INTRODUCTION

For the past decade, I've been going to Las Vegas once or twice a year. I have visited nearly every hotel on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas and most of the hotels on the strip. I have spent at least one night in a room at many of these hotels. I'm not rich by any means. So, when I go the Vegas, I'm looking for good airfare and hotel rates.

And, when I'm in Vegas, I am trying my best not to lose my shirt gambling, eating, going to shows and visiting casino attractions. "The Vegas Page" is my attempt to share what I have learned over the years when it comes to enjoying a trip to Vegas and still having money in your pocket when you get home.

I have created a Vegas forum on my message board where you can discuss any of the topics on this page or any questions you have about Vegas. You can also post a message there if you find any dead links on this page or if you believe any of the information presented to be inaccurate. Click here to go to the Vegas forum.

HOTEL RATES

For many people, hotel rooms and airfare are among their biggest expenses on a trip to Vegas. In both cases, rates are a matter of supply and demand. The less demand there is for hotel rooms and airline seats for the days of your trip, the less these expenses will be.

And, remember, high volume means more people to deal with. You will be another sardine on the packed airplane. You will constantly be wading through a sea of people in casinos. Less is definitely better when it comes to a trip to Vegas.

So, the trick is to find the days when demand is low for both hotel rooms and airline seats. Here are some guidelines to follow.

It's easier to look for low hotel rates before you check airfares. Then, you will know what departure and return dates you want to check on when looking for low airfares.

It's also easier to check hotel rates because they do not fluctuate wildly like airfares often do. That's because spikes and drops in hotel room bookings are usually caused by events that are known factors far in advance, like conventions, major sports events, holidays and hot weather. If you check rates for several dates at a hotel one day, they may well be the same w hen you check again a month later. It is a completely different story with airfares that can sometimes change over the course of a few hours.

Weekdays vs. Weekends

Hotel rates are generally lower, often much lower, on weekdays than during the weekend. Many people, especially those on the West Coast, take weekend trips to Vegas. More people mean that fewer rooms are available. And, less room availability means those that are available are not going to come cheap. A $30-$50 per night increase in room rates on weekends is not uncommon.

Weekdays are also a better bet for discount airfares, especially Tuesdays and Thursdays when volume is less. If you do your homework, you can find both a discount airfare and low hotel room rates for your trip to Vegas.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas

Generally speaking, hotel room rates in Vegas are lowest between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is the holiday season for hotel and casino employees. Many hotel restaurants and shows are closed down during this time. That means there's much less to do in Vegas. And, that means less room bookings resulting in some of the lowest room rates of the year for you.

But, if going to shows and restaurants is a high priority for you, this may not be the time for you to go. And, because this is the holiday season, airline passenger volume will probably be on the rise making low airfares harder to find. You may also find it difficult to find a time to go to Vegas during this period that does not conflict with your own family holiday plans.

If you can find a low airfare and the downsides are not a problem for you, this IS the cheapest time of the year to go to Vegas as far as room rates go.

Summer

This one is pretty simple. Hotel room bookings are generally lower during the summer because it is HOT outside. Very hot. 110 F hot. "Don't touch any metal exposed to direct sunlight with your bare hands" hot. I've been to Vegas in early September when high temps are still around 105. And, while it's a very dry heat, it still feels like you're standing in front of an air vent in your house with the furnace on.

But, you will most likely not be out in the heat for long periods of time - just the time it takes you to walk from one casino to another. The biggest fear I have here is getting stuck on the tarmac at the airport waiting to take off for home for a couple of hours in 110-degree heat. I had that experience once for 45 minutes in 90-degree heat. And, it was not pleasant.

If you are going to Vegas during the summer, you will spend less time outdoors going from one casino to another if you stay in the downtown area where the casinos are much closer together than they are on the strip.

If you can stand the heat, summer is probably second only to the Thanksgiving to Christmas period when it comes to low hotel room bookings and cheap rates for you.

Avoid holidays

Lots of people head to Vegas for holiday getaways, even holidays like Columbus Day and President’s day. Any day that most people are off work will be a high booking volume day for Vegas hotels. The two or three days immediately before a holiday may be high volume days in Vegas too.

