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I should clarify my statement. Video poker's odds vary on skill and game type. The thing that the casinos bank on is the amount of hands you can play in video poker. You can play up to 600 hands per hour in video poker making you a surebet loser if you are playing long enough.

ODDS IN VIDEO POKER
High pair (Jacks, Queens,
Kings and Aces) 43 out of every 200 hands

Two pair 13 out of every 100 hands

Three of a kind 1 out of every 13 hands

Straight 1 out of every 90 hands

Flush 1 out of every 92 hands

Full house 1 out of every 97 hands

Four of a kind 1 out of every 423 hands

Straight flush 1 out of every 9,610 hands

Royal flush 1 out of every 40,120 hands

Thank you. Cheated with the question because I knew the answer. One of my friends made video gaming machines and will play video poker, not because he does not know the odds, but because he does.

He’s the one who told me about maxing the bet in video poker to improve the odds.

Please see reply number 227. For sheer entertainment, video poker may be less expensive than taking a family of 4 to the movies for 2 hours. It depends if you are skilled and it depends on your willingness to max your bets.

The casinos set the odds so that, in aggregate the players always put in more money than the machines give back. However, just as a skilled card player who knows the odds will beat a novice, a skilled video poker player or a high stakes slots player can be entertained with modest losses or modest gains - over the long run. And when you put in the fact that the high stakes player will be comped many of the things (suites, meals, drinks, limos) that the casual player pays for, the players in Bennett's league can have fun for limited risk.

The disturbing thing that I find on the Right is the tendency to wish to cut off our noses to spite our faces. Bill Bennett gambles so cast him into the outer darkness. Asa Hutchison had an affair so elect a liberal democrat in his stead. If we must be perfect before we can express an opinion, this would be a very quiet world.

I see the risks of gambling, drinking, smoking eating too much and taking mind altering drugs. I have gambled, drink my share, am a few pounds overweight, never have smoked (made me sick when I tried) and was always afraid of non-alcoholic drugs so I’m a sinner. That does not stop me from wishing Bill Bennett well and applauding his desire to see a more virtuous society.