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I’ve included a section here on Video Poker written by a friend of mine who has actually won doing this. I wouldn’t have included this unless I witnessed it myself.
What if I told you that somewhere in Vegas, there exists a game that you can actually turn the odds in your favor? What if you knew that if you played the game well you would actually come out on top of the casino? Does that sound possible? It’s true, and thousands of people have cashed in on this amazing secret over the years. That secret is Video Poker. There is no other game in the casino that is designed to actually pay you money. Video Poker is the way to go if you want to actually beat the system and make some money at gambling. In fact, Video Poker isn’t even classified as gambling in some states. It’s a game of skill. That means if you know how to play, you can win more than you lose and walk away with thousands of dollars in your pocket after a couple days worth of work.
I know, this sounds too good to be true. I can tell you from personal experience that it’s not. All the other games in the casino have a heavy margin in the casino’s favor, but Video Poker is different. Craps, roulette, and especially slots are all games of random and pure chance. In some cases like slots, the random number generator makes your chances of winning even worse than table games. Video Poker though is geared for people who know how to play, so the odds work for people who are skilled players. Simply put, if you know what you are doing and understand what machines to play, you can win big.
Why would the casino’s do this? Simple, because most people that play on the machines don’t play well, but they have to skew the odds high enough that the machine pays out at regular intervals so even bad play is rewarded often enough. That higher skewing of the odds makes it possible to win extra money for skilled players with a system. The Average Joe playing video poker is going to try and play it like a regular poker game (bad idea) and lose their money eventually. They might hit a high hand or two but in the end, they will give it all back to the casino. That’s what the casino is hoping for and what often happens. But a skilled player sees the play differently, and that’s why they can win.
Why doesn’t everyone play Video Poker then? I honestly don’t know, but I think it’s either a lack of knowledge, a lack of skill, or both. Either they just don’t know that the odds are better playing Video Poker than playing any other game in the casino, or maybe they were burned bad at one point and chalked it up to bad luck, never to play again. There’s really no reason why you shouldn’t play Video Poker, especially if you know the right machines to choose and the right hands to play. It’s easy and fun.
A quick word about this book before we go farther. There are a lot of resources out there about this subject and I have read them all. While many are fine guides, and really in depth books, they all get a little technical for my taste. I’m a simple guy and I like easy, straightforward systems that work. If I have to memorize too many tables or numbers I get a little lost and carrying around a cheat sheet is a hassle and a little embarrassing. What I’ve found in other resources is that the system they promote is either too complicated or simply doesn’t work. I’ve had to spend thousands of dollars to figure this out, and come up with a system that was simple but also effective. If you are anything like me, you want something easy that just works. This is the book for you then.
I’ve tested this system many times and has yet to fail me. Every single time I’ve played live Video Poker, I have walked away with more money than I started with. That’s the goal, right? To not lose money? That’s what this system does. It helps you keep the money you win and mitigate your losses. You can’t lose what you don’t have and that’s the key to this system that I will show you in a bit. It’s simple and insanely effective. It won’t guarantee you a big jackpot every single time you play, no honest system can say that but it will help you come out on top in the long run. I’ve had several trips where I walked away with three times my starting bankroll. I will show you how you can do the same, predictably, every time.
Several years ago I came up with a simple system to starting winning some more money playing the lottery. I found that system because I was desperate for something to start going right in my life and I was able to use some easy math to make a nice income on local lottery games. From there I became interested in gambling as a money making opportunity. As I refined my lottery system I began to read more about Video Poker and how it was the one game that actually paid to play. I read some books about Video Poker theory and went down to Vegas to play some poker. Using another person’s system I came away broke, spending more money than I had to spend. It was a disaster and almost stopped playing at that point. But something similar happened to me when I started playing the lottery seriously, and I overcame that by using my head, so I applied some logic and number theory, along with some psychology I’ve picked up, and created my own system.
Hesitantly I flew down to Vegas once more and tested my system with $1,000 that I had saved over several months just for this purpose. I was extremely nervous, not about losing the money, which would have been disappointing but I brought it to gamble, but nervous that my system wouldn’t work. After two days of intense play, I basically camped out at a machine, I made an extra $1,000 and even had my meals comped by a very friendly casino host. Ecstatic about my win, I saved the money I made and used it on my next trip. After getting a comped room through the casino host (she even gave me a voucher for meals), I only had to make enough to pay for my plane ticket, or that’s what I told myself. I started with $1500 and made an extra thousand after another two days of play. Since then I have never lost money and my trips have been comped every time. I get picked up in a limo on the casinos dime and because of my system, I put enough money through their system that they think I am incredible, even though I keep taking their money.
My last trip was the most incredible, however. I had been winning steadily on monthly trips, figuring out what machines to play and where the best comps were. I settled on one hotel and went down during the week with my friend Mike, a fellow gambler who helped me develop this system. He heard about my successes and was eager to try for himself. We went down with a smaller bankroll, $1,200 each. I never play much more than that anyway but that’s the most that Mike had on him and I didn’t want him to feel bad about that. We started playing on a Wednesday night and by Friday night he had turned his starting bankroll into $4,625! He couldn’t believe it! Then he asked me how I did. Now this is the crazy thing, I didn’t do anything different than I had done the other times I went down to Vegas, but I hit big this time. After two Royal Flushes and several Four-of-a-Kind’s, I walked away with $15,250! I’ve never won like that before and I don’t expect to again. The odds don’t always play out that way but that’s the beauty of my system, you mitigate your losses until the big paydays come around.
Here’s a warning for those that want to jump into this head first without looking; don’t. This book is a great start but it is only a start. I will give you a great system that can win you a bunch of money but more education about gambling methods, mathematics, and Video Poker can only benefit you. I’m sure some of my success is determined by my extensive reading and comprehensive knowledge so don’t go in and expect the same results as mine right off the bat. This is about luck and skill, but more skill than anything else. Skills take time to develop. Read this book, practice the methods, but also, be careful. I do not want to hear from a distraught reader who went to Vegas with all their savings, played badly, lost everything, and then blames me. Only play with money that you can afford to lose and make sure you know how to play the game right. Do these things and you should be very successful.
Another note about Video Poker machines. I’ve done some research into this and found that some Video Poker machines are not the real deal. You have to be careful. We will go into this more when we talk about varieties of machine paytables, but be careful you are not playing a slots based Video Poker machine. The slot-style machines are not true Video Poker! They are glorified slot machines that pre-determine your chance of winning a hand based on a random number generator. In real Video Poker, you have the ability to determine the outcome of your hand by keeping the right or correct cards before the draw period. The slot based machines are simply random and you might as well toss your money away. If you are going to practice real Video Poker, you should find a quality casino that hosts good machines. I prefer to fly to Vegas for this. Not only do they have the best (and honest) machines but there are many other perks of flying down to Sin City. Whether you stay at home or book a flight, just be on your guard against slot style Video Poker machines.
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The full book includes:
• The $100 System
• Types of machines to play
• Types of games to play
• The perfect amount of hands you play at once
• Perfect Play (not your regular poker strategy)
• Play on weekends vs weekdays (shouldn’t make a difference but it does)
• Comps and club points (why you should play at one location)
• Investing in your poker like a business will make you wealthy