One holiday that deserves special note here is New Years. This is probably the biggest event of the year in Vegas. They have huge New Years parties and fireworks displays on the strip to celebrate this occasion. New Years Eve and New Years Day are often the most expensive two days of the year to book a hotel room in Vegas. Now, the day after New Years Day, you just might find the lowest room rate of the year at the same hotel.

Avoid special events

Going to Vegas during any major event will probably mean high hotel rates and probably higher airfares due to volume. This includes events like the Super Bowl, the World Series and the final four in college basketball. Basically, any major national event that you can bet on will be extremely high volume days in Vegas.

On one trip to Vegas, I made the mistake of arriving at a hotel in Vegas on Super Bowl Sunday. The hotel room I got was the only one still available when I arrived in a hotel with 2,400 rooms. The registration clerk told me that, if I was not happy with that room, I could come to the Registration desk the following day after checkout when there would be all kinds of rooms to choose from. That is how supply and demand works in Vegas.

Before and after holidays / special events

As you can see from some of the examples I've given above, room rates are often high on holidays and during special events and the days leading up to a holiday or special event. But, they often drop like a rock on the day after the holiday or special event when many people are checking out. The few days after a holiday or special event are good candidates to check when looking for low room rates.

Shop around

Unless you have a favorite hotel that you prefer to monitor until you find a rate low enough for you, be sure to check rates at many hotels. This can be somewhat of a chore because of the way many systems for checking room rates on official hotel web sites as well as discount web sites are set up. These systems often require you to enter a day of arrival and a limited number of days to stay to look at rates for a small range of days.

That is a lot of work if you want to check rates over a period of months. Some official hotel web sites provide an option to view daily rates in a calendar view of three or four months. This is great because you can see a snap shot of rates over a long period of time all on one page. Look for a calendar view option at any web site where you are checking on room rates.

Reserve online

If you can snag the lowest room rate at the official web site of a hotel, by all means, use the online reservation system at that site to book your room if one is available. Hotels often provide incentives for online reservations such as coupons for free or discounted meals or attractions. And, you do not have to deal with the possibility of someone misunderstanding something you said over the phone.

AIRFARE

Discount Fares

Airlines will engage in airfare wars from time to time. This is where one US airline drops its rates in many major domestic markets and all of the other airlines follow suit. If they do not all follow suit in short order, the airline that discounted its airfares in the first place will usually do an about face and stop the discount. The amount of discounts in these situations is usually less than $50 round trip. We are not going to settle for that. There are bigger fish to go after.

What we are looking for is an airline dropping rates on Vegas itineraries departing from your city in order to fill seats. These discounts are usually targeted at specific markets where planes have not been filling up for flights to Vegas. Other airlines usually do not bother matching these types of discounts because they are so narrowly targeted and, as you will see, they do not last long.

The reason they do not last long is that, typically, only 10% to 15% of the total number of seats on a plane are discounted. The competition to get these tickets is pretty heavy, especially in larger markets. The discounts can often be over $100 for a round trip ticket. These discounts can be had if you are willing to be diligent and do some work.

Decide when you are going first

I have tried many different strategies in finding these discounts. I've checked flights on multiple airlines using different days of the week over a period of months. That is a lot of work. And, I seem to have just as much luck deciding when I want to depart for Vegas and return home and choosing what airline I want to fly on and checking just those days on that airline. It is a lot less work. And, you are calling the shots rather than jumping on an airline's every discount whim. This is why I suggested earlier that you find the cheapest hotel rate to determine when you want to go to Vegas before you start looking for that elusive low airfare.

Start looking early

One might think airlines would wait until that last few days before departure, see that an airplane has not filled up and discount seats to encourage a full flight. On December 16, 2004, I snagged a $106 discount on a Vegas flight departing January 31, 2005. That is a month and a half in advance. And, I have seen similar discounts earlier than that in the past.

My theory - and, this is just my theory - is that airlines use historical data that shows trends in which flights do not fill up in what markets at which times. They base their discounts on this data. That allows airlines to discount seats far in advance of departure so customers never know when the discounts will go into effect. Otherwise, customers would just sit on these discounts and airlines would have a harder time selling tickets at regular fare.

So, start looking for discount airfares early. Two or three months out is not too early in my opinion.

Check every day

Remember that $106 discount I found on December 16, 2004? By December 17, 2004, that discount was no longer available.

Check as many times a day as possible

In fact, that $106 discount was no longer available just six hours after I found it. I came across the discount at 4 p.m. Out of curiosity, I checked again at 10 p.m. It was gone. For all I know, it was gone sooner than that.

