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Super Times Pay
Introduction
Super Times Pay is a video poker variant by IGT in which the game sometimes randomly multiplies the win for the price of a sixth coin. According to the rules screen, the multiplier appears once every 15 games and the average multiplier is 4.05. So the average win after the multiplier is 20.33% more, making the sixth coin a marginally good bet.
To get the return of any pay table simply look up the return in a standard video poker game and then multiply by 1.00278. Following are some common pay tables, showing the normal and Super Times Pay returns.
Return
Super Times Pay Return
| Game | Standard Return | Super Times Pay Return |
|---|---|---|
| 9/6 Jacks or Better | 99.54% | 99.82% |
| 8/6 Jacks or Better | 98.39% | 98.67% |
| 9/5 Jacks or Better | 98.45% | 98.72% |
| 8/5 Jacks or Better | 97.29% | 97.56% |
| 7/5 Jacks or Better | 96.15% | 96.41% |
| 6/5 Jacks or Better | 95.00% | 95.26% |
| 8/5 Bonus Poker | 99.17% | 99.44% |
| 7/5 Bonus Poker | 98.01% | 98.29% |
| 6/5 Bonus Poker | 96.87% | 97.14% |
| 9/6 Double Double Bonus | 98.98% | 99.26% |
| 8/6 Double Double Bonus | 97.89% | 98.17% |
| 9/5 Double Double Bonus | 97.87% | 98.14% |
| 8/5 Double Double Bonus | 96.79% | 97.05% |
| 7/5 Double Double Bonus | 95.71% | 95.98% |
| 6/5 Double Double Bonus | 94.66% | 94.92% |
| 25/15/9/5/3/2 Deuces Wild | 100.76% | 101.04% |
| 25/16/10/4/4/3 Deuces Wild | 99.73% | 100.01% |
| 25/15/10/4/4/3 Deuces Wild | 99.42% | 99.69% |
| 20/12/9/5/3/2 Deuces Wild | 98.94% | 99.21% |
| 25/15/9/4/4/3 Deuces Wild | 98.91% | 99.19% |
| 20/12/10/4/4/3 Deuces Wild | 97.58% | 97.85% |
| 25/16/13/4/3/2 Deuces Wild | 96.77% | 97.03% |
| 20/10/8/4/4/3 Deuces Wild | 95.96% | 96.23% |
| 25/15/10/4/3/2 Deuces Wild | 94.82% | 95.08% |
| 9/7/5 Double Bonus | 99.11% | 99.38% |
| 9/6/5 Double Bonus | 97.81% | 98.08% |
| 9/6/4 Double Bonus | 96.38% | 96.64% |
| 8/5/4 Double Bonus | 94.19% | 94.45% |
| 7/5/4 Double Bonus | 93.11% | 93.36% |
Multiplier Study
In late 2007 the Venetian had a nice 9/6 Jacks or Better Super Times Pay game in the high limit room. I played it at various times between Sep. 27 and Nov. 9. As I played I tallied how often I received each multiplier. Here were my results.
Super Times Pay — Venetian Experiment
| Mutliplier | Observations | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 81 | 0.184091 |
| 3 | 155 | 0.352273 |
| 4 | 62 | 0.140909 |
| 5 | 91 | 0.206818 |
| 8 | 34 | 0.077273 |
| 10 | 17 | 0.038636 |
| Total | 440 | 1 |
My average multiplier was 4.027, a little under the average 4.05.
Actual Multipliers
After I did this study an anonymous source gave me the actual probabilities of each multiplier, as follows.
Super Times Pay — Actual Multiplier Probabilities
| Mutliplier | Probability | Expected |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 17% | 0.34 |
| 3 | 33% | 0.99 |
| 4 | 16% | 0.64 |
| 5 | 24% | 1.2 |
| 8 | 6% | 0.48 |
| 10 | 4% | 0.4 |
| Total | 100% | 4.05 |
A chi-squared test of my results against expectations has a chi-squared statistic of 6.405, with five degrees of freedom, and a p value of 26.88%.
Volatility
Based on the actual multiplier probabilities, the Super Times Pay feature increases the standard deviation by 51%, compared to not paying for it. Compare that to an increase of 100% by just doubling the bet size on a standard video poker game.
Strategy
The strategy is exactly the same as that for standard video poker of the same pay table.