Behaving appropriately helps provide a better experience for you and for those around you in rows of slot machines and video poker machines.
Enjoying the intimate play with a video poker machine is sacred to many of us. Some enjoy making new friends or playing with old friends. Expectations of social situations between slots and video poker can be as different as night and day.
Video Poker Etiquette
- Never lean on their chair or shoulder, even if you’re a good friend. Additional motion could cause them to choose the wrong draw card, change denominations, or even hit max bet. Some VP machines have a max bet that includes up to 25 credits! And, never touch the machine of another player. The touchscreen is sensitive. Besides, it’s just creepy unless they know you.
- Don’t be a “ploppy.” Gamblers and non-gamblers alike, if you are sitting at the bar not playing a machine, be prepared to give up your seat to someone who wants to play bar-top VP.
- Don’t expect others to teach you during their personal gambling time at the casino. It’s your responsibility to know how to play and what the best strategy is. Don’t interrupt their playing time.
- Don’t be a slob! Ashes, spilled drinks, and sticky buttons are only a few negatives a video poker enthusiast has to deal with when sitting down to play. Coughing and sneezing without covering your mouth can cause potential health problems for the next player. And it doesn’t make many friends around you either. Suggestion to all players: always have hand sanitizer when playing. It comes in handy.
- If you’re playing at a bar top, be careful not to spill on the machines buttons. Sticky buttons are a horrible nuisance when choosing the correct cards to hold at an average or faster pace.
- Want to act like an expert? Write a blog! But at the casino, don’t share superstitions, myths, or mistaken facts about how video poker works with those around. If they ask you, then “buyer beware, go ahead.” Unwarranted advice causes distractions and interrupts a player’s personal session time.
- If you need to use the restroom, put your service light on. If you are at a bar-top machine, let the bartender know. Keep your card in the machine, cash out any credits, and put a drink in front of the machine. As long as you are not taking a 15-minute break, slot attendants are around to help you out as well. DON’T ASK THE PLAYER NEXT TO YOU TO WATCH YOUR MACHINE! They may be very kind and do it. But many players feel the unnecessary pressure to stay until you return. My response to strangers who ask is “No, thank you. I don’t know how long I will be here” or “just let the bartender know.”
- Don’t “hover” over a machine you want to play while someone is still playing. This happens more with slot machines than with video poker. Either way, if I feel that kind of pressure from someone, I will:
- Use my phone
- Fake a phone call
- Stand and stretch
Anything to waste time to let them know their creepiness is not going to rush me.
Most Aggregious Problem with Video Poker & Slot Players
STOP BEATING UP THE MACHINE!
Video poker etiquette frowns on these players as much as in the slot machine world. Pounding the buttons, slapping the screen, and massacring the machine console doesn’t improve your results. It might be an incentive for the players around you to call security. Did the machine do something wrong to you?
The fact is, being a slapper not only wears the buttons down, but it also breaks them. Ever play a machine with a sticky or broken button for the draw playing video poker?
Most importantly, it’s incredibly distracting to the other players around you and does NOTHING to improve the outcome of the game. It does decrease the enjoyment of those around you.
Instead, I suggest looking into anger management.
Do Yourself a Favor
One of the many great aspects of video poker is that the hand you’re dealt isn’t necessarily your final hand. You’ve got the opportunity to toss away up to five cards and replace them with completely new ones if you want just to give yourself the best shot at winning the hand. Knowing if, when, and how many cards you should be chucking away can mess up your entire advantage over slots – YOU get to choose what to do next.
If you are one of the many new or recreational video poker players, it is your own personal etiquette to use strategy cards. Believe it or not, it’s “almost” a form of cheating that casinos allow you to use. While playing, you can use this card without hiding it. These visual gameplay aids that help you identify which cards to hold or discard for a profitable hand. It’s always best to concentrate on a few games only. Then you can optimize your play by choosing the correct draw cards.
Takeaway
The main thing that the above emphasizes is consideration for those around you and those who play the machine after you. Simple, right?…..If only that were true.
How do you know when a machine has a shaky shaky? Does it say it in the menu so I would have to look at every menu of every slot machine I play
Shaky Shaky elements are a design decision and don’t specifically impact payouts, so they won’t be listed on the pay table at all. You’ll only know by playing it, and of course since it doesn’t happen every time there’s a bonus, the first time or two will likely be a surprise.
I usually have a shaky shaky when I have too much to drink
😂