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money or credits and then play poker against a computerized
machine. See id. One does not play against other players but
simply tries to obtain the best hand. After the player’s draw,
“the machine evaluates the hand and offers a payout if the hand
matches one of the winning hands in the posted pay schedule.”
Id.
Some people, including petitioner, think that if one were to
play video poker in a mathematically and theoretically perfect
manner, eventually one would realize a profit. Petitioner
testified that he tried to only play on machines with an expected
payout value of a 100-percent return, meaning he thought he would
never lose money;2 he also testified that the only way to get a
return of more than 100 percent is to play on a “progressive”
machine.3 He further testified that despite his hours of
practice on a computer and diligent study of the perfect way to
play the game, “it didn’t work”.4
2 A payout value or payback rate is the expected return a
particular game will provide when played over a long enough
period of time. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expected_value.
3 A progressive machine is one which contributes to a
progressive jackpot. A progressive jackpot, the highest payoff
possible for a gaming machine, arises from a group of several
gaming machines linked together. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_jackpot. A small amount
from every game played on each of the machines increases the
value of the jackpot, and the jackpot winner receives money
pooled from the entire group of linked machines. See id.
4 The Court suspects that petitioner’s strategy did not
(continued...)
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