Increase your EV
I used to assume that tournaments were a waste of time. I viewed them as similar to the lottery because their main appeal is the chance to turn a small initial investment into an astronomical sum. Instead of trying to get rich quick, I made my first million the hard way - one chip at a time. I avoided shortcuts and methodically built up my bankroll to higher levels month after month.
I was dead wrong in my assessment of tournaments. They offer some of the best odds in the casino. But before you first start playing in tournaments, you need to find out how to evaluate a tournament to determine its profit potential. After you know that information, you can choose to play in only the most lucrative events.
The best way to evaluate the profit potential of slots tournaments is to take the total amount of prize money and divide it by the number of entrants (there often is a maximum number of players allowed). In most cases, your expected value (EV) is zero. In other words, the tournament returns roughly the same amount of money that it takes in. So if you’re an average player, you break even in the long run.
Fortunately, you can dramatically increase your EV in two ways:
- Lucrative overlays, any gambling situation that gives the bettor an advantage over the house
- Freerolls, tournaments that have no risk to you
The next two sections analyze overlays and freerolls and look how you can increase your EV.
