The Intelligent Gamblertm ©1999, ConJelCo. All Rights Reserved Number 8, November 1997 regularly contribute original essays cov- consider the new product when it Publisher’s Corner ering all aspects of gambling. In addi- becomes available. by Chuck Weinstock tion to original essays the site is the It seems like only yesterday that we had home of The Gambling Forum, an on- An Exclusive Interview with Mike Caro the idea to send out a newsletter written line discussion group that you can par- Editors note: in the last issue Mason especially for ConJelCo’s customers. ticipate in. David Sklansky, Mason Mal- Malmuth answered the question of ConJelCo customers tend to have fun muth, Ray Zee and other luminaries of whether a serious newcomer to poker is when they gamble, and yet treat the the gambling community join in the better off with stud or hold’em. For this subject seriously. They want to know discussion regularly. issue I thought it would be interesting to how to get the largest edge out of beat- Oh yes, there is one final reason we’re get another leading figure in the poker able games, and the most fun at the telling you about the Two Plus Two web communities thoughts on the same least cost out of those unbeatable games site. ConJelCo maintains it, and we’re question and others. they decide to play. We decided to name rather proud of both the content and IG: You’re a new player and you have our newsletter The Intelligent Gambler the design. to reflect this attitude. decided to become fairly serious about A Holiday Gift from ConJelCo poker. So, should you try to concentrate Nearly four years later you are holding Steve Jacobs (author of our Percentage on seven-card stud or hold ’em poker? the eighth issue, in your hands. Along Hold’em) and ConJelCo would like to MC: You asked this question of Mason the way you’ve read articles by some of give you a video poker program as a Malmuth in the last issue, and he made the top gambling authors writing today. holiday present. Video Poker Freebie, as some excellent observations. This actu- This issue is no exception with articles we’re calling it, can be configured to ally arises when I advise new players. by Mike Caro, Bob Ciaffone, Nolan play nearly any video poker machine First, let me point out that the choice Dalla, Lou Krieger, Jean Scott, and Bill available today, including those with might not be limited to seven-card stud Zender. wild cards. As you play, Video Poker or hold ’em. There are areas of the The issue is a little poker-centric, but I Freebie will tell you if you make mis- country where hold ’em is still little think that are non-poker playing read- takes and tell you the correct way to known. When I served as spokesperson ers will find plenty to interest them as play a particular hand given a particu- for Canadian Mist whiskey, and we held well. lar pay-off schedule. The software runs charity tournaments in Minneapolis on Windows 3.1, OS/2, Windows 95, Distribution of This Issue and Miami, we asked local players what and Windows NT. After our experiement of net distribu- the game should be. Few understood tion of the last issue, we decided to go If you’d like Video Poker Freebie, Con- hold ’em, and draw poker was the pre- back to hard-copy distribution to all JelCo will send you a copy for only the ferred game among those questioned, readers who are on our mailing list and cost of distribution. Video Poker Freebie followed closely by seven-card stud. will be available after November 16th. who we’ve heard from since mid-1994. That seems almost laughably alien to A PDF version of this issue will also be If you have access to the Internet you can download a copy absolutely for free us—that draw poker would be a available on our web site at www.con- favored game—because we all seem to jelco.com. by going to URL http://www.con- jelco.com/vpfreebie.html. If you would agree that it is a dinosaur. Dead as a If the last time we’ve heard from you like to receive Video Poker Freebie on a doornail and petrified. Actually, draw was in 1994, you’ll be dropped from 3.5” diskette, send us your check or was the staple of California public our mailing list unless we hear that you money order for $2.00 (U.S.), $3.00 poker before hold ’em and stud were are still interested in receiving The (Canada), $4.00 (Europe) or $5.00 finally legalized not too many years ago. Intelligent Gambler. (Elsewhere), payable in US dollars and Anyway, if draw is an alternative for The Gambling Forum drawn on a US bank. No phone or you, then that might be the game you should start with. You can master many We’d like to call your attention to a new credit card orders please unless you are key concepts by playing draw poker site on the World Wide Web. Two Plus ordering other products as well. Orders and take these concepts with you into Two Publishing, publishers of top gam- for diskettes must be received by more sophisticated games. bling books by David Sklansky, Mason December 1, 1997. The online version Malmuth, Ray Zee, and Lynne Loomis, will remain available indefinitely. If the choice is really limited to limit is on the web at www.twoplustwo.com. So what’s the catch? There really isn’t stud and limit hold ’em, then I believe Why are we telling you this? Because one. We’re in the process of developing The Intelligent Gambler is published on an the site provides lots of useful informa- a commercial video poker program that irregular basis by ConJelCo, 132 Radcliff tion for the intelligent gambler. In addi- we hope will take the gambling commu- Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15237. 412-492-9210, tion to complete information about nity by storm. We hope that you’ll like 800-492-9210. Fax: 412-492-9031. their books (including excerpts), they Video Poker Freebie so much that you’ll www.conjelco.com., [email protected] ♠ Intelligent Gambler 1 hold ’em is easier to teach a beginner. hold ’em games get worse and worse the possibility that I may be right about Because of the communal cards, there under these circumstances. The first this. It may be harder to accept from are simply fewer combinations of reason is that the weak players who someone who is only interested in the meaningfully different situations that may like hold ’em run out of money and psychological aspects of poker. arise in hold ’em. Additionally, a begin- can’t continue. The second is that the ner doesn’t have to interpret the cards survivors figure out what they were The reason most very good analytical exposed in other players’ hands—some- doing wrong and stop doing it. minds undervalue tells and psychology thing that can be quite difficult. in poker is that their brains don’t walk One other thing to consider is the rake. the human interaction path comfort- Nowadays, I advise players to learn If your games are raked, rather than ably. Getting them to grasp it is like hold ’em first. Where the most profit charged rent, and the rake is capped at explaining blue to blind person. exists is another question. Getting a lit- a maximum, then seven-stud may have tle off track here, I’ll tell you a secret a slight advantage at the same limit. What should we put second on the list? about professional poker players that The pots tend to be larger in stud, Things you should master to be a great they themselves don’t know. Their main mostly because of the extra betting player. I’m thinking. Maybe it would be profit, sometimes all of it, comes from round, so the rake may be less of a per- the ability not to become frustrated those rare games during their careers centage penalty. However, many casi- when the cards run bad and turn a when the live one, the real producer, sits nos charge less or have a lower cap in $2,352 loss into a $4,903 loss. That’s so down and unloads a bundle. For most hold ’em. In that case, hold ’em wins the hard to master, because when you tack second-tier professionals, all the ses- advantage on the rake factor. that extra $100 onto a $9,400 loss, so sions between these paydays result in that it becomes $9,500, it doesn’t feel Anyway, the answer to your question is any different. But at the end of the year, very little profit, no profit at all, or even hold ’em. That’s the game a beginner slight losses. I know that’s a daring that $100 matters exactly the same as should learn first, provided it’s available any other $100. assertion, worthy of challenge. Fine to him. Stud is more complex, but nov- with me. Challenge it. But, I’m saying ices make costlier mistakes in hold ’em. Third, I’ll pick the ability to convey a that among lifelong winning players, Even after you’ve mastered both games, likeable, but bewildering, image. Actu- most are not day-in and day-out win- usually choose to sit in the hold ’em ally, this could be included under the ners.