When the price drops, jump on it

The first question here is how much does the price have to drop before you jump on it? To answer that, you have to know your own market. Either you have flown enough already to know or you need to check airfares for a while to get a feel for what the price range in your market is.

Compare prices across all airlines that serve your city with routes to Vegas. An easy way to do this is to use price comparison web sites such as Orbitz.com, Expedia.com or Travelocity.com. Google "airfare comparison" for more options.

In my market, round trip economy class airfare to Vegas ranges from $200 to $400. There are ups and downs. But, the price never goes outside this range here unless there is a long-term shift in the range itself. Even when airfare is discounted to fill planes, it still will not go below $200.

If you know your market, you will not be fooled by claims of big sales from an airline. I have seen an airline jack up a price $80 24 hours before reducing it by $40 and calling that a big sale. Is that really a big sale? I think not.

Once you know your market, set a maximum you are willing to spend and stick to it. If prices do not get down to your maximum or below, remember Las Vegas is not going anywhere. Of course, this assumes you are very flexible about when you take your vacation. When this is not the case, you will have to settle for the best price you can get. Don't wait too long. Prices will usually start rising a few weeks before departure and keep getting higher and higher beyond that point.

Back in December 2004, I set my maximum at $250. Airfares were at $376 when I first started checking. Eventually, they dropped to $320. No go. Then, they dropped to $260. I was still not biting. Then, they went back up to $320. I was not discouraged. And, then, the day came when the price dropped to $214. I booked a flight at that price immediately.

And, that is the key. When the price goes down to or below your maximum, snag it immediately. Don't bother checking other airlines for a better deal. Don't call your friends to tell them what a great deal you got because you don't have it yet. Book first. See how well you did and brag later. Trust me. Once you get burned a time or two because you waited too long, you will develop an itchy trigger finger fast.

Keep an eye on the headlines

It does not hurt to keep an eye on the headlines for any airfare events or special promotions you might want to jump on. Mostly what you will get from the media is announcements of airfare wars. And, as I have said before, there are bigger discounts to go after. If you are looking for any deal, though, this is a good source for tips.

Online boarding passes

If you can get away with carry on baggage only for your trip to Vegas, you can print out a boarding pass from the official web site of most major airlines now. You can then walk right by the check in counter at the airport and go straight to the security checkpoint. I do this all the time for three-day trips to Vegas. At many airports, this can save you up to an hour or more of standing in line.

Sure, they have boarding pass kiosks at many airports now. But, I have seen lines at kiosks as long as lines at check in. It only takes five minutes to print a boarding pass from the comfort of your own home.

The bad news is that you can usually only do this up to 24 hours before time of departure. That puts your return flight out of reach for printing a boarding pass before you leave home. You may still be stuck with waiting in line at check in or the kiosks at the airport in Vegas unless you can find a way to print a boarding pass from the hotel you are staying at. I have not looked into whether or not there is any way of doing this short of bringing your own laptop and portable printer. If anyone knows of a way, I would like to hear about it on the message board.

Online boarding passes are a vastly underused resource that can save you a lot of time and frustration while reducing congestion at airports for everyone. If you are going on a trip where you have no baggage to check, give it a try.

What abut using a travel agent?

If you can get the kind of discounts I am talking about here through a travel agent, by all means, do so and save yourself some work. A travel agent is going to present two challenges that will make getting these kind of discounts through them difficult.

First, the service fee they charge is going to take a bite out any discount you get. Second, they are only going to check for the lowest airfare they can find at the time you call. The chances of that being a major discount to fill seats are pretty slim. It takes more effort than that.

What about air / hotel / car rental package deals?

If you can find a package deal of any type that will get you the same savings you can get by using the techniques I describe above, go for it. I have gotten a "stay two nights, get one night free" hotel discount with an air / hotel package deal through a travel agent one time that was not bad.

Just remember that all pricing is a matter of supply and demand. So, if a package deal offers a great hotel room rate, you want to ask yourself how demand could be so low that you can get such a good rate. You may not like the answer. Sometimes, the answer is that the hotel is two miles away from the strip or Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. If that is not a problem for you, then you have yourself a good deal. If it is a problem for you, it may not be worth the savings you will get.

