September 19, 2006
Okay, so we covered the full
house situation when playing
video poker – practicing what we
preach and sticking to the
expert strategy to a tee. There
is a reason why expert
strategies are in existence.
They are right. You are right
when you practice them. We are
right when we preach to them.
One of my gambling buddies told
me about another great
practicing what we preach
instance. This was when he was
playing Pai Gow Poker. The hand
he was dealt was almost the same
as what I had gone through in my
video poker hand – he was dealt
aces and kings. Remember, this
is Pai Gow – and his hand
consisted of 4 Aces and 3 Kings.
Yes, this was a seriously
powerful hand and almost
unparallel to any other hand –
virtually unbeatable.
But Pai Gow is different than
video poker. The player must
fashion their cards into a five
card high hand and a two
card second high hand.
So, in order for the player to
win their wager, they have to
win both hands. Meaning, if the
player only wins one of the two
hands they must create in their
cards, they tie with the dealer.
So, right away, you can see how
the same hand can pose totally
different situations when
playing different casino games.
We all know not all games are
alike.
So, he used his 4 Aces and only
one of the Kings as his high
hand. He used a pair of Kings as
his second high hand.
Doing so created more than
enough to win his wager right?
Not so fast. The dealer piped in
to say that doing so was an
error in judgment according to
recommended expert strategy. He
should have used one pair of
Aces to make an unbeatable
second high hand. Thusly,
leaving a Kings over Aces full
house as the high hand to
win would have been the optimal
decision here. Not really. Oh,
how this can be interesting.
This is another prime example as
to just how complex and testing
these situations can be for any
player.
This is what is true - the only
way the Pai Gow dealer could get
a tie out of the hand was with a
straight flush to beat my
buddy’s four Aces. If my friend
had put Aces in the second
high hand instead, and
settled for a full house in the
high hand, then the Pai Gow
dealer could have come out on
top the high hand and
received the tie not only with a
straight flush - but even with
any 4 of a kind.
Dealer advice aside, my friend
not only had an excellent hand;
he actually made a great play. I
give props to my friend Donny
for doing so – good job. While
it is not easy to be the best
player around and to always make
the correct decisions when
gambling, and some dealers may
or may not be the best advice
givers, playing casino games is
a great form of excitement,
entertainment and best of all –
a great chance to win cash if
you are good enough.
So, in a nut shell – yes I
practice what I preach and I
would never spend my valuable
time recommending things to
players if it wasn’t the right
thing to do for myself too when
playing.
(570)
