June 2011

Video Poker: Snow In The Winter by Linda Boyd

My dad died years ago, but every now and then I’m reminded of something he used to say and start to chuckle. If we went to a store with big splashy signs offering the moon he might do a quick walk through and say, “They’re giving away snow in the winter.” That translates to let’s not even waste our time.

Some casinos advertise prizes galore and the best machines in town, but when you get there you discover it’s just more snow in the winter. It’s one thing to be low key about run of the mill presents while another to brag about fabulous gifts that turn out to be plastic visors. Just another Bob Stupak’s Vegas World. (Old ads for $1000 or so in chips and gifts that turned out to be for “special” machines; tokens for non-paying devices and presents of cubic zirconium and fool’s gold. Don’t mean to diss Stupak, though, since I think he was a smart entrepreneur who got a bad rap, but that’s another story.) Especially given today’s economy, I really dislike making a trip to an off-the-beaten-path casino expecting something special and realizing I was literally taken for a ride. Casinos really should caution their marketing departments about making a $2 drug store gift sound like a work of art on their mailers. They may fill the place up with a lot of warm bodies, but those that actually came to play won’t be happy. For gamblers who have had too much of the white stuff, especially this past winter, here are some ways to avoid a snow job from your neighborhood casino.

Sounds Too Good: Years ago I was taken in by casino ads; especially when upon arrival I saw balloons, glitter, and lots of glitz. Nowadays I spend more time asking questions or even making a phone call before going out of my way. That’s what happens when you get burnt a few times. Make no mistake, sometimes the offer is worth the trip, especially if there’s a fair amount of cash or free play involved. The problem is when they claim to be giving valuable merchandise and it turns out anybody with a player’s card gets the same thing.

Differentiated Gifts: I like it when casinos offer gifts based on your level of play. When everybody who walks through their door gets identical free gifts you can bet it’s a cheap one. After all, you have to figure that they will need thousands of prizes to hand them out to their entire player base, so you should expect an inexpensive trinket. The tip off is a long line with each player having an identical postcard and walking away with the same thing. Instead of waiting in line either call in advance or ask a host upon arrival.

I can remember when the M Resort in Vegas (South of the Strip so not a great location) offered a free buffet to one and all just for signing up for a free player’s card. Their buffet was and is excellent, so what could be wrong with this? First, a long wait in line and second a short time before it ended. The cost to owners was exorbitant plus the casino was aggravating their best customers. Many gamblers are a bit hyper and they simply refuse to wait in long lines. This was one of the worst examples of a casino promotion because they chased away their players and rewarded the freeloaders.

The casino would have gotten lots of mileage by simply differentiating and it would have been easy to do. For example, require a reasonable amount of points on the slot card to qualify for the buffet. Rather than re-thinking their promotion they simply ended the free buffets for new players — discounting the price by a couple of dollars (that’s what they did) is insulting.

Frequent players should look for casinos that show appreciation for their business by offering nicer gifts to those with high ADT’s (average daily theoretical losses). Be aware of the fact that theo does not take into account such things as multiple points and promos. This gives an edge to savvy players who do take these things into consideration.

Many Vegas casinos already give gifts based on amount of play, but most in the Midwest don’t. They might tell you they want to attract new players, but they’re completely missing the value of keeping their best customers happy.

Useable Merchandise: I do not wear logoed articles of clothing nor do I have any need for an umbrella that can be attached to a lawn chair, I kid you not. Many people donate casino gifts to local schools; stuffed animals, for example, are especially appealing to children. However, schools can’t accept items emblazoned with the name of a casino.

My point is marketing directors should give more thought to the gifts they offer instead of assuming that past selections are a good idea. Sure some people will accept anything that’s free, but those with deep pockets won’t bother with junk that they can’t even give away. It doesn’t have to cost a lot either. For sign up and birthday presents for every player there are many charming but inexpensive gifts. Prettily presented soaps or a live rose for women (forget plastic flowers) and something in a similar price-range for guys; they should lose their obsession with the logos. Honestly, casinos are getting very little mileage by putting their name on player gifts; these objects are gathering dust in closets and storage bins.

