[mricu]

Which do you prefer for playing your favorite card games, the video terminals or the tables?

Are there any pros and cons in terms of your chances of winning? I'm always sceptacle of the video machines since they have the ability to program logic into them so they make you loose ... not sure if this is the case here in Vegas or not (not that anyone will officially say it's done).

[Buzz123]

First of all video "poker" isn't poker at all, it's a slot machine. Slot machines are almost as bad as playing the lottery as far as odds of winning big. Your chances of winning are usually Slim and None, and Slim just left town. But they can be fun, and provide entertainment.

If you're talking about poker, that's more a game of skill in which you have a lot more control. Other "table" games such as "21" (what you probably know of as "Blackjack"), also favor the house (otherwise they'd go out of business), but you still have a little bit of control.

[mricu]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

Other "table" games such as "21" (what you probably know of as "Blackjack"), also favor the house (otherwise they'd go out of business), but you still have a little bit of control.

So video blackjack vs table blackjack should yield the same outcome percentage wise, or are the video blackjack games programmed to win most of the time?

I figure, if a video blackjack game claims they use the full deck of cards before shuffling, then it should be all good ... but I don't think I've seen that in any of the game rules on any of the machines here in town.

[LVPoker1]

Actually video poker machines pay back substantially more than slots. They fall under the same licensing class but games that represent cards tend to have higher pay backs. You need to check out the pay tables for each game. For example the garbage machines at the airport pay back 90-93% but in the locals casinos you will find machines that pay back as high as 101% with perfect play.

Regular slot machies, whether reel or video, tend to payback around 90% depending on the denomination. Stay away from them.

Tables vary greatly but typically offer the highest payback games. One can learn to play perfect BJ Switch or Spanish 21 strategy and get over 100%. The worst tables are double 0 roulette, 3/4 card poker, Let it Ride, any 6/5 blackjack table, money wheel and Caribbean Stud.

[LVPoker1]

Originally Posted by mricu

So video blackjack vs table blackjack should yield the same outcome percentage wise, or are the video blackjack games programmed to win most of the time?

I figure, if a video blackjack game claims they use the full deck of cards before shuffling, then it should be all good ... but I don't think I've seen that in any of the game rules on any of the machines here in town.

By Nevada gaming law if the machines represents cards it has to deal like a real deck would. The differences will be in the rules and comps. For example a video 21 game might only pay even on a dealt blackjack, not let you double on any 1st 2 card, not let you double after split or resplit etc. The better video blackjack games might not accrue slot points or pay them at a much slower pace where tables would count towards comps.

[themepark]

Originally Posted by LVPoker1

By Nevada gaming law if the machines represents cards it has to deal like a real deck would. The differences will be in the rules and comps. For example a video 21 game might only pay even on a dealt blackjack, not let you double on any 1st 2 card, not let you double after split or resplit etc. The better video blackjack games might not accrue slot points or pay them at a much slower pace where tables would count towards comps.

Yeah, those even blackjack payoffs are absolutely brutal on those machines. I know playing at an actual table can be pretty intimidating to some, but I still can't see why someone would play those.

[las vegas drunk]

The video blackjack games are much worse than table blackjack. Here is a good article on it.

Video Blackjack

[LVPoker1]

Originally Posted by las vegas drunk

The video blackjack games are much worse than table blackjack. Here is a good article on it.

Video Blackjack

That article was written in 2001. Nowadays there is a machine from Shuffle Master that has a video screen of a dealer and 5 seats. The game offers 3/2 BJ, surrender, double anything and DAS. It only allows you to split to 2 hands though and hits S17. It has a 99.6% payback. Most places that have those machines (they are all over downtown) either don't offer points/comps on the play or they are much lower than usual video/slots due to the high payback and ability for sharps to abuse promos on the machines.

Even when this article was written a machine called BJ Blitz existed. It has 5 seats, double anything, 1 split no DAS and stayed on A17. It pays back about the same as the other but the machine has been gone from LV AFAIK for 5+ years. I have seen them in Deadwood, SD recently.

[NickatNite]

Originally Posted by LVPoker1

Actually video poker machines pay back substantially more than slots. They fall under the same licensing class but games that represent cards tend to have higher pay backs. You need to check out the pay tables for each game. For example the garbage machines at the airport pay back 90-93% but in the locals casinos you will find machines that pay back as high as 101% with perfect play.

Regular slot machies, whether reel or video, tend to payback around 90% depending on the denomination. Stay away from them.

Tables vary greatly but typically offer the highest payback games. One can learn to play perfect BJ Switch or Spanish 21 strategy and get over 100%. The worst tables are double 0 roulette, 3/4 card poker, Let it Ride, any 6/5 blackjack table, money wheel and Caribbean Stud.

LVPoker1, how do you find the pay tables for the different casinos/machines?

[LVPoker1]

Originally Posted by NickatNite

LVPoker1, how do you find the pay tables for the different casinos/machines?

♠Casino Games the Wizard of Odds has analyzed

This is the best site for that IMO. It shows each payback scenario, has a blackjack calculator, shows video poker payback for each shown payout chart. What you do is look for the pay table on a machine, then go to this site and see what the payback is with basic strategy. This site shows the best strategy for each game. The video poker ones can be very confusing and require a lot of study.