Be sure to read all the fine print on any package deal you are looking at on a web site. There can be some major "gotchas" lurking somewhere in that fine print.

Shuttle or taxi?

A round trip shuttle ticket to a strip or downtown hotel runs about $8 to $10 now. A taxi to the strip without using the freeway runs about $8 plus tip. More than one taxi driver has told me the freeway takes less time, yet costs more because it is a longer distance to travel. You could probably double the cab fare for a downtown hotel.

Though prices for taxi and shuttle are comparable, the downside with the shuttle is the wait time. You have to wait for the vehicle to fill at the airport. Then, you have to wait some more while the shuttle stops at other hotels (going over four or five "hope the suspension survives" speed bumps each time, I might add) before you get to your hotel. The speed bumps at the hotels get old REALLY fast. Speed moguls might be a better term for them. Even if it is a few bucks more, a taxi is worth avoiding these hassles as far as I am concerned.

And, in Vegas, getting a taxi could not be easier. There is a taxi line at the airport and many hotels. When you get to the front of the line, an attendant will wave the next cab forward, stow your luggage for you, hold the door while you enter the car and wish you a good day. That is my kind of service!

GAMBLING

Set a limit and stick to it

The best thing you can do to make sure you don’t empty your bank account gambling in Vegas is to set a limit on how much you will gamble and stick to that limit. If this is your first or second time in Vegas, it might be a good idea to set a limit each day. Do this until you have had enough experience at gambling to have a good idea how fast your money will go on the game you are playing the way you play the game. Then, you will be able to pace yourself so that, if you do spend your limit, you will finish spending it just when it's time to leave.

You don't want to have time on your hands once your limit has been spent. The temptation to "kill time" gambling (yeah, right) is just too great.

How do you pace yourself?

There are lots of things to do in Vegas. Gambling is just one activity. Don't make it your only activity. Pace your gambling by splitting your time with other activities like checking out other hotels, shopping, seeing some of the free attractions that many of the hotels have to offer or enjoying the free performances by Vegas show bands in the hotel lounges at night. Try dining or taking in one of the concerts by major acts when available or one of the big Vegas shows that run all year long at almost every hotel.

Generally speaking, your money disappears more slowly at table games than it does at slot machines. If you feel like your money is going too fast at slots, switch to a table game like craps for a while. I have spent two to three hours on $40 in chips playing the Pass / No Pass line at a craps table. Try making $40 last that long on any type of quarter slots you choose.

Your money will also vanish more slowly playing lower denomination slots than higher denomination slots. You go through your money more slowly playing five-cent jacks or better video poker than 25-cent poker. 25-cent poker takes your money more slowly than $1 poker.

Switching to a lower denomination is easy now that many of the slot machines in Vegas feature multiple denomination play. That means you have the option of five-cent, 25-cent and $1 play as well as other denominations all on one machine. There was a time when I would spend half an hour scouring a casino for that one row of five-cent draw poker machines. No more.

Comp cards

I would not recommend comp cards to someone who is going to Vegas for the first or second time. First, you need to learn to pace yourself, stick to your limit and develop a playing strategy that helps you do this. That is enough for most novices to handle without adding into the mix the temptations that come with a comp card.

If you are an experienced gambler, you might as well get a comp card and wring all you can out of the casino. The key here is that having a comp card should not affect the way you gamble in any way. It is just something to check after you are done gambling to see If you have picked up any rewards along the way.

Even if you don't earn enough points for any comps, if you are planning to return to Vegas in the next year or so, the points you have earned will still be valid when you return. After all, they want you to keep coming back. You can check the documentation that comes with your card to see exactly how long you can go without using it before the card and any points on it expire.

Most casinos in Vegas have a promotions center or rewards center located somewhere in the casino where you can get a comp card. Sometimes, it is near the check in desk. Sometimes, it is at the back of the casino.

You will need to fill out an application to get a card. One thing every comp card applications will be sure to ask for is your address. You can guess what that means. You will be receiving promotional mailings from the casino every now and then. These mailings often include some good hotel room discounts. But, if you absolutely detest junk mail, comp cards may not be for you.

How comp cards work

Comp cards track how long you gamble and how much you gamble. As you spend more time and money gambling, you accumulate more and more points on the comp card. Casinos give you rewards based on the number of points you have earned. The more points you earn, the bigger the rewards are.

