ROB SINGER: THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL NAME IN VIDEO POKER

Yes, Rob Singer is the most controversial name in video poker and he not only admits it, but it is also his badge of honor.  Because, he says, the controversial comments and beliefs of his will save you money when you play video poker which has a huge, loyal following around the country.  Some people believe that they can beat the casinos at video poker by following proper strategy as dictated by the math or odds of various cards being dealt and drawn over a long term or "life of the game."  But one of Singer's controversial beliefs is that none of us is a long term player, and we never play for the "life of the game" and unless we use "hit and run" techniques we are destined to give back our winnings and then some. 

Singer also disputes the published regulations of the Nevada Gaming Commission and says video poker machines are not truly and completely random and he makes that claim after documenting, he says, thousands and thousands of draws using real VP machines.

Singer is the author of newspaper columns and two books and the website www.vptruth.com.  I discussed some of his controversial views with him in an interview in the high limit room of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and my thanks to the management there for allowing us to videotape the interview in their video poker section.

Before you watch the interview, keep this in mind.  The gaming regulations of the Nevada Gaming Commission are the model for all gaming jurisdictions and for all video poker machines used all over the country.  The Nevada Gaming Commission says all gaming devices ( I would think that would include video poker machines) "must use a random selection process to determine the game outcome of each play of a game. The random selection process must meet 95 percent confidence limits...."  Well, in most video games that 5-percent of doubt leaves a big window for losing.

The video interview was recorded on August 29, 2010 and it is below, complete and unedited.  And below the interview is additional information and an update.

MORE ABOUT MY INTERVIEW WITH ROB SINGER

Perhaps the most important thing that Rob Singer told me in that inteview came at the end when he said it is his strong belief that "the machines do not run 100% random."   Now, please consider what the Nevada Gaming Commission has published on the Internet about its "minimum standards for gaming devices."  These rules say, and I am quoting now, "the random selection process must meet 95 percent confidence limits."  So perhaps Singer is not wrong when he believes that video poker machines "do not run 100% random."

However, I should point this out as well from the Nevada Gaming Regulations.  This is also a key statement in the rules and it certainly appears to mean that all video poker games must be random:  "For gaming devices that are representative of live gambling games, the mathematical probability of a symbol or other element appearing in a game outcome must be equal to the mathematical probability of that symbol or element occurring in the live gambling game."  And that statement tells me that video poker, based on a 52-card deck or a 53-card deck can't have any hanky panky -- the same way a dealer can't manipulate the shuffle or the deal in a live game.

I conducted the interview and presented it here because I think it is important to present "the other view" about video poker strategy.  Many casual players will identify with Rob Singer's strategy because they are not professional and they are not long term players and they will be satisfied with a small win rather than gamble for a larger win which might be exactly what the "correct strategy" tells you to do.

Here is an example of what I am talking about.  In the game called Triple Double Bonus when dealt A-A-A-3-X (with X being an insignificant card), the "correct strategy is to hold the three aces and the 3 because in this game four aces with a "kicker" -- a 2, a 3, or a 4 -- is the same as a Royal Flush.  However, many players will hold the three aces and drop the "kicker card" to give themselves a better chance at drawing the fourth ace for a secondary jackpot.  Correct strategy says dropping the kicker is wrong, and you should take a 1 out of 47 shot at getting the equivalent of a Royal Flush.  But are you tempted to just hold the 3 aces to give yourself a 2 out of 47 shot at getting a secondary jackpot of quad aces, or even drawing another pair for a full house?

Let me give you another choice in Triple Double Bonus:  You are dealt A-A-A-2-2.  The correct strategy is to break up the full house and hold only one kicker.  Would you?

Below are more articles about video poker, including those reflecting "correct strategy."  You decide how you want to play.  That's why this information is presented here.  I can't make up your mind and I can't play your money.  But I have a confession to make.  The night before I conducted the interview with Rob I was playing Triple Double Bonus and I was dealt A-A-A-3-J, and I only held the three aces.  It didn't matter, because two insignificant cards were drawn and my triple-aces hand stood.

