500. If credit meter goes over $1200, switch to 100 hands at dimes. On the way down, switch to 100 nickel hands when the credit meter falls below $1000 and 60 nickel hands below $500.

The plateau amount is asymmetrical at the denomination switch because I didn't want to go through the hassle of increasing the denomination unless I had enough credits to fund a few hands. I could be more cavalier with the switch from 60 nickel hands to 100 nickel hands because the difference between $15 and $25 per hand is smaller than the difference between $25 and $50 per hand.

At some point my meter was over $2000. I thought, Isn't $1500 worth more than another six months of elite status? Yeah, it probably is.

Nevertheless, he persisted.

I hit two natural royals during this session. I was dealt many pat hands and a number of good starting hands. The best-paying hand I hit was a dealt dirty royal at 100 nickel hands.

When my credit meter was over $2000, I thought that that was a nice cushion. It is if you're betting $5 per hand. Not so much at $50 per hand.

I crossed plateaus many times, switching number of hands or denomination at each crossing. I doublechecked the number of status points I needed to earn using the slot club's app and it was about 33,000 points, not 30,000. ($1 in action equals 1 status point). I was going to have to play a little bit more than I had planned. I really should have started knowing exactly how many points I needed.

I started getting nervous around 32,000 points. I had fallen below $500, so I was betting 60 hands. Fortunately I hit some good hands and went over $500 and switched to 100 hands. I hit a few more good hands and quit with $800 and a bit over 33,000 status points. My first profitable session.

I went to the kiosk to see the message that I had qualified for elite for another six months. I was still a few hundred points short. Remember how I said that I really should have known exactly how many points I needed?

I was going to run a few bucks through an Invaders Attack from the Planet Moolah machine, but they were all in use. Surprisingly, there were many open positions at the NSU machines. Very unusual for noon on a multiple points day. I thought, Let me play some hands where I have the advantage now.

I lost much of what I had won playing the lower-paying deuces paytable, but I had requalified.

One of the great things about playing 100 hands is that you can get a glimpse into the long run. It can be tough to convince people that they should break up a paying combination when a different combination has a higher EV on NSU (e.g., a one deuce hand that is a straight or a 4-card straight flush). I had that choice a couple of times and it was easy to see that I did better holding the partial straight flush than the sure thing.

I want to know your feelings about multi-hand video poker. Love it? Hate it? Can't win on it? Always win on it? Let me know.

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