Nowadays players are much better informed than in bygone times. That’s a double-edged sword, since many casinos assume that their base patrons know more than most do about game strategy as well as the comps game. One area, in particular, that is widely misunderstood is the system used within a casino to determine the amount of dollars you will be offered in comps, especially for food.

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Part 1 of this two-part series (published in Southern Gaming’s May Issue) dealt with reasons to select either a high- or low-risk video poker game. In Part 2 we will focus on determining games with a high risk to your bankroll versus those with a lower risk.

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Q. On video slots with bonus rounds, how much of your return comes from the regular game and how much comes from the bonus rounds? It seems like I do OK as long as I get the bonuses pretty often, but on a dry spell on the bonuses, the reels can’t keep me going.

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One of the most important things to consider for video poker players is the risk factor. That’s because it impacts the probable number of entry tickets, your theoretical playing time, the fun factor, and even the cash back on your slot club card. In this two-part series, we’ll look at tips for determining whether you should look for a high-risk or a low-risk game (Part I), and then how to determine the risk to your bankroll with or without pay schedule tables (Part II).

How do you determine whether or not you want a high- or low-risk video poker game? That depends on your goals as a player. First, you must make sure the games you compare have similar expected returns, called the ER. For example, if one game has an ER of 99.54% and another has one of 99.49%, then the theoretical returns are close enough that comparing the risk factor for the two games becomes relevant. (There are free removable tables in my book, The Video Poker Edge, that give you the ER, variance and other game information.)

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