I finally got one after 16 years of playing video poker: a naturally drawn royal flush. Now that I finally did it, how tough was it getting a natural royal? Connie S.
Try, once every 650,000 hands. Even four cards to a royal hand is a tough beat, appearing once every 130,000 hands.

The frequency of a “played out” royal flush is once every 40,000 hands. For that, you will need to play video poker at a pace of four hands a minute, nonstop for seven days before you hit a royal flush. But there’s no guarantee; we’re talking probabilities here, not certainties.

Thanks, Connie, for sharing your video poker fluke, oops, I mean fortune.

Dear Mark,
What is a hopping bet in craps and how much does it pay? Yogi S.

A “hopping” bet is a one-roll wager that the dice will show exactly what you call. For example, a call of, “One dollar, ace deuce on the hop (hopping),” will win only if one die shows a one spot and the other a two. The payoff on hardway hops (matched numbers) is 30 to 1; and on easy-way hopping bets it is 15 to 1.

Dear Mark,
The casinos where I play, have many 25¢ Double Diamond machines. Are these decent machines to play? Clare J.

Yes and no, Clare. You can have two Double Diamond machines parked side-by-side and one could be programmed to return 98 percent to the player, and the other will return only 85¢ of each dollar played. Unfortunately, you cannot tell which is the good machine and which one will have you purse for lunch. The only true way you can find out which is paying better is to insert your coins, pull the handle, and take you chances. (Or watch someone else do it and save a bundle.)

Dear Mark,
In your interesting discussion on 3-card Login Sbobet poker, you didn’t mention what the house advantage is on the Pair Plus bet. Or is the 2% advantage you mentioned for both bets? Dirk B.

I apologize for the omission. The house edge when using optimum playing strategies is 2% for the Ante/Play wager. For the Pair Plus wager, automatically winning if your three-card hand contains a pair or better, losing if it does not contain a matched pair, the casino edge is 2.3%.

Dear Mark,
Can you please explain the difference between betting the Pass Line versus betting the Don’t Pass Line? I do appreciate when you help us new players. Caroline F.

When the “shooter” rolls a 7 or 11 on the “Come-out” roll, it is called a “natural” and the Pass Line bettors automatically win. But if a 2, 3 or 12 rolls, it is called “craps”, and all Pass Line bettors lose. Otherwise, if any other number rolls (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10), that number becomes your “point.” You win if the point repeats before the 7 turns up, and you lose if the 7 shows before your point is made.

Betting the Don’t Pass Line is almost the exact opposite of betting the Pass Line.” You lose on a natural- 7 or 11- and win if a 2 or 3 rolls. There is a slight difference in that 12 is a “standoff” number on which no one wins. If the dice roll 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes the point, and you win if 7 rolls before your point is repeated. But you lose if your point is made before the 7 rolls.

Gambling thought of the week: “I don’t think I will ever bet on anything Jockey Scroon rides even if they pay off in advance.” – Damon Runyon