I’m sure I’ve lost more over all, but free drinks make it up. I’m really not a big gambler at all but if I’m in a gambling town, I’ll through in twenty bucks for the free beer.
Anyway, I’m talking specifically about Jacks or Better draw poker. Are the cards random? Each hand dealt off a new deck? Or do the casinos ‘adjust’ them to make sure they always produce a profit. Or is it just the overall odds of the game that makes them profit.
Again, I’m talking computerized, video poker.
Unless the casino is a really dodgy one, they have no need to weight the odds as they are already in their favour. There are many books on the subject which will explain the maths, but the casino always wins in the end.
Your strategy of just occasionally risking a fairly small amount is probably a good one, but no better odds-wise than a lottery. This is only true if, when you make a profit, you walk away. If you reinvest your winnings - “I am on a lucky streak” - you will ultimately lose.
The cards are random (pseudo-random for the nitpickers). The odds of cards appearing are the same as the odds with an actual deck of cards. Each hand is dealt from a new deck. The machine constantly shuffles the deck until a coin is inserted or until the Deal button is pushed if there are coin credits on the machine.
Payouts are adjusted by changing the Pay Table. Full-Pay Jacks or Better pays back 99.54% with proper play. Full-pay 9/6 JoB machines pay 9 for a full house and 6 for a flush. Short-pay JoB pays 9/5. Both types may be in the same casino, often right next to each other alternating down the row, so pay attention.
Most people don’t play very well. The machines generally earn around 2% even though the theoretical win is only 0.46%.
Good to know guys. I thought so.
Anyway, I’m sure I have my own biases. I have probably lost pretty much every dollar that I have gambled over the years. Perhaps 300. But, the free drinks help even that out. A beer cost’s the casino what twenty five cents? Where they would charge me 3-5 bucks otherwise. Win win.
It is entertainment after all.