The myth of playing 5 coins in video poker.

[BillWFord]

Betting 5 coins on a video poker machine yields better odds than betting just one coin. But that doesn’t mean you have a better chance of winning. In fact in both cases your expected long term result is negative. But you will lose less betting one coin than betting (the better odds) 5 coins. Using Durangobill’s expected probabilities for the various video poker hands, here are the results for 100 turns (bets) on a 9/5 quarter machine using optimum strategy. Betting one quarter your expected loss would be $0.73. Betting 5 quarters your expected loss would be $1.95. So even though the odds are better betting 5 coins, your losses are less betting only 1 coin.   

[FAA]

Choir preaching with me and FP. Even okay losing eight bucks an hour on 400 hands volume, or seven in my case with 9/6. But it's usually a bloodbath of up to ten times that loss. So max coin is a rare indulgence. I'm willing to risk the short coin RF.

[BillWFord]

To make matters worse if you assume that you will not hit a Royal Flush (the odds against are 40,387 to 1) in your session, your expected losses for 1 coin and 5 coins are $0.88 and $4.42 respectively.

[paco13]

You could just play a lower denomination at max bet. I don't know but are the pay tables for dimes and nickel's worse than quarter's usually?

[billryan]

Are you planning on only playing a hundred hands in your lifetime?
What are your expected results after one hand?
After ten hands? How about after a 100,000 hands?
There are video poker experts and then there are video poker "experts".
Choose who you listen to wisely.
Put it this way. The odds are you aren't going to get in an automobile accident today. Nor tomorrow. So why have insurance? Because of the long run. Eventually you will have an accident and be glad you had insurance.
Planning on dropping dead today? If not, why waste money on life insurance? Health insurance? Home Owners?
Eventually you will get your Royals. Getting $1,000 for them instead of $62.50 is why you play max coins.It's what makes the games payout well over 99 percent.
Playing anything less than max makes the game two percent worse. Consider the extra money Royal Flush insurance, if you must.
Like all insurance, you'll be damn glad you had it when that rare occurrence actually happens.
Fool's scoff, the wise understand.

[BillWFord]

(1) I only used 100 hands as an example of how much you are expected to lose in that many hands. If you play 200 hands in a session multiply my results by 2; for 100,000 multiply by a thousand.      
(2) Realistically you will not get a royal Flush (RF) at any one sit down session. Therefore the most likely outcome is the much worse ($0.88 and $4.42) which I point out in the addendum I added. To be sure, as you point out, if you play long enough you will get the RF.   And that will surely help make up for many of your previous losses.   In the very long term, I agree, the RF’s will tend to give the mathematically calculated expected losses. But we play in the short term, don’t we.
(3) Playing anything less than the max doesn’t necessarily give you a 2% disadvantage. It depends on what you compare it to. For example, if you play one dollar on a 9/6 dollar machine, your expected loss in 100 hands is $1.82. If you play the max (5 quarters) on a 9/5 quarter machine, your expected loss is $1.95. Would you really rather play the max quarter machine ???
(4) Don’t get me wrong. I am not disputing the fact that playing 5 coins on a machine to get the 4000 RF payoff will give you better odds than 1 coin. I am just saying to be careful about getting too hyped up over the fact that the “odds” when playing 5 coins are better than the odds when playing 1 coin. But as I pointed out those “better” odds can be misleading, which of course is one of the casino’s objectives.       
(5) I presume I am the Fool and you are the Wise One.

[case]

Bill

What if you are playing a full pay game. Example at Boulder Station they have 10-6 DDB. Are you still going to play one coin VS 5 coins?

You took a negative game and tried to show how to lose less. You also did not include the slot club or any promotions.

[BillWFord]

I was only trying to look at regular Jacks or Better video poker, from a purely mathematical standpoint. Casino promotions are another matter I know very little about. I only know optimum strategy for this game. I suspect that the expected value for any 5 coin game is less than for 1 coin.

[BillWFord]

Most of the nickle machines I have seen are much worse than the quarter machines. 7/5 versus 9/5.

[onemoretry]

. I suspect that the expected value for any 5 coin game is less than for 1 coin. What do you mean by the term "expected value"?