How To Fool Poker Machines
John Kane was on a hell of a winning streak. On July 3, 2009, he walked alone into the high-limit room at the Silverton Casino in Las Vegas and sat down at a video poker machine called the Game King. Six minutes later the purple light on the top of the machine flashed, signaling a $4,300 jackpot. Passing an LED light box across a poker machine’s face or sliding a piece of steel into a modern game is likely to result in electrocution, a pair of handcuffs, or (at best) nothing at all. The fairest and safest place to play pokies online for real money is at www.RoyalVegasCasino.com.
Believe it or not, some casino cheats try to manipulate video poker and slot machines. Cheating at casino table games is one thing; there are aspects of most table games that give cheaters an opportunity to manipulate the game in their favor, like the dice roll in craps or marking cards in blackjack and other card games. But modern video poker machines, like modern slot machines, are built around random number generators that are designed to be cheat proof.
How do cheaters attempt to rip off casino video poker machines? Using mechanical devices, ranging from wires and other implements shoved into the machine to lights designed to affect the outcome of the game. Physical devices used over the years by slot machine and video poker cheats are designed to try to trick the machine into handing out larger payouts than the player earned, or to drain their hoppers without any play at all.
Devices designed to literally hold open the coin dispenser or tiny lights that supposedly blind the video poker machine’s computer brain are still being used, even with today’s high-tech casino security and video poker machines. Shaved coins and coins on strings are also sometimes still used, even though these methods are as old as casino cheating in general.
Here’s a look at the most common ways of cheating at video poker.
Monkey Wire Video Poker Cheating
A device called a monkey wire is little more than a plain wire stuck into the video poker machine through the coin hopper. Video poker cheats try to stick the monkey wire into the machine so that it blocks the video poker’s counting mechanism and the machine just keeps spitting out winnings. This cheat is designed not to make the player win more often but to make the video poker machine pay out more than it should.
Unfortunately for video poker cheaters, monkey wires and other devices shoved into machines are easy for casino security to spot, and the eyes in the sky (not to mention floor employees constantly walking around the video poker machine floor) will most likely catch you shoving a wire into one of their machines. Monkey wires and other devices are also not guaranteed to work, so you could get in legal trouble for trying to cheat a casino without even earning more video poker winnings.
Light Wand Video Poker Cheating
According to casino cheating lore, Tommy Glenn Carmichael invented the light wand slot machine and video poker cheat. A light wand is similar to a monkey wire, except that the light wand supposedly worked on machines that were designed to beat the monkey wire cheat.
Light wands are small wires with a light bulb at one end, powered by a battery. Since video poker and slot machines now use optical devices to make sure they pay out the proper amount, a light wand stuck into the machine through the coin hopper is supposed to blind the coin reader and cause the machine to pay more coins than it should.
Video Poker Machines
Ideally for a video poker cheater, a small prize will turn into a huge jackpot thanks to the interference of the light bulb. The first reason to avoid using a device like a light wand is that there’s no guarantee that it will work. Video poker machine builders know that cheaters use things like monkey wires and light wands, and they’re constantly upgrading their devices to be cheat-proof.
And even if the light wand does work, the likelihood of getting caught sticking something into a video poker machine is high. The risk of getting caught with a light wand is the same as getting caught with a wire or any other device.
Coin Hopper or Cashbox Theft Video Poker Cheating
Since today’s video poker and slot machines are designed to prevent tools like wires and light wands from cheating the machine out of money, cheaters are more likely to get away with a profit they didn’t earn by simply stealing money directly out of the video poker machine’s coin hopper or cashbox. Stealing from a hopper or cash box may not be as sneaky or romantic as using a device like a Monkey Wire, but because of changes to video poker machine technology, straight up theft is the cheat most likely to work.
Like vending machines or any other device that holds money, slot machines and video poker machines have locks that prevent people from just reaching in and stealing money. The tubular locks favored by video poker machine designers are vulnerable to lock picking. Criminals who know how to pick locks can easily apply their skills to casino machines.
A common way of stealing from video poker machines is to either just pick the lock in full view of the casino floor (hoping you don’t get busted by casino security), or with a little premeditation, a casino cheat could build a master key that opens the video poker machine you want to cheat without the need for lock picking.
These master keys usually open more than one machine at a time, hence the name master key. If a casino thief were able to build a master key, it’s possible that he could move from one video poker machine to the next, opening the machine and draining it of its money.
