Question: I thought the payout on video poker was determined by the preset -- 9/6 etc. -- not by the position nearest the aisle, crowds, etc.? Thanks.

Dan in Salem, N.Y.

Answer: Hi Dan, thanks for your question.

The 9/6 marking references the payout table, not the payout percentage. Here's the difference:

A payout table is what the machine will payout when it wins. In the case of video poker machines 9/6 refers to the payout on a Full House and a Flush respectively. So if you bet one coin and get a Full House you'll win 9 coins and if you get a Flush you'll get 6 coins (5 coin max bet nets 45 and 30).

The payout percentage on the other hand is the setting in the machine that specifies how often it will win. By law all slot machines (including video poker) must have at least a 75 percent payout percentage, meaning that over time it will pay 75 percent of what it takes it.

Different slot and video poker machines have different payout percentages, which you may sometimes see advertised (98 percent return!) but for the most part you have no way of knowing what the payout on a certain machine is set at.

Which gets us to that aisle and crowd theory. Although most casinos deny it, the common wisdom is that they will set the payout percentage higher on machines near aisles, doorways, or places where crowds gather because they want people who aren't gambling to see other people winning and hopefully start gambling themselves. So it is possible that the video poker machine near the buffet is set at a 99% payout while the one buried in the back near the employee lounge may be set at 80 percent.

This of course is mostly just a theory and doesn't mean that you'll win if you play a machine near the front door and lose playing one in the back. For instance, one trip, the biggest jackpot I won ($3,600) was on a slot machine tucked into a very dark corner of the Stratosphere casino. But then I won $1,600 on a slot machine right by the front door, so who knows?

I've said it before but I'll say it again -- that's why they call it gambling.

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