Those Costly High Hand Payouts

Gambling casinos are going all-out to keep their places full and their dealers working. One of their most effective ploys is the high hand payout.

Casino management often sets this program up at times when low volume is expected in the card room. They will pay $100, $200, $500 or even more for the highest poker hand made over a certain period of time.

Sometimes the casinos will key the high hand payout in with a football or basketball game. This works very well with the players, many of whom are frustrated sports bettors.

Over the years I have not done well at high hand payouts. While I have occasionally flopped quads in a cash poker game, I don't generally get overly excited at making a high hand.

When a player is focusing on high hands, the rest of his game suffers and he gives away too many chips.

You are behind the button, for example, with pocket 2's. The player in the seven seat raises and you reason, 'Well, it's only one raise and I might make my flop.' So you call, the flop does not favor you, and you have lost some chips.

My suggested strategy for high hand payouts is to forget they exist. Play your hands exactly the same way you would play them if there was no high hand payout.

BestBet Casino in Jacksonville, FL. has a very effective high hand payout program. At various times during the week, the casino will award the high hand a spin on a wheel that can win up to $5,000.

Also, on all royal flushes, all the players at the table receive a $100 bonus.

While this costs the casino some chips, they generally get them back because that extra money tends to keep the players playing a longer period of time. The House takes a cut of every pot, and after a while, those House cuts add up.

I know some players who deliberately seek out the games where there is a high hand payout. And they play nearly every hand hoping for a miracle flop. And you know how rare those miracle flops come.

There's an old saying that goes around, 'There are no free lunches.' In poker, that is especially true. All the perks are paid for by the poker players, and that certainly includes the high hand payouts.

Poker is a fun, fascinating journey. It's an exciting game to play and occasionally lightning will strike you in the form of a bad beat jackpot or a high hand flop.

Be sure you know the rules of the game and follow them in order to qualify for those extra dollars. It would be a shame for you to technically disqualify yourself from a big payoff just because you violated a simple rule.

I realize the cut that pays for those high hand payoffs comes out of the pot. It doesn't bother me when the dealer cuts the dollar. I am focused on playing winning poker and that is just part of the cost of playing America's favorite gambling card game.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).