Acres Manufacturing Company, a developer of casino tech and loyalty programs, has published a study on poker, which reveals how expert poker players impact the industry’s income. The case study is powered by the company’s Video Poker Analyzer (VPA) product, providing important insights into the ways in which Advantage Players (APs) affect the sector.
For this study, Acres evaluated over three million hands played by over one thousand identified carded players. According to the provider, the sample clearly highlights the ability of a small population of APs to consistently win and command a disproportionate share of casino loyalty programs.
The VPA analysis of video poker play at a locals casino in Las Vegas showed that APs make up approximately 1% of all casino goers. Despite the small size of