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Gaming Guru
Quitting while you're ahead21 August 2006
Dear Mike, It's definitely possible for two machines with the same payback percentage to have different hit frequencies. You see proof of this every day in the casino. Most slot directors order roughly the same payback percentage for all of their slots in one denomination, so the dollar slots at Thunder Valley probably pay back about the same percentage. Yet some machines hit frequently for small amounts and others hit less frequently but for larger amounts. You're not likely to find this phenomenon in a particular game, though. The game designers usually decide what personality (hit frequency) a game will have and stick with it throughout all the different payback programs. In other words, Wild & Loose, for example, will always have a high hit frequency regardless of whether it pays back 88% or 98%. Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
Dear Steve, Yes, I've heard of Rob Singer. (Not his real name, incidentally. It's a play on Bob Dancer, which is also not his real name.) I have the same response for his plan as I have for the people who tell me they win more by playing at night or hitting the Spin button in a certain way: If it works for you, I won't argue with success. It sure seems like quitting while you're ahead should work. It seems like we're usually ahead at some point during our sessions, and if we just quit then instead of continuing to play, we should be able to winners. There are two problems with Quit While You're Ahead. First, sometimes you never are ahead. I can't tell you how many times (I really can't because I haven't kept track!) I've played a machine and never gotten above my initial buy-in. The big problem with this plan, however, is that it assumes that somehow you can trick the house edge by arbitrarily breaking up your playing sessions. As far as the house edge is concerned, you have one big session and it doesn't care when you take breaks. In the long run, you will lose an amount of money equal to the action you've given times the house edge against you — and it doesn't matter what rules you use to determine when to stop playing. There's only one way that Quit While You're Ahead works. That's if you truly quit and never play again. How many of us can do that? Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
Dear Dale, My 81-year-old mother has the same problem with identification having also stopped driving. She now uses her passport when photo ID is required. I suppose the real problem here is identification for tax purposes. I don't know what your father-in-law should do. The easiest course of action is just to return with the ID they require. That's quite a burden considering your father-in-law lives in Hawaii. I think you're going to have to work with the casino on this one. Call them up and find out what kind of documentation they need to release the money to a third party. I hope they have some kind of provision for this situation. I've never heard of anyone in a similar predicament, so I don't have any real-world-proven advice to offer. Please let us know how things turn out. Best of luck in and out of the casinos, Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@comcast.net. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't send a reply to every question. Also be advised that it may take several months for your question to appear in my column. This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Recent Articles
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