Playable Games: I’ll stick with video poker in this section since the exact theoretical return (assuming correct play) can be determined; there’s no way to be certain of the ER (expected return) when playing slots since you can’t see the chip. Each person will have their own criteria as to how much edge they’re willing to give to the house, but you should consider this the most important factor, especially if you’re a frequent player. If you’re not sure of the game’s ER or variance (game’s risk) then you can use the removable tables from my book, “The Video Poker Edge,” and bring them with you to the casino. You must match them with the pay schedule on the machine (accessed by pushing the “see pays” button), but that’s easy to do. Be aware that although the pay schedule is on every video poker machine, you’ll find neither the ER nor variance on any device once you get to the casino.

You should figure out the cash value of a casino offer before deciding whether or not it’s worth your time. It’s simple to do using the directions below. You’ll find this and other mathematical ways to determine the value of casino plays throughout my book.

Determining the Cash Back Percentage: Every casino will have it’s own system for cash back on slot cards. Fortunately for you a simple formula can be used to determine the percent of cash you are being paid for using your card. Every casino will gladly tell you how much coin in is needed to earn a point as well as the amount of money they pay for points. That’s all you will need along with these easy conversion steps.

Multiply the cost of each point by the amount of points needed to earn a specific amount of money.
Divide the cash back earned by the amount of coin in required to earn it.
Convert the decimal to a percent by moving the decimal point two places to the right and adding a percent sign.

Here’s a specific example:
Let’s say it costs $10 of coin in to earn a point and 40 points are worth a dollar. Each point costs $10 and it takes 40 points to earn a dollar. So you multiply $10 x 40 to determine how much coin in is needed to earn a dollar.

$10 x 40 = $400

This means it costs $400 in coin in for every dollar they pay you in cash back.
In this case you divide one dollar (the cash back) by the $400 needed to earn it.

1/400m= .0025
.0025 = .25%

You now know this casino pays you .25% cash back for your play.

Multiple Points: Using the information in the example above along with a multiple points offer from the casino simply multiply the cash back percentage by the multiple offered by the casino. Here is an example.

Say it’s a double cash back offer and the regular cash back is .25%. Multiply the .25% X 2 and you’ll receive .50%. If it’s four times cash back multiply the regular cash back by four and so on.

Game’s Expected Return (ER): One of the most important figures to a player is the game’s ER. You will simply add the cash back, including multiple points, to the expected return for the game you have selected. For example, the ER for 9/6 JOB is 99.54%. If you’re earning triple points at the casino in my example then you can add .75% to 99.54% and your ER is 100.29%, a positive and excellent choice. Keep in mind that you must play computer-perfectly, which few people do; that’s the reason casinos can afford to offer a few good plays. If you’re a smart gambler and practice at home on the software (WinPoker, www.videopokerpractice.com) or with my strategy cards (free and located in the back of my book) you can play close to perfect. Don’t forget there’ll be extra perks like free contest entries, show tickets, gifts and food or room comps that I didn’t even figure into the play’s value.

You can see why it’s important to carefully evaluate the offers arriving in the mail. If the casino has no decent video poker games you may want to avoid going there for a “snow in the winter” type deal.

Value of Information: We already know the casino wants something in return for their offers of food specials or free play; namely, your business. How about the free slot club card? Should you just be giving away your personal information with nothing in return? I think not.

When the Johnsons first came up with the plastic casino card, there was a uniform and level playing field. Gamblers provided the business with personal information and all members got equal benefits based solely on their amount of play.

Times have changed. Nowadays, I have experienced management offering absolutely nothing when players choose full pay games. (Full pay means the best available at video poker, blackjack, craps or any other casino option.) They actually expected people to give out personal data that is of value to them (will be fully explained in a future feature) and return less than snow in the winter.

Hackers: Somebody posted an interesting link on my video poker forum recently about hackers getting records from casinos. (Join my free forum by going to www.midwestgamingandtravel.com and following the prompts.) The article describes how this has been a concern of late and caused some players to hesitate before giving up information at a slot club desk. I have noticed a few unsolicited mailers from casinos where I have never played. It could be the results of employees selling or taking a list when they change casinos or it could be hackers. That’s just one more reason why you should make sure the casino is offering a decent incentive to give up your personal information.

