The Slot Expert's Guide to Winning at Slots and Video Poker

You can hear me give my slot and video poker tips live on The Good Times Show, hosted by Rudi Schiffer with Frank Scoblete, which is broadcast live from Memphis on WHBQ over the air on 560AM and over the Internet on Yahoo! Broadcast on Saturday morning from 8-10 CT.

My last tip was about not getting upset over cards that come out one hand too late at video poker. This week's tip is to not beat yourself up over "if only I'd held's."

What's an "if only I'd held?" Here's an exmaple. Let's say you're holding three 7s and your discards are a 3 and a 10. You hit the draw button and get back one of the other 3s in the deck. You say to yourself, "if only I'd held that 3, I'd have a full house now instead of just a three of a kind."

The proper play, of course, is too hold only the three 7s. You have no idea what cards will be drawn from the deck to replace your discards. The only thing you can do is hold the combination of cards with the highest expected value, because those are the cards that will win the most money for you in the long run.

Don't beat yourself up when you make the right play, even when the hand doesn't turn out as well as it could have.

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@home.com.

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