PRIMM, NEVADA, HAS GREAT VIDEO POKER

I was surprised to find out that the casinos at Primm, Nevada, on the border with Southern California along the I-15 has some fantastic video poker games with "full pay" paytables (the best video poker to play and some of these full pay video poker games even have progressive jackpots without reducing the pay table.  We found these progressives with full pay paytables on double double bonus video poker at Buffalo Bill's and Primm Valley casinos.  We didn't get a chance to scout Whiskey Pete's casino which is across the I-15 and under the same ownership and management but we think the same great games and paytables are also available there.

Anyone who plays video poker in Vegas knows that the best video poker games and the best pay tables can be found in "off strip" casinos, except for a few games such as 9/6 Jacks or Better which many of the major Strip casinos offer.

Well, if you go off-off-strip to Primm, Nevada, which is about 45 minutes south of the Las Vegas Strip casinos you'll find even better pay tables than what the off-strip casinos in Vegas offer -- and the Primm casinos even offer these top pay tables on 25-cents video poker machines.  In Vegas, the 25-cent machines usually have reduced pay tables and the full pay machines are reserved for play on the $1 and up video poker machines.

The real surprise was at Buffalo Bill's casino in Primm which has some double double bonus machines which have a pay table of 10 coins for the full house and 6 coins for the flush with one coin bet.  This is a 10/6 pay table and returns about 100% according to the various pay table guides we have seen.  But what makes a particular group of 10/6 double double bonus machines even better is that if you double your bet (in effect playing 50-cents per coin instead of 25-cents per coin) the pay table is doubled so that a royal flush pays 8,000 coins and not the typical 4,000 coins -- and other pays are also doubled as well.

From what I've been told, this video poker game at Buffalo Bill's is far superior to the video poker you'll find in Vegas or the Indian casinos in Southern California.  You'll note that at Harrah's Rincon the double double bonus progressive video poker games have a 9/5 paytable.

One of our readers had a video camera in the casino and got some video of the machines, the signage and the paytables.  This is amateur video but we are going to show it here because "seeing is believing."  Click on the video below to watch.

NICKNAMES FOR THOSE QUADS ON A VP MACHINE

One of the sweet times in video poker is to get four of a kind, also called 4oak or quads.  In live poker, pairs get certain names or nicknames such as two aces are "rockets" and two 4s are called "sailboats," while the poker nickname for two deuces is "ducks" and a pair of 8s has the poker nickname of "snowmen."

When I get four aces, the doubling of the double rockets becomes a "missile strike."  

When I get four kings, I say it's an "OPEC Meeting" because that's about the only other time when four kings get together. 

Four queens remind me of a family gathering, but that's a private joke. 

Some people call "jacks" by the formal name "Jacob," so quad jacks can become "four wise men" from the Bible.  I think of jacks as judges, so quad jacks becomes "an appeals court" for me.  (Okay, that's a stretch.) 

If a "ten" is a perfect woman, than quad tens is a dream.

I guess quad 9s can be a litter of cats. 

Quad 8s might be a day off from school because you'd have the time to make four snowmen on a snow day.  

Four 7s is a big slot machine jackpot, so I call quad sevens "the jackpot." 

Some people say trip 6s (that's 666) is "the devil's hand," so quad 6s must be Hell.  But, it's a nice Hell. 

Quad 5s.  What about quad fives?  Well, a pair of 5s is called the speed limit (55).  So I guess quad 5s is "rush hour" or freeway traffic.

If you get quad 4s then your sailboats become "a fleet" of sailboats.  

A three is called a "trey" so you need quad treys for the waiters at a banquet. 

I guess you can call quad deuces a "flock." 

I have to admit that a rocket attack or a missile strike of quad aces is my favorite hand, and that hand is so much better in video poker when the rockets hit a kicker (bonus card) such as a duck (a deuce) or a sailboat (a four) or a trey (a three) for a bonus payoff in double double bonus.  But it's fun to have three kings and as you push the draw button you say -- "come on, one more king for an OPEC meeting."  And then when you get it, you can say proudly, "I got an OPEC meeting" and enjoy the stares from other players around you.

