Originally Posted by
Alan Mendelson
Here's the problem I have with your "basic mathematical probability." Your probability is based on random results. In video poker, players must decide which cards to choose, and how much they are willing to lose, or how long they will keep playing when they win. This is a lot different from coin tosses and throwing dice or scattering of pebbles dropped from ten feet onto a target painted on the floor.
I don't think your math accounts for these decisions made by players... unless you want to say that the decisions made by players are also just random.
Again, I've always believed that statistics should be developed from research. Some day someone will survey video poker players to find out just how they do play: how many bust out, how much they lose, when they cash out when they win, and how much they win when they do cash out. Then we might see a real bell curve-- if there is one.