Spin Poker

[monic]

I would like to know how spin poker cards are dealt.  After the initial cards are dealt, are the next cards dealt from three separate decks each with the initial cards removed?
 
 

[Eduardo]

You got it. Just like in Triple play!
 

[monic]

I also assume that the strategy is the same for spin poker as for a standard one line poker game.
 
Does the fact that some reel positions have more paylines crossing them and some reel positions have less affect the strategy?  In the 15 line spin poker game, the center reel upper and lower positions have two paylines crossing each and the center has 5 paylines crossing.  Will this have any effect on strategy.  My guess is that it has no effect on strategy but would like that confirmed.

[monic]

One other dumb question on spin poker.  If there are three decks and 15 paylines, it would seem that you could get 5 dueces.  Here is one scenario: You are dealt 3 deuces to start with on reels 1,3, and 5; that means there is 1 deuce left in each of the three decks.  Lets say that a deuce is dealt from deck one in reel 2 upper position and the same deuce from deck 3 is dealt in lower reel positon 4.  Now you have 5 deuces on one of the paylines.
 
Clearly this shouldn't happen, but if there are three decks and each one is randomly dealt after the initial 5 cards, then this scenario would be possible.

[Eduardo]

I don't know.  My understanding was that it does not affect strategy but I have often thought about it and not been certain.
 
As for your deuce example I am equally puzzled because you are right there can't be 5 deuces. Something must be dealt differently than I thought!

[monic]

Thank you for your answers. 
 
My head spins just like the spin poker machine when I try to reason out how this machine works and still pays out fairly on all 15 lines.
 
If they do something to prevent 5 deuces from being dealt, then there also have to be some rules to prevent other scenarios like natural 5 of a kind in regular (not deuces wild) poker or a flush with, for example, two 3 of hearts and a 2,4,and 5 of hearts.  It is possible if only three decks are involved.
 
If all these extra rules are in place, then I have to question if a 15 line spin poker machine is not as good a bet as to play 15 lines on a multiline machine.  At least there we know that there are 15 separate decks and there are no extra rules.  These extra rules may affect legitmate payouts as well.
 
I hope this is not the case because I sure do like spin poker but I have been questioning for some time if the paybacks are what the paytables claim.  I haven't played enough to draw any conclusions (about 500,000 hands) but I "feel" that 15 lines on a multiline machine is slightly better.  I guess I will never know because it is impossible to play enough hands to tell for sure.  I do track frequency of certain types of hands but the numbers so far are running about what would be expected for the more frequently occuring hands.

[jazzman12]

Spin Poker is dealt from a single 52 card deck. It doesn't matter how many lines you play, the cards all come from a single deck, and therefore, there can never be 5 dueces (or anything else) being dealt. Think of the number of lines played like the lines on a multiline slot machine. You can play 1, 3, 9, or on some machines up to 20 lines. But, think of the cards as being similar to a standard poker machine. The only difference being that in Spin Poker more of the cards from the deck are ultimately revealed and put into play. If you hold one card on a spin poker machine - you will eventually see 17 cards from that single deck. The 1 you held, the 4 you discarded, and the 12 that are dealt to fill the remaining 3 lines (4 cards each line). If you get very strong hands on the initial deal, it would be better to be playing the maximum lines on a spin poker machine; if not, playing 15 or 20 lines can reduce your bankroll pretty quickly.

[monic]

Are you sure it is one deck?  I have also considered that but then the payouts would be greatly reduced in the short term as compared to playing 15 lines on a multiline machine.  I have played both and as far as I can tell they seem to pay out close to the same amount in the short and the long term.
 
I know this is not a casino game, but while playing spin poker on VPW I have seen two identical cards on one payline.  My wife confirms that she has seen that as well.  That would mean that at least VPW uses more than one deck.  Or... maybe we are just getting bleary eyed in our old age.
 
Your answer does make a lot of sense but I still do have a problem coming to grips with the paytable and the payouts.  As I said at the top, the results seem to be similar to 15 lines on a multiline machine.

[TEXACO]

  AS SOMEONE WHO PLAY'S A LOT OF SPIN POKER YOUR QUESTION WAS MORE THAN THOUGHT PROVOKING. SO I WENT TO THE IGT WEB SITE AND LOOKED UP INFO ON THE TWO SPIN POKER MACHINES. "SPIN POKER / SPIN POKER DELUXE" SPIN POKER 9 LINE MACHINE HAS THE CAPABILITY OF A MAX BET OF 270 CREDITS {{30 - PER LINE}} FOR A DEALT ROYAL FLUSH WIN OF 216,000 CREDITS.
  THIS IS QUOTED FROM THEIR WEB SITE.  "FIRST HAND IS DEALT ON CENTER PAY LINE, WITH IDENTICAL HANDS DEALT FROM 2-ADDITIONAL DECKS ONE ABOVE AND ONE BELOW".
   SPIN POKER DELUXE ONLY CHANGE IS MAX BET OF 600 CREDITS WITH A TOP AWARD OF 600,000.
   SO HOW DO YOU NOT HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR "FIVE OF A KIND" OR "FIVE DUECES" ?
   SO MAYBE SOMEONE WITH MORE CLOUT THAN I, CAN CONTACT IGT AND INQUIRE HOW THE GAME IS PROGRAMED.

[Webman]

What a great question!  I've gone to a game programmer for the answer on this.For Spin Poker, the cards on the draw come from one deck.  So you cannot get duplicate cards
(2 5 of spades, for example after the draw button).The quote from the
IGT web page is confusing, but not inaccurate.   I think the quote is trying to explain that when
you hold a card in the main hand, the same card is placed in the other two
hands. It is talking about cards on the deal being duplicated above and below from identical decks, not on the draw. And how could you do that if you had only one deck (the same hold cards on each line?)  But the only cards
that are duplicated in the other hands are the cards that are dealt.In
the draw phase, the replacement cards are taken from one deck that has the 5
dealt cards removed.VPW works the same way.  If you see duplicate cards
in VPW, then please capture a screenshot and report the bug in the VPW support database and it will be looked into.As for the game being a good deal or not, you have to look at the paytable and analyze the game.  VPW has done that.