Blackjack newsletter and blackjack strategySubscribe to the Blackjack Insider newsletter

BLACKJACK TOURNAMENT E-BOOKS BY BJI AUTHOR KEN SMITH!
How to Win EVEN MORE Blackjack Tournaments - Volume II... only $14.95. Ken Smith's second e-book on tournament blackjack contains more of his winning strategies that have made him one of the best tournament blackjack players in the world.

Or, purchase both Volume I and Volume II together for $24.95... over 15% off!

NEW! Read how Ken used skill to win a recent blackjack tournament. Get his books and you could too!

How To Win EVEN MORE Blackjack Tournaments - Volume II
(web ads above removed with paid membership. Click here for advertisement rates)

STICKMAN'S STANCE: MULTIPLE-PLAY VIDEO POKER - THE GOOD AND BAD OF IT

Jerry "Stickman"

Jerry "Stickman" is an expert in craps, blackjack, video poker and advantage slot machine play. Frank Scoblete's and Jerry "Stickman's" book "Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo and Pai Gow Poker" presents dozens of video poker games and strategies for maximum returns. He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines. You can contact Jerry "Stickman" at stickmanjerry@aol.com.

The standard video poker machines are called single play because the player plays only one game at a time. One game is considered one hand of video poker. However, these are not the only types of video poker games. Also available are games that play three, five, 10, 50, and even 100 games at a time. These multiple-play games deal the exact same hand to three, five, 10, 50, or 100 hands. The player then decides which cards to save for all the hands dealt. Because of this, the strategy for playing a multi-play game is exactly the same as when playing a single-play game.

If you are dealt a good initial hand you can make a lot of money. Imagine your delight at being dealt four-of-a-kind or even a royal flush! However if you are dealt a poor hand, you stand to lose a lot of money. Over half of all hands in video poker end up being losers. Because of the multiplying effect of good or bad starter hands, the variance (amount of bankroll swings both plus and minus) for multiple-play games is higher than for single-play games. You need a bigger bankroll to play multi-play games of the same denomination as single-play games.

In a single-play game, variance is higher when more money is paid out on fewer high-paying hands. For example, 9/6 Jacks or Better (where a full house is paid at 9-for-1 and a flush is paid at 6-for-1) has only one very high paying hand - the royal flush. The variance for this game is 19.5.

Bonus Poker is different than Jacks or Better because it pays a bonus for four aces (80-for-1 instead of 25-for-1) and four 2s, 3s or 4s (40-for-1). Payoffs for a full house and a flush are reduced to make up for the higher payoffs on the quads. The variance for Bonus Poker is 20.9 - a seven percent increase over Jacks or Better.

Double Bonus Poker increases the bonus on four aces to 160-for-1, the bonus on four 2s, 3s, or 4s to 80-for-1, and the bonus on 5s through kings to 50-for-1. Two pair payoff is reduced to 1-for-1 to compensate for the increased quad payoffs. By concentrating much more of the payoff money in fewer, large payoffs and reducing the more frequent lower payoffs, variance on Double Bonus Poker soars to nearly 28.3 - a 45 percent increase from Jacks or Better.

Double-Double Bonus Poker is a very popular video poker game - perhaps the most popular. Its popularity is fueled by the large payoffs for quads; 250-for-1 for four 5's through K's, 400-for-1 for four 2's, 3's or 4's, 800-for-1 for four A's, 800-for-1 for a hand of four 2's, 3's or 4's that includes an Ace, 2, 3 or 4 "kicker", and a whopping 2,000-for-1 for four A's with a 2, 3, or 4 "kicker." Yes, that's right, half a royal for a (very specific) four-of-a-kind. Variance for this game jumps to nearly 42 or 115 percent increase over the variance for Jacks or Better.

In multiple-play games, variance increases as the number of plays increases. This occurs not because more money in concentrated in fewer high paying hands, but because the strength of each multiple-play game is determined by the initial five cards that are dealt. If it is a strong hand, each play will have a strong hand. If it is a weak hand, each play will be weak. For example, if the initial hand contains three aces, the minimum each play will return is 3-for-1. If, however, the initial hand contains nothing and needs to be completely discarded, the chances for a positive outcome for this hand are small.

Now let's look at some specific games, plays, and variances...

...enter your member login information below to read this article/newsletter...

Paid Members-Only Article

You have clicked on a link to a Blackjack Insider web page or article for paid subscribers. You must have a paid membership to the Blackjack Insider newsletter to view this content. About 1/2 of the articles in each issue of the Blackjack Insider are for paid members only, while the rest are viewable by everyone. Your purchased membership will allow you to read all Blackjack Insider articles for 12 months.

Enter your user name and password below (they were listed and e-mailed to you after you purchased your Blackjack Insider membership):

User name:
Password: (case sensitive)
Save user name and password in your browser so you don't have to type them again later

Forgot your membership id or password? Click here.

How do I get a membership?

A membership can be purchased online at our secure store with your credit card for only $19.95 per year. You will receive a user name and password immediately by e-mail which you can use to read the all past and future members-only articles for 12 months, as well as the regular free articles.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP NOW... only $19.95

Do I have to buy a membership?

No. Blackjack Insider will continue to be published as a free monthly e-newsletter. But about 1/2 of the articles each month will be for paid members only. Subscribers without a membership can still view and read the non-members articles for free.

What happens after I buy a membership?

Immediately after you complete your purchase, you will receive a unique login user name and password. These are displayed on the final purchase page, and are e-mailed to you. When you click on a members-only article in our web site, you will be prompted for this user name and password (as shown above). Simply enter them, and enjoy the article! Note: make sure you turn on the checkbox above when you login, to save the user name and password so that you don't have to re-enter them every time you view members-only articles.

Why did you switch to paid memberships?

Blackjack Insider is a professional monthly publication with top-notch articles by world-reknown gaming experts. In addition, we have regular reporters that monitor game conditions and tournament schedules throughout North America. We use a partially paid subscriber model to enable us to continue getting the best content for our readers from leading authors on blackjack and gaming.

©2015, DeepNet Technologies. No material to be copied without express permission of DeepNet Technologies.
This site developed by DeepNet Technologies, Ontario, Canada. Contact webmaster @ bjinsider . com if you have problems.
This site is best viewed in a 800x600 graphics mode, or higher.