At the minimum point level, a reward might be a T-shirt, cap, $10 cash voucher or $15 food voucher. At higher point levels, a reward might be a room or show discount. You can ask about point levels and rewards where cards are distributed. They will usually at least tell you what the minimum number of comp points for a reward is. You may be better off not knowing. Nothing to shoot for that way.

Point levels and rewards vary from one casino comp card to another. Even at the same casino, what you get for a certain number of points during one trip to Vegas may be different than what you get for the same number of points during your next visit.

The average Joe who may gamble a few hours a day on a three-day trip to Vegas is probably not going to earn more than the minimum number of points on a comp card, if even that. On a one-week trip, you might get enough points for a free dinner with all the trimmings, maybe even a room discount. I have never earned enough points for a free room or show even on a one-week trip. Apparently, those rewards are for the more serious gambler.

To use a comp card when playing slots, just insert the card in the reader at the top of the machine. With every machine I've played using a comp card, I have had to insert the card with the magnetic strip facing down and to the right. Make sure the display on the card reader indicates that it has read the card successfully before you start playing. You will usually see a message saying "Welcome" followed by your first name. This will be followed by your current point total.

If you get some message saying that the card was not accepted, try again. Make sure you insert the card correctly. Some readers are picky about how fast or slowly you push the card in. These are not swipe readers. You insert the card and leave it in the slot until you are done playing.

When playing a table game, give your comp card to the dealer before you start playing. A staff member will track your play and record the amount of time and money spent on the card.

The problem with table games is that it can take time to get someone to track your play. Most people will play the game while waiting. The time and money spent while waiting does not get recorded on the card.

Don't forget the comp card

If you are being a good gambler and concentrating on following your strategy for the game you are playing rather than the comp points you are earning, it is easy to forget about the comp card completely. Either you forget to insert it in the reader or give it to the dealer before you begin playing or you forget to retrieve it when you are done playing a game.

Comp cards often come with necklaces you can use to wear the card around your neck. Many people find that the cord gets in their way while playing slots. And, of course, you can not use this at a table game. If you are forgetting your card all the time at slot machines, you might want to put up with the inconvenience.

If you do forget your card, don't feel too bad. It happens all of the time. I have never been on a trip to Vegas using a comp card where I haven't forgotten the card at least once. Sometimes, a trip back to a slot machine from my hotel room is required. Your comp card will either still be in the reader or another player will have removed it and set it beside the machine for you to pick up.

Take your time

You are not trying to break any speed records while playing slots. This is really not an issue with table games where others set the pace. And, that pace is usually quite a bit slower anyway. The faster you play, the faster you go through the money. And, usually faster play means less fun. Relax. Enjoy yourself. Take your time. Video poker lends itself to slower play more then the one-armed bandits. With poker, you at least have to take a few seconds deciding which cards to hold before drawing.

The big three

"The Big Three" games in Vegas are craps, blackjack and baccarat. These three table games have the lowest house edge. The odds are still against you in these games, as they are with all forms of gambling. The degree to which the odds are against you is less with these games than any other games.

The easiest way to tell which games are your best bet in a casino is to simply note which there are more of and which there are less of. The mix will heavily favor the casino. You will usually see more one-armed bandits than any other game. You will usually see less table games than slots or video poker. And, that reflects which games have the best house edge and which have the worst.

So, if you strictly want to play the best odds, play blackjack, craps or baccarat. You only get the better odds on any game if you play the proper strategy. So, do your homework before you leave home. There are plenty of resources on the Internet for any game you choose. Any table game is a good bet. Video poker is usually your second best bet, not necessarily a close second. Traditional slots are the worst bet of all of the games. They play the fastest and they have the biggest house edge.

Drinks and tips

One thing that all Vegas casinos have in common is that you can not play a game for ten minutes without hearing "Cocktails? Cocktails?" And, they are free drinks too. Well, they are free in the sense that you are not required to pay any money for them.

Cocktail waitresses in Vegas often make the majority of their money on tips. So, if you get a drink from a cocktail waitress while playing a game and you'd like another drink anytime soon, a tip goes a long way toward making that happen. I tip $1 per drink. That is quite a bit cheaper than the $3-$5 you will pay at the bar. If you keep $1 bills in your pocket and all of your other money in your wallet or purse, it makes it a lot easier to handle tip money.

