Poker and Online Poker Progressive Teams

As clubs compete for their share of video poker players, they link more and more machines into progressive jackpots. The more players trying for a, single jackpot, the quicker it climbs, sometimes to very attractive figures. Attractive enough for gambling entrepreneurs to form teams to tie down all the machines in a bank or at least as many as possible. Players are recruited to “work” for an hourly rate playing the machines. These “professionals” study the math on odds and probabilities and try to estimate the approximate cost of hitting the jackpot. They scout the progressive jackpots, and when they find one high enough to exceed their cost estimate, they “send in the clowns to go for broke.” They sometimes do go broke trying to “break the bank.”

Professional Teams

Now do the casinos feel about the “professional” teams’ They tolerate them as long as other players don’t complain poker - machines and games. After all, casinos want the best action they cap get for around-the-clock revenue. In fact, one casino in Northern Nevada used to “comp” team players with food and lodging during the winter months when business was slow. The bottom-line revenue looked fine with the play level relatively consistent. However, in the long run it proved to be detrimental. The teams walked out the door with the big jackpots.

Tourists and. locals who were unable to get a scat at a bank with a large progressive became disenchanted with that particular casino and took their playing money elsewhere.

Many players traditionally return to the place where they’ve won and eventually play back their winning.

Casinos have, learned that hundreds or thousands of steady customers are more Important for the bottom flue than a few teams of a few dozen players who “hit and split.” As one casino manager once said, “I would rather give out a hundred $1,000 jackpots Instead of one $100,000 jackpot.”

Team Chief

We interviewed a former progressive “team chief” Claude (not his real name) operated teams in the early clays of video poker, primarily in Northern Nevada where the progressive pots were high enough to justify the risk. Las Vegas and Atlantic City progressives seldom reached the estimated profit-peaks. Claude paid his quarter players $6.00 per hour and dollar players $10.00 per hour. Not a bad wage for playing a simple game of poker. Everyone would like to get rich “playing” their favorite game, even when it turns into “work.”

On one occasion, Claude put his team on a bank of six quarter machines with a jackpot of $4,000 and hit within 15 minutes for a net profit of almost the whole four grand online poker. That’s the good news!

On another occasion, Claude’s team tried for a $13,000 pot on a bank of twelve dollar machines. After he spent $27,000, it finally hit for a loss of $14,000. That’s the bad news! it took & lot more plays to hit the Royal than he anticipated. It isn’t hard to imagine the terrible feeling he had as his losses and expenses exceeded the amount of the jackpot. They couldn’t stop; they had to chase the progressive to try to recoup some of the money. IN GAMBLING, NOTHING IS CERTAIN BUT UNCERTAINTY poker - tricks to play.

The main factor to consider in estimating the cost of winning jackpot is the basic cost for playing the probable number of hands to win. Assuming an expert player uses an Optimum strategy consistently on a 95 percent payback quarter machine, he should expect to hit the royal in approximately 40,000 hands. At five coins per hand, the basic formula is 40,000 x $1.25 — $50,000 minus the expected return of 95% of that amount or $47,500.. That computes to $2,500, a substantial bankroll for starters. ‘The target jackpot for an individual player must exceed $2,500 to be worth the investment. For a dollar machine, the target jackpot would be $5.00 x 40,000 = $200,000 - $190,000 $10,000.