Video poker tournaments are usually played over several short
sessions, and can last one or more days. To give a specific
example, a tournament may be held for two days, with each
participant playing in two rounds, one on each day. The players
sign up on the first day and are assigned a specific time and
machine number for each session, with each portion lasting
exactly 15 minutes. Several players will be given the same time
slot, and if the event is fully booked, then failure to be on
time will result in disqualification from the tournament.
Machines used for play in tournaments are usually video poker
machines that are already in the casino, but have been adjusted
for use in the tournament. These machines often contain a
special 'tournament chip' and after the contest, the paytable
and tournament chip are changed back and the machine is returned
to its original spot. Tournament play does not require cash or
coins, but instead, each person is given an equal number of
credits. On the screen are a Session Timer, a Credit Countdown
and a Win Counter. The usual buttons for Deal/Draw and Hold are
at the front of the machine.
To make things clear to those who have never played in a
tournament I'll define the new terms typically used for video
poker competitions.
1. Session Timer: This keeps track of the minutes and seconds so
that everybody has exactly the same amount of time to play. If
you've ever played in a slot tournament, and I sometimes play
when they're free, you will be familiar with these devices. Make
sure you can find the location of the timer so you can use it to
your advantage. There are some competitions that have staggered
time, meaning that everybody does not have to begin at the same
time but it's fair since participants have an equal amount of
time.
2. Credit Countdown: If you are given a specific amount of
credits at the start of the tournament this device lets you know
how many are left at all times. Rules vary, but most deduct 5
credits after each hand is played. Again it's important to know
where this is located on your machine, so you can keep an eye on
it and adjust your speed at times.
3. Win Counter: This tells you how many points you've accumulated
in a given session. If you can't locate it then make sure you ask
the organizers to point it out before the round begins.
The following is a specific example of what happened in an actual
tournament. Be aware of the fact that the amount of time and the
amount of credits may be different for each contest.
At the start of each round, the Session Timer was re-set to 15:00
(for 15 minutes) and the Credit Countdown to 1000. The Win
Counter, which is all-important, since the monetary awards at the
conclusion are based on the cumulative totals, began at zero and
counted up. When the signal to begin was given, players pushed
Deal/Draw and began playing. The credits were subtracted 5 at a
time from the Credit Countdown, but the Win Counter only tracked
winning hands and did NOT count down. This is a very important
concept to understand in tournament poker. It means that if you
failed to get a winning hand, you did not lose any points on the
Win Counter, which was the only important score in terms of the
cash awards.
The money was awarded according to points earned on the Win
Counter, NOT on the credits. (This is true for every video poker
tournament I've seen.) Given this rule, it's vital to play fast
enough to use up all your credits in order to give yourself as
many hands as possible to earn points. It's also critical that
you play accurately, so that you can have as many winning hands
as possible. Any credits left on your countdown after your time
runs out are worthless to you. If you have 100 credits left, for
example, you lost 20 hands with which to earn more points toward
your total. I watched several tournaments, and participated in a
free tournament at the Ramada, to make sure that the information
in this chapter is correct. It was surprising to see that so
many players had a lot of credits remaining because they played
too slowly, and they didn't realize that this was a waste of
credits. (In the real world you cash in your credits for money,
but not in a tournament.)
Most rules specify that you not only compete against the players
in your session, but against everybody who entered the contest.
Point totals from each session are added together, and the winner
is the player with the highest cumulative score.
Tournaments are usually set up to pay 1/4 to 1/2 of the
participants, so it is reasonable to expect that you will at
least get your entry fee returned, or earn a profit without
actually winning the contest. If you do win the tournament,
however, you will receive a big payout. Most tournament
organizers also offer small gifts (like mugs or t-shirts) as well
as a comped meal at the conclusion of the contest for the
participants.
Tournament Strategy
The best thing that you can do to get ready for a video poker
tournament is to program the pay table that will be used in the
competition into tutorial soft ware and practice at home. Be
aware that long-term expectations are not relevant because your
results will be based on short-term play.
The majority of video poker tournaments today use vastly
different paytables from the ones I discuss in this book. For
instance, a Royal Flush may pay 2500 points, a Straight Flush pay
2000, and a four of a kind 1500. (Remember that you don't get to
keep the credits, so your objective is pure point accumulation.)
When video poker tournaments first began, entrants learned very
quickly that if the payout table was similar to the 'real world'
payout, in order to win you'd almost have to get a Royal Flush.
Tournament organizers changed the rules to please the majority of
their players.
Be aware that the machines used in slot tournaments (non-video
poker) have a mode that allows more winning combinations than the
real world.
I have not noticed a proliferation of winning hands in the few
tournaments in which I played. It would not be cheating, however,
if there was a tournament chip that increased the number of
winning combinations for video poker tournaments. Of course, the
chip would have to be replaced with a valid RNG if the machine
were returned to the casino floor.
When you get to your assigned machine, make sure you check the
graphics on the monitor. If they're difficult to read due to
poor contrast or dimness or any other reason, let a tournament
official know about it. You will probably be told that you'll
have to live with this big disadvantage because others had to
play it before you. Not everyone, however, was given this
tremendous handicap in the tournament, just the 1/50th or so that
were unfortunate enough to be assigned to that machine. Ask if
any other machines are unused during that round, and see if you
can transfer to a different machine. Otherwise, ask for a refund
of your entry fee and report the incident to management. This is
an important issue because the organizers often take the oldest
machines that are in bad shape to use in their tournaments. I
know of an instance where a person had a good chance of winning
until the final round, when extremely poor graphics was a major
deterrent. The only reason she didn't file a complaint was that
the contest was free and she won money. Some video poker
tournaments, however, have relatively high entry fees and there
is no reason to put up with shoddy equipment. If you are
complaining, as always, do so in a polite way.
If you are not in the first session, it will help to arrive early
so you can watch a round being played. You will be able to
approximate the speed necessary to use up the credits in the
allotted time and you will have some sense of the scores needed
to finish in the money. The more familiar you are with the
process, the less nervous you'll be during your sessions.
Make sure you are there in time for your round, since all time
slots will probably be filled, and you won't be allowed to
compete if you are late for your assigned time.
Some people really like playing in video poker tournaments and
are willing to pay high entry fees to do so. I personally only
play if they are free and I see no reason to memorize any
strategy. Tournament organizers are not bound to keep the same
payout tournament from event to event and you will not find
similar pay back tables on the casino floor. If you are going to
participate, however, you should use a logical approach so you
can do your best.
To recap:
First call the casino and speak with a tournament organizer who
can give you the exact pay back for each hand in the hierarchy.
Without this vital information, which may differ for each
competition, you are playing Russian Roulette.
Practice on your home computer with the same payout table.
Arrive early for play.
Make sure the graphics are clear.
Play quickly and according to practice sessions.
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