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The full-payers shell
out the maximum for each winning hand; the partials
don¹t.in your example, Hal, a standard Jacks
or Better full-pay machine returns 9-for-1 on a Full
House, and 6-for-1 for a Flush.
But keep reading. If the machine pays only 8-for-1
on a Full House, it would be considered a partial-pay
machine. Obviously, we both know which is the better
play. But there¹s a slight aroma of equation-warpage
behind your question, Hal. The full-versus-partial
equation changes when the machine only pays 1-for-1
for two pairs. Odds-on, you were probably playing
on some hybrid Bonus Poker machine, where the payoff
bonus for Four-of-a-Kind is reduced to 1-for-1. If
the paytable looked anything like this, Royal flush
250-for-1; Straight Flush 50-for-1; four Aces 80-for-1;
four 2s, 3s or 4s 40-for-1; four 5s through Kings
25-for-1; Full House 9-for-1; Flush 6-for-1; Straight
4-for-1; Three-of-a-Kind 3-for-1; two Pair 1-for-1;
pair of Jacks or Better 1-for-1,
TAKE A DEEP BREATH
you could be giving
the house an extra 5-plus percent on your play. Reducing
the return on two-Pair hands penalizes the player
too far, even with the increased payoffs on Four-of-a
Kinds. But again, Hal, without
knowing the complete paytable, I cannot give you an
unequivocal answer. Meanwhile, keep looking for those
Full Pay 9/6 machines where you are paid 2-for-1 for
two Pair, and scoff at any machine whose paytable
remotely resembles the one sketched out above.
Dear Mark,
Some casino dealers hit their soft 17s, other don¹t.
My brother says that it¹s better to play on a
game where the
dealer hits a soft 17. Is he right? Ben R.
Bzzzt! Wrong, Ben!
When the dealer hits a soft 17, you are giving the
house an additional two-tenths of one percent advantage.
Watch my hands:
with a soft 17, the dealer¹s hand improves with
any one of Ace, 2, 3 or 4, or stays the same with
a 10, Jack, Queen or King.
Therefore, eight of every 13 cards either improve
the dealer¹s hand, or keep it the same. Got it?
And if any of the other five
cards is drawn, the dealer still has a chance to escalate
his hand-value with another draw.
Dear Mark,
What is the house advantage, if any, if I use a never-bust
system against the dealer? I generally play on shoe
games that either have six or eight decks. Hank R.
Big no-no, Hank. I do
not recommend ever using the never-bust strategy,
which gives the casino a 5% advantage. By using
strict basic strategy, which recommends hitting plenty
of stiff hands, you cut the house edge to a half of
one percent on the six-
or eight-deck games. Use it (basic strategy), or lose
it (contents of your wallet) with the never-bust system.
 Good
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