All mixed drinks are very watered down. They don't want you getting drunk. If you got drunk, you would probably go to your hotel room and take a nap. The casino doesn't make any money while you're sleeping. They just want you to get tipsy enough to be more freewheeling when it comes to gambling your money away.

If you're determined to have a buzz while gambling, beer is not watered down. It's a lot easier to pace your gambling and stick to your limit when you're sober. If you want to come out ahead, drink in moderation or stick with non-alcoholic beverages.

Have fun

Have a good time. After all, you are on vacation. And, when you're on vacation, you are supposed to have a good time. As long as you are sticking to your limit and pacing yourself, you really don't have any financial worries while gambling. It's just another vacation expense and activity. Stay away from games and strategies the are complicated enough to make gambling more work than fun. You will have a better chance of being up when you are finished.

If you are having fun, you are probably using sound gambling strategy too. If you are not having fun, you may need to look at your strategy to see if any changes are in order.

JACKS OR BETTER VIDEO POKER

My game

During my first two trips to Vegas over ten years ago, I settled on "Jacks or Better" video poker as my game to play. I will do some sports betting and play craps from time to time. But, Jacks or Better poker is what I play 99% of the time. It's the game I know most about and the one I have the most experience with to share with you.

I chose Jacks or Better poker as my game to play because it is the one I have the most fun playing, not because it's the most profitable game to play by any means. But, unless you plan to become a professional gambler and make it your full-time job, you are not going to make a living gambling. Having fun is what is most important to me. I write my limit off as a vacation expense. And, if I stay below my limit or actually come out ahead, that is a bonus.

When I say "Jacks or Better" poker, I mean straight Jacks or Better poker. Nothing wild. No bonus poker. Just straight, jacks or better draw poker. All of the wildcard and bonus variations require different strategies for the best odds of winning. I have read that straight jacks or better draw poker has the simplest strategy and the best payout of all types of video poker games. I have not played enough of the other types of video poker games to vouch for that.

The new machines

Over the past few years, Vegas has moved almost exclusively to multi-game, ticket payout video slot machines. These machines typically have eight to ten games to choose from. And, instead of paying out in coins, a standard in the past, they print out a ticket displaying the amount to be paid. You can either insert these tickets into another slot machine for credits or take them to the cashier for money.

I have not tried inserting one of these tickets into another machine for credits yet. There have been many times when I have watched a cashier run my ticket by a scanner four or five times before it reads it successfully. That leaves me wondering how successful slot machines are at reading them. I have not been enthusiastic about finding out with my own money. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried inserting tickets into slot machines for credits and can share details on how reliable they are at reading the tickets. Post a message in the Vegas Forum.

I also like taking my tickets to the cashier because it is another means of pacing myself by taking a break from gambling. It also gives me a chance to take stock of how much I have won or lost and decide what I want to do next. Taking stock of your finances often is a good way to prevent run away spending.

The new video slot machines have their advantages and disadvantages.

They are convenient in that they offer multiple gaming choices in one machine including different betting amounts in many cases.

The downside is that you spend more time gambling and less time looking around for that one row of five-cent draw poker machines.

The other downside is that it is more difficult to look over the shoulder of another player and see how a particular game is playing because it is harder to tell what game is being played with all of the games to choose from on each machine.

This was especially important to me with the old single game, coin payout video poker machines. I have seen a royal flush hit twice on these machines. In both cases, the machine started dealing partial royal flushes very often - you could not go ten hands without seeing one dealt - a few days before the royal flush hit.

I don't know if this was consistent or if it applies to the new, multiple game, ticket payout machines or not. I have not seen one of these hit the royal flush yet. I would also like to hear from anyone who has had any experience with this on the message board. It is something to look for in any case.

With the old coin payout machines, there was only one game and one denomination to play on any machine. All you had to do was insert your money and play.

With the new machines, you have to be careful to select the right game, and, in many cases, the denomination you want to play before you start playing. This is made more confusing by the fact that some multi-game machines are single denomination machines and some are multiple-denomination.

You may not have to worry about selecting the right denomination on three machines you play one after another. But, on the fourth machine, you may have three denominations to choose from. You may not even notice that. I have played a game several minutes before realizing that the denomination selected was not the one I wanted.

And, then, there is the whole issue of payouts.