No Points for Some Games: Let’s face it, I’m a sucker for games with an ER over 100%; in fact, the theoretical return of a game is my primary consideration in the selection process. Whether or not I decide to use my card depends on if I’m getting something back. Sure, I’ll play full pay deuces wild (FPDW) anytime it’s available, but if a casino thinks they’re punishing me with a big sign indicating the device is ineligible for points, I simply won’t use a card. They have to give you something when they expect you to use your card, just like they expect something with their marketing offers.

An example of my point is FPDW and several other full pay games that were offered on quarter machines in Laughlin, Nevada. They did not offer points on your card when you played these (unless you consider $3,000 needed for a point and 10 points needed for a dollar comp worth anything). Many complained and were told they were playing good machines so they shouldn’t expect anything back. I heard lots of grumbling and finally said, “why do you even have your card in the machine?” Eventually there was so much griping (many stopped using their cards, but the biggest problem was the bad blood between some players and their slot club employees), that they changed their policy. Now they offer half as many points as the downgraded video poker machines, in my opinion very fair.

The bottom line is that casinos are nervy if they think anyone should use a slot card and receive nothing in return. This is especially true in an age where your personal information could be accessed by hackers.

Let Your Fingers Do The Walking: If you’re unsure of a casino’s policies don’t hesitate to call or email with questions. You may think it’s tacky to ask what the birthday gift is before making a trip out there, but if they’re not shy about giving me a small plastic cup (value of less than a dollar) then who am I to blush? In general, if the “special gift” is unnamed then I will call and inquire.

You should be especially interested in their cash back policies by calling ahead of time so you can do the cash back computations at home. Casino managers tend to get skittish when they see players arrive, pen in hand, and start figuring things out on their calculators.

Make New Friends: Maybe it was girl scouts where they had this song that stuck to my brain: “Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver but the other’s gold.” Many casinos in an effort to attract new business ignore their loyal customer base. In a local Arizona casino they go out of their way to cater to new players while ignoring their regulars. They seem out of touch with the reality of chasing away a large portion of their best customers when they treat new players better. Typically they’ll offer a comped meal or a small amount of free play to newbies. It’s certainly not the five dollars in free play that irks people; it’s just being snubbed while watching staff fawn over somebody with $20 to wager.

I certainly understand why marketing wants to increase their player base, but they should consider the best way to do this without insulting their current players. I would say casinos should never offer something coveted, like a large prize, to new players while telling their regulars that they’re ineligible. One local casino makes many mistakes in the way they take their base for granted, especially a few of their hosts.

If you’re giving a lot of business to a casino but getting virtually nothing in return then you should let high management know. I’m referring to executives at Native American casinos who may not be on the casino floor. Most can be contacted by email and will appreciate knowing that they’re losing your business as well as the reasons.

Final Thoughts: I must admit to being embarrassed when I was a little kid and my dad’s booming New York voice announced “snow in the winter” after checking things out.

Now I truly miss my dad every time I think of what he would have said after assessing some of the “stupendous give-aways” from local businesses. My friends give me odd looks, for example, when I explain that my dad warned me about eating in a restaurant that has an empty parking lot. I apply his common sense homilies to video poker now and they really work.

I don’t think a casino owes me a free lunch, but they’re the ones making the contact so they should be sure it’s a reasonable offer. There’s already a tad of mistrust towards gambling establishments due to the old-time images of hustlers trying to hook you with their cane so you’ll come inside. Now we have corporate-types in suits making decisions and the trust level isn’t much higher than when the Mafia ran the show. The last thing these bosses should want to do is to snooker customers into entering their property with bogus offers.

Midwesterners are a sharp, hardy lot and do a great job of handling all the ice and snow that comes their way. Still, they won’t want local gambling halls providing more of the wet flakes, even though it’s free of charge. If casinos are offering sunshine and pots of gold then they should make an honest effort to deliver. When patrons arrive to find a figurative blizzard they may look for new stomping grounds, especially during promotional events.

— Linda Boyd, a long-time table game player before turning to video poker, writes for many gaming publications. Her book, The Video Poker Edge, includes free removable pay schedules and her free strategy cards for the most popular games. The 2010 Second Edition is now available at amazon.com, bookstores or www.squareonepublishers.com. Kindle edition available.