Trump Tricky with Video Poker
Trump recently added a slew of video poker machines at Taj Mahal. At first glance they look like full pay 9/6 Jacks or Better or 8/5 Bonus Poker games. However, according to American Casino Guide’s Atlantic City blog the games aren’t full pay machines.
We were playing for a bit, and then I hit a 4-of-a-kind playing Bonus Poker. My friend looked at the screen, and saw I got only 100 credits for the score, not the usual 125. I double-checked the top of the paytable, and sure enough, you got only 100 credits for 4-of-a-kind instead of 125, with a bonus for queens, kings and aces. Oops! I switched back to Jacks or Better, played along a while, and then saw that a 5-coin royal flush pays only 2,500 coins instead of 4,000. So if you’re lucky enought to hit the royal, you get ripped off.
Better paying video poker games are disappearing regularly so the sight of new full pay machines would surprise me. What makes for full pay games is that 4,000 spike when you get a royal flush. I’m not a math guy, but I’m sure that brings the payback percentage down a little.
While this doesn’t seem unethical, Trump lowering the jackpot is certainly deceptive since that isn’t the norm. I don’t always look at the top line because I look for the 9 next to Full House and 6 next to Straight. Always be aware of a good thing and always remember that casinos are always looking for a way to make a buck.
Thanks to ACG for the heads up. Check vpFREE for video poker pay tables. See below for a refresher on a full pay table.
I read a trip report a while back that talked about a ’short-pay / full-pay’ machine at Borgata, of all places. I don’t remember the details, though. Maybe something about the straight flush paying less than 250 coins *shrug*.
Bottom line, now you gotta scan the WHOLE paytable before playing.
You’re correct. I’m sometimes lazy or forgetful when looking at the pay tables. This is a good reminder.
Sometimes the less than 250 for a straight flush is to avoid the taxable hit that 240 coins equals on a $1 machine at max. Frequently, you will see the straight flush set to 239. I personally prefer the $11 hit to the taxable hand pay.
good tip. if I ever have the bankroll to play max coin on dollar machines, I’ll keep this in mind!
Good point Stu. I’ve seen some slot machines where the big jackpot is $1,199 to avoid taxes. I’ve never seen that with video poker. Something to keep an eye on for sure.