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Common Mistakes
Earnings on Video poker games are often inhibited by several factors:
Games are too tight
Often casinos unfamiliar with video poker look only at the hold percentage and offer games that are way too tight. If slots on average hold 8% - 12%, why would I put a game on the floor that only holds 3% or 4%? The answer is they are almost always completely different players. And if you set your games up competitively and with adequate variety, you can generate higher revenues and provide better entertainment options. Not recognizing this difference sometimes results in many markets having exceptionally tight video poker games that don’t get played. Educated players will avoid them and uninformed players just won’t get a good entertainment experience from them. In either case the machines don’t get enough play to make the win-per-units that operators want.
Wrong game families
Casinos often do not turn on the most popular game families. In many jurisdictions, if the slot manager does not gamble or is afraid of jackpot exposure, really popular games like Double Double Bonus Poker and Triple Double Bonus Poker are not enabled.
Old machines
Video Poker machines are often the last to get replaced and the wear and tear on the machines shows. Burned in cards on the screens, cracked buttons, all put off players. The ROI on a flat screen should be very quick when compared to depressed revenues from a box with a burned out screen.
Denom confusion
Multi-hand games often suffer from being set up very tight. Sometimes even tighter than single hand games. A quarter Triple Play player is wagering three times ($3.75) the handle of a single hand player. They should at least get the same pay table. 50 Play and 100 Play are notorious for being tightened way below the single hand games and then determined “not to work on my floor.” Why? Actually, on its surface the answer makes sense. “All our penny and nickel games are tighter.” But the truth is a Fifty Play nickel player is actually a $12.50/hand player at max bet. A penny Hundred Play player is actually a $5/hand player at max bet. Shouldn’t they get the exact same pay table as your $1 and $5 dollar players? Savvy players think so. And a player’s most effective “vote” on a game is a boycott.
Loud areas
Poker games are sometimes installed next to really loud slot games. Video poker players are not into the same sound and sensory experience a slot player enjoys. In fact, really loud clanging, music, cartoon voices and the like disturb their concentration and they just decide to find another place to play. Hopefully, in your casino, but if not they just go somewhere else to play.
Exposure
Jackpot exposure concerns are a big factor for many casinos, especially conservatively managed casinos. However, the games with big jackpots are the ones that in many cases drive the most handle and the most volume. Super Times Pay is a great example of this concept, the jackpot exposure is 400,000 coins so if you are running $1 Ten Play Super Times Pay (an extreme example) you would have a $400,000 jackpot exposure and that is your liability you have to cover – however the odds are 200,000,000 to 1. Pretty long, huh? It is important to verify the Jackpot exposure prior to placing on the floor for two reasons. a). To ensure the Jackpot is not over your established or general threshold, and b). To ensure you are calculating the proper liability for your jackpot reserve. The best way to avoid this concern is to be strict in which games you enable in the multi-hand world and which denoms you enable.