Payouts

A payout refers to how much a video poker machine pays out for every winning hand you can get, from a jacks or better pair all the way up to a royal flush. Every machine lists a payout table at the top of the game display that shows you how much is paid out for each winning hand for each of the number of coins you can play - from one coin to five coins - of whatever denomination your are playing.

If you have never studied payout tables across many machines before, you may think that all straight jacks or better poker machines pay out exactly the same. They don't. There is some variation. If you know this, you know more than most video poker players in Vegas. If you know about proper strategy too, you know a LOT more than most video poker players in Vegas.

Now, this is where Vegas has taken a turn for the worse in my opinion. With the old, single game machines that paid out coins, there were two winning hands that had different payouts across the machines. These were a full house and a flush.

On most straight jacks or better draw poker machines, a full house paid eight times the bet and a flush paid five times the bet. These were called 8-5 machines.

On a few machines, that you really had to look for in most casinos, a full house paid nine times the bet and a flush paid six times the bet. These were often referred to as 9-6 machines.

That larger payout helped. Your money went a little slower while you played for that big winning hand.

With the new multi-game, ticket payout machines, there is still an increase with some machines. But, it is not as good as far as I'm concerned.

First, you can forget about checking the payout for a flush. It is five times the bet on all machines.

The only variation is in the payout for a full house. This can be anywhere from six to nine times the bet.

When I was in Vegas in February 2005, I checked the payouts for a full house at several hotels. It looked like the MGM Grand machines all paid eight times the bet, though that casino is so large, I could have easily missed something there. The Mandalay Bay and New York New York paid seven times the bet on some machines and eight times on others. By the way, if you are into table games, Mandalay Bay has a lot of them.

I could not even find any jacks or better poker machines at the Tropicana. Again, I could have missed something.

The Excalibur has the best and the worst in jacks or better poker on the West end of the strip. Either the machines pay nine times the bet or six times the bet. You really have to be careful there. One row of machines may pay nine times the bet. And, the row right next to it may only pay six.

The bottom line is, whatever hotel you are in, scout out the machines for the best payouts before you start playing. Make sure you have the right game selected when you check. You can select any game from the main menu to display the payout table for that game without playing it. And, remember scouting takes time. That makes this another activity you can do to pace yourself.

Proper playing strategy for best odds

The great thing about straight jacks or better video poker is that the proper strategy for playing the game is very simple. All you have to do is memorize the following table, which, for most hands, is exactly what you would do when playing straight, draw poker with your pals. You can also just have this table with you while playing until you know the strategy well enough not to need it any longer.

HAND DEALT	CARDS TO DRAW
Royal Flush	None
Straight Flush	None
4 Of A Kind	None
Full House	None
Flush	None
Straight	None
3 Of A Kind	Draw 2 cards; keep 3 Of A Kind
2 Pair	Draw 1 card; keep 2 pair
High Pair (Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks)	Draw 3 cards; keep high pair
Any Low Pair (10's or lower)	Draw 3 cards; keep low pair
High Card (Jack, Queen, King, Ace)	Draw 4 cards; keep high card
2 High Cards (ex. Queen and Ace) that are not the same suit. Always keep the lower of the 2 cards. This gives you more ways to make a straight while still having a chance at a flush or royal flush	Draw 4 cards; keep lower card
All low cards (2-10)	Draw 5 cards
4 cards all of one suit	Draw 1 card for Flush
4 cards of one suit with a high pair	Draw 3 cards; keep high pair
4 cards of one suit with a low pair	Draw 1 card for Flush
4 cards to a straight open at both ends (4-7)	Draw 1 card for Straight
4 low cards to an inside straight (4,5,7,8)	Draw 5 cards
4 cards to an inside straight with one high card (7,9,10,Jack)	Draw 4 cards; keep high card
Small pair (2-10), even with 4 to a straight	Draw 3 cards; keep pair
4 cards to a straight flush with a high pair	Draw 1 card for Straight Flush
Straight on deal, even if 4 cards to a Straight Flush	None
Flush on deal, even if 4 cards to a Straight Flush	None
4 cards to a royal flush, even with a Straight or Flush	Draw 1 card for Royal Flush

The strategy for some of the hands above may not be what you would do when playing poker with your buddies and an actual deck of cards. Keep in mind that the strategy is based on what has the best chance of drawing a winning hand, not necessarily the best winning hand, which may have less of a chance of being drawn. This pays off in the long run.