Dear Mark,
I never bet the progressive dollar bet in Caribbean
Stud, but you said you should "depending on
the size of the jackpot." In all my playing
time, I have hit one flush, so the extent of my
savings far outweighs what my losses would be by
putting that white chip in the slot. Of course,
if I did hit the progressive with my red light off
I would absolutely have a stroke, and never gamble
again.
I know the smaller payoffs I may miss wouldn't bother
me very much (except the 10% of the Progressive).
When would it be prudent to put that dollar in the
slot? For instance, the jackpot at the Atlantic
City Tropicana is now at close to $200,000. Is that
high enough?
By the way, the dealer at the Tropicana said the
progressive tends to hit about once a year, usually
around Xmas. I was there Dec. 8, so maybe it was
just a ruse to get me to bet. Suzanne W.
Caribbean
Stud Poker is in essence a game of five-card stud poker,
without the luxury of a draw. The progressive jackpot's
payout for royal and straight flushes (the jackpot also
pays for four-of-a-kinds, full houses and flushes) is
based on the amount indicated on the meter, which can,
as you noted, be as high as hundreds of thousands of
dollars.
I stated in a previous column that the dollar offering
was worth a buck only if the
jackpot came within
a stone's throw of true odds; a variable factor,
I know: how far can you heave a rock? Personally,
I have never made the wager, as the highest jackpot
on any slot game I have played was around $155,000.
That said, Suzanne, let's do the arithmetic. There
are 2,598,560 possible five-card combinations in
a standard 52-card deck. With four ways to make
a royal flush, the true odds of hitting a natural
royal are 649,760 to one. So, Suzanne, is a jackpot
of $200,000-with odds of hitting it close to 650,000
to one-worth a measly buck? The answer seems to
me a real no-brainer, but there plenty of wishful
gamesters among us who don't mind making a dollar
donation to the casino every 45 seconds, always
looking for that green Christmas.... two centuries
away.
