Between November 30 and December 1, 2008, I visited the eleven casinos in the San Diego area. The purpose of this visit was to survey the rules in blackjack, craps, roulette, video keno, and video poker. This page shows the results of my video poker findings. After I returned, on December 10, Barona made some game changes, which are reflected in the tables below.
The following tables show the optimal strategy return for the best games I could find. A blank indicates that I could not find the game. The casinos are listed in order of average return. Casinos not listed in the $5 table did not have any video poker in that denomination, that I could find.
25-Cent Video Poker Returns
Casino
Jacks or Better
Bonus Poker
Double Bonus
Double Double Bonus
Deuces Wild
Bonus Deuces
Joker Poker
Average
Barona
99.54%
99.17%
99.11%
98.98%
99.73%
99.45%
99.92%
99.41%
Viejas
97.30%
98.01%
97.81%
98.98%
98.91%
96.74%
97.96%
Pechanga
99.54%
98.98%
96.01%
96.74%
97.82%
Pauma
96.87%
97.81%
98.98%
97.58%
97.36%
97.72%
Pala
97.30%
96.87%
97.81%
96.79%
99.73%
97.70%
Valley View
98.01%
97.81%
96.74%
98.91%
97.36%
96.74%
97.60%
Golden Acorn
98.45%
96.87%
97.81%
95.96%
97.27%
La Posta
97.30%
98.01%
96.74%
98.91%
93.78%
96.95%
Harrah's
96.15%
96.87%
97.81%
96.79%
96.77%
96.22%
96.77%
Santa Ysabel
96.15%
96.87%
97.81%
96.77%
96.22%
96.74%
96.76%
Sycuan
96.15%
96.87%
95.71%
96.77%
96.37%
One-Dollar Video Poker Returns
Casino
Jacks or Better
Bonus Poker
Double Bonus
Double Double Bonus
Deuces Wild
Bonus Deuces
Joker Poker
Average
Barona
99.54%
99.17%
99.79%
98.98%
99.73%
99.45%
99.92%
99.51%
Valley View
99.17%
99.79%
98.98%
99.73%
99.45%
99.42%
Pechanga
99.54%
99.17%
99.11%
98.98%
99.73%
99.31%
Pala
99.54%
99.17%
99.11%
98.98%
99.73%
99.31%
La Posta
99.54%
99.17%
98.98%
99.73%
94.27%
98.34%
Santa Ysabel
98.63%
98.01%
96.74%
97.58%
98.8%
98.44%
98.04%
Viejas
97.30%
98.01%
97.81%
98.98%
98.91%
96.74%
97.96%
Golden Acorn
98.45%
98.01%
97.81%
96.77%
97.76%
Pauma
96.87%
97.81%
98.98%
97.58%
97.36%
97.72%
Harrah's
97.30%
98.01%
97.81%
96.74%
97.58%
97.36%
97.47%
Sycuan
97.30%
98.01%
96.79%
97.58%
97.42%
Five-Dollar Video Poker Returns
Casino
Jacks or Better
Bonus Poker
Double Bonus
Double Double Bonus
Deuces Wild
Bonus Deuces
Joker Poker
Average
Barona
99.54%
99.17%
99.79%
98.98%
99.73%
99.45%
99.92%
99.51%
Viejas
99.54%
99.17%
99.11%
98.98%
99.73%
99.45%
99.92%
99.41%
Pala
99.54%
99.17%
97.81%
98.98%
99.73%
98.8%
99.92%
99.14%
Harrah's
98.45%
98.01%
97.81%
97.58%
97.96%
Pechanga
97.81%
96.74%
97.58%
97.38%
Methodology
My methodology is admittedly simple. With each property I noted the best pay table I could find inJacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus,Deuces Wild, Bonus Deuces, and Joker Poker, at the 25-cent, $1, and $5 denominations. I know there are other games, but in the interests of time, I limited the survey to just these major games. When I do this survey again, likely in June 2009, I intend to add more games. It is possible that I didn't find some games that should have been included. Some of the San Diego casinos are on par with large Strip casinos in terms of size, and I didn't have the inclination to check every single machine.
Acknowledgements
Bob Dancer for reviewing my survey results, and correcting some omissions and errors.
Disclaimer
The Barona Casino hired me to perform surveys of the San Diego casinos for blackjack, roulette, and craps. Research on other games, including video poker, I did at my own initiative.