Every month I get at least three emails with some variation of the following: “I’ll be in Las Vegas next month and I want to know the best place to play video poker.”

In video poker, things are very much opposite from the situation described above. You can learn everything you need to know about a game by looking at the pay schedule, denomination, slot club, and current promotions — assuming you know how to read the “code”. There is no additional information available by tasting — for me anyway. Your score over five minutes or five hours tells you absolutely nothing relevant about whether or not you should keep playing.

Many people have a tough time accepting this concept. After all, in most things in life, you learn as you go. But not here.