And there is one universal word that describes a royal flush -- "wonderful."

A VIDEO POKER MACHINE IS NOT A SLOT MACHINE

Many people think of video poker machines as being slot machines, but in fact video poker machines are different.  A video poker machine chooses outcomes from a deck of 52 cards, or from a deck of 53 cards if there is a "joker game."  Because the "universe of decisions" is limited to a total of 52 or 53 cards, players can in fact determine a strategy that will result in the best odds of playing various "hands."

Not so with true slot machines.  With true slot machines, the player has no control and often no idea of what the odds are for winning.  However, in certain states, there are requirements that slot machines "return" at least 85% of the money bet.  With video poker, some games can return 99% or more of the money bet with "perfect strategy."

But what if the video poker player does not follow perfect or correct strategy?  Then the player is shooting himself, or herself, in the foot.  I see players all the time making the wrong move and holding the wrong cards in video poker.  I used to be frustrated by that-- but now I am thankful that they play incorrectly.  The truth is, because they play incorrectly the casinos are more likely to keep the payoffs where they are so players like me who follow correct strategy will have a better chance of winning.

Recently, I saw a player at a double double bonus video poker game making mistake after mistake.  She often held an ACE with an unsuited HIGH CARD such as a Jack or Queen.  That's a "no-no" in double double bonus where an ace by itself has tremendous value because of the possibility of getting four aces or four aces plus a kicker or bonus card such as a 2, 3 or 4.

During a moment when the other player was taking a break, I said to her -- do you know about holding the ace alone?  "Yes," she said to me, "I know what the strategy says, but I do what makes me feel good."

That was the end of the discussion, and she went back to playing "her way."  And she went back to killing her chances for getting four aces or getting a royal flush because she held one or even two unsuited cards along with her ace.  (By the way, if you have a suited high card with your ace, you do keep both, such as Ace and King of hearts.)

So now I know to thank players like that -- players who shoot themselves in the foot.  Because those players are allowing the casinos to keep more money and to keep the payoff tables as high as they are for players like me with a better chance of winning those big payoffs.

DO YOU READ THE PAY TABLES ON VIDEO POKER MACHINES?

If you want to know which is the best video poker machine to play the answer is right before your eyes -- on the "pay table" that every video poker machine has.  Generally you want to compare the payoff amounts for a full house and a flush, because with most games, the difference is with the full house and flush payoffs.

But with some of the exotic video poker games, the pay tables have big differences from the top -- a royal flush -- to the bottom which might be a high pair.

For example, several of the Indian casinos in California offer a game called Joker Poker which is played with the 52 regular cards plus a joker that is wild.  If you look at the pay tables on this game, you will see many varied pay tables even for Joker Poker played at the same denomination.

For example, I found 25-cent Joker Poker games with a Royal Flush without a Joker paying only 500 coins while other 25-cent Joker Poker games pay 4700 coins for a Royal Flush without a joker.  Of course there are other differences with these pay tables, including the payoff for 5-of a kind and whether you have to have two-pair to get your money back, or if just a pair of Kings or Aces will get you your money back.

The difference in these pay tables over the long run can mean only a few percentage points.  But in the short run, a Royal Flush returning only 500 coins could be devestating.

VIDEO POKER "TEAMS" HIT HARRAH'S RINCON CASINO IN SAN DIEGO

If you've ever played in the high limit slots room at Harrah's Rincon Casino in San Diego, you know that there is a bank of $5 "double double bonus" video poker machines with a progressive jackpot for the Royal Flush.  In early April, 2009 the progressive topped $40,000 and in late April, this progressive royal "hit" at nearly $36.000.  (See the photo of the win below.)  If you are familiar with the game, a "standard" royal flush is worth $20,000 on this denomination game.

Well, as you might imagine, when the progressive royal gets high enough there is a lot of interest in these machines, and it is not unusual to see "a lot of strange faces" at the machines according to some of the slot hosts in the high limit area.  These "strange faces" are usually members of a "video poker team" who pool their resources and will share in the win should they hit the Royal.

I was told that one of the "teams" that comes to Harrah's Rincon is made up of players from Las Vegas.  "They take up all of the seats," a slot host told me, "and they play and play and play until the progressive is hit.  And then they leave."

Video poker "teams" are usually well bankrolled, and are made up of expert players.  "Most of the teams come from Vegas," a slot host told me.  What makes a visit to Rincon profitable for them is not only the extra payback from hitting a high payoff royal flush, but also the high level of comps that they can earn playing a high limit machine such as $5 double double bonus video poker which requires a bet of $25 to win the progressive jackpot.

"When the jackpot is won, the team members are gone," a slot host told me.  "But they come back."  The progressive royal flush jackpot at Harrah's Rincon can reach $40,000 or more five or six times in a year, I was told.  As you can see in the photo below from Harrah's Rincon in San Diego County-- big jackpots do hit here in Southern California.

SEQUENTIAL VS. SHADOW DRAW CARDS IN VIDEO POKER

If you've ever played video poker (and I know a lot of you do, as it is one of the most popular games in casinos and online) you've often wondered if you had held different cards would you have gotten that "big win" such as a royal flush?

Well, on a recent trip to a casino I saw a player agonize over that question because he felt that if he had held different cards he would have made a royal flush and would have won more than $30,000 on a progressive royal flush jackpot.

Here was the hand he was dealt, with a "rag" being a card of no significance:

RAG   KING/CLUBS  TEN/CLUBS   JACK/CLUBS   KING/HEARTS

So, he was dealt a pair of kings which paid even money, and three cards to the royal.

By holding the pair of kings he kept a winning hand that had the potential to become three-of-a-kind or a full house, or quads which is four-of-a-kind on the "draw" when the replacement cards are dealt.

With the three to the royal, he had the chance for making high pairs on the draw, or making a straight, or making a flush or making that elusive royal flush.

Well, most of the video poker experts I know, and the books I've read, and the lectures I've attended will tell you to hold the paying pair -- that pair of kings.  And that's just what this player did.

Once again, here is what he was dealt:

RAG   KING/CLUBS  TEN/CLUBS   JACK/CLUBS   KING/HEARTS

And after the draw of three cards, his replacement cards and his hold cards looked like this on his screen:

ACE/CLUBS  KING/CLUBS  QUEEN/CLUBS  RAG  KING/HEARTS

"I would have had the royal!!" he screamed.  "I would have had the royal!"

Yes, his replacement cards included the Ace and Queen of clubs, and he thought that would have given him a royal if he held the King of clubs and Jack of clubs and ten of clubs and gave up the King of hearts and the paying pair.  But would he have had the royal on the draw if he had held three to the royal? 

The answer lies in what kind of replacement deal system was used on his video poker machine.  Was a "shadow" system used where a second pre-determined card lies under the card you discard, or was a sequential dealing system used in which cards are dealt from a deck of cards as you would deal from a deck after the first five cards are chosen.

There really is no way for the player to know which system is used, and frankly, it doesn't matter.  You have an equal chance of drawing to a royal no matter if the replacement cards are "shadow cards" or cards dealt in sequence from the remaining deck.

Recently, there was a new factor added to the video poker replacement card guessing game.  And that new factor is a "continuous shuffle" of the remaining 47 cards.  Several video poker game makers came up with a continuous shuffle system of the remaining cards in an attempt to thwart any technology that might be able to predict what cards might be the shadow cards, or the replacement cards in a "standing deck." And that adds to that player's problem -- was the deck still shuffling and what were his chances that the still shuffling cards were put an Ace and a Queen at the top of the replacement cards?

So don't rack your brains about which replacement card system is used.  Just remember that replacement cards have an equal chance of showing up in your hand.

Enjoy the game, and good luck.

Oh, by the way, that player who "missed the royal" kept talking about how he "had a royal" for the next hour or so, until he went away.  I hope his trip to the casino resort wasn't ruined by the miss of hitting a royal flush.