Paytables,
or pay schedules, which are always posted somewhere
on the machine, tell you what each winning hand
will pay for the number of coins played. Casinos
can "loosen" or "tighten"
the return of a game by manipulating the number
of coins won on certain pay categories.
For
Jacks-or-better, it's the full house/flush numbers
that are the primary indicator of a machine's
payback percentage. That once traditional, now
elusive, 9/6 machine you speak of is your return
for a full house (9) and a flush (6) with one
coin inserted. It's also associated with a house
edge of 0.5%. Compare that to a 6/5 machine (six
for a full house, five for a flush) that returns
a payback of 95.00%; a 7/5 machine 96.15%; an
8/5, 97.30%; an 8/6, 98.39%; a 9/5, 98.45%.
Now
here's a possible second reason for fewer royals.
Payouts on video poker machines are determined
not only by the pay schedule, but, also just as
importantly, by how you select which cards to
discard, since selecting the wrong cards to throw
away will reduce the overall payout.
Even
if you're playing on a 9/6 machine, the odds won't
swing in your favor unless you learn how to play
each and every hand correctly. You might be surrounded
lately by shoddy play.
Oh,
and one more thing, Tom. For good measure we better
talk about your shortened gambling "timeline"
-- the time you spend at the machine. It is possibly
limited to hundreds of hands of video poker, not
millions, so any percentage return (like no bells
or whistles going off for a royal) can, and will
happen.
The
Law of Averages (more revealingly also known as
the Law of Big Numbers) might not have had much
of a workout during your time in the casino, and
since the machine will, on average, display a
royal flush every 40,000 hands, possibly you and
surrounding players are not playing anywhere near
that many hands.
Email to a friend 
More
Columns By Mark Pilarski
Have a question? Ask Mark pilarski@markpilarski.com
Learn
More On Video Poker
Video
Poker Perfect Strategy Or Not
I strictly play each hand using a printed cheat
sheet based on the perfect strategy for that game,
should I deviate my play?
Let
It Ride Poker
Let It Ride is a variation of five-card stud poker
where the player wagers on a poker hand consisting
of three cards in the player's hand and two community
cards in the dealer’s hand.
Video
Poker Promotion Suit Rank and Jackpots
Occasionally a casino
will have a promotion with designated video poker
machines paying higher jackpots if certain straights,
flushes or royals are in a particular suit.
Poker
Playing Against A Calling Station
Playing
in a calling station has its pro's and con's what
to do in this situation.
Good
Casinos Home