Cheating at video poker, whether you use a wire, a light wand, or a lock picking set, is going to make you stick out to casino employees. You’ll probably get caught and face criminal prosecution. Stealing from a casino is the same as stealing from any business, and since casinos go out of their way to prevent cheating (with security cameras high in the air watching the entire floor as well as employees walking around watching for cheats) the potential payoff of picking a video poker machine lock is not worth the likelihood of getting busted.
Video poker is one of the most popular games in the casino. Like slot machines, video poker games move fast and use sound effects and flashing lights to attract attention, but unlike traditional slot machines, these poker style games require players to make decisions that affect the outcome.
The fact that players can make good and bad decisions that alter their chance of winning means some video poker titles have among the best odds in the casino. Depending on what machine you choose and how you play, the house edge can be as low as 0.5%. Video poker is a skill game that provides the thrill of slot machine with the option of using strategy to improve your chances of winning.
How to Beat Video Poker Game Variations
So many versions of this game exist, it would take several thousand words just to list the titles and game choices. One thing most variants have in common is that they’re based on basic five-card draw poker, with some exceptions.
A generic game looks something like this: the machine deals you five random cards out of a computer-simulated deck of 52 (more if the game you’re playing incorporates Joker cards), and you’re then given the option of improving your hand by choosing which cards to hold on to and which to exchange for new cards. If you choose to get rid of some of your cards, the game’s computer will randomly select new ones to replace your discards. The idea is to form a better hand than you’re dealt by holding onto your best cards and hoping to draw new ones that improve your winnings.
Video Poker vs. Traditional Poker
Besides the basic mechanics of five-card draw, or a few other poker variants that some video games use as their basis, the two games have little to do with one another. Understanding the ranking of poker hands is important for both games, but traditional poker skills won’t be of much use to the video player.
The biggest difference between video and standard poker is that the video game is man versus machine, while standard poker pits each player against one another. A video machine player doesn’t have to worry about beating anyone else; only creating a hand that leads to a payout as described by the machine’s pay table. Holding two pair while playing a poker machine means you win, while a two-pair hand in a standard card game could be easily beaten by any player with a stronger hand.
Video Poker Machine Strategy
Because so much variety exists in the world of video poker, teaching you how to win at video poker would require lessons for each style of game that exists. Instead, memorize these three tips to performing well on any given video card gaming title:
1. Understand the ideal strategy for whatever type of poker machine you’re playing.
2. Read a machine’s pay table and understand how to compare pay tables for different machines.
3. Gain an understanding of the volatility and hit frequency of different video titles.
You won’t learn these three factors overnight, and no strategy guide exists that can hand you a winning method for video poker without doing the homework and losing a little bit of cash along the way. Learning to read pay tables is simple: the trick is to play machines that offer the best payouts for the hands that you’ll see most often.
Strategy guides often emphasize the important of what are called 9/6 Jacks or Better games. These numbers refer to the winnings paid out for a full house and a flush: 9 credits for a full house and 6 credits for a flush. A casino that offers 8/5 instead of 9/6 is giving you a payback percentage of 97.3%, while 9/6 machine offer 99.54% payback. That tiny difference in the pay table affects your potential winnings drastically. So always look for machines with ideal pay tables; specifically, those that pay 9 credits for a full house and 6 for a flush.
The two most popular video poker games are Jacks or Better or Deuces Wild, and players who learn just the basics of advanced poker strategy stand to earn much more money for their gaming time.
As for volatility, learning to pick out a volatile poker video game requires experience and knowledge. Volatility refers to the ups and downs of a given video title, the variance between your wins and losses. Pay tables that offer the biggest returns also happen to be those with the most volatility, meaning your bankroll will shrink faster as you chase the higher payouts.
How To Beat Video Poker Machines
Strategy Tips for the Most Popular Poker Video Titles
In most casinos or gambling websites, the two most popular games of video poker are Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild. Here are basic strategy tips for Jacks or Better, the most common and most popular video poker machine in today’s market.
How to Win at Jacks or Better
Avoid falling for the common mistake of keeping what is called a “kicker,” a high card matched with a pair. People think that this kicker will make it more likely for them to form a hand with a higher payout, but this isn’t true.
Never hold on to three cards to chase a straight or a flush. The only time you should keep three cards to go after a big payout is if you are capable of pulling off the much more valuable straight flush. Statistically speaking, holding three cards to grab a straight or a flush is a losing proposition.
If you feel tempted to chase a big winning hand such as a four of a kind ,but you’d have to break up an existing full house or two-pair hand to get there, remember this basic video poker strategy—let the machine deal you a winning hand. Don’t give up a winning hand in an attempt to get an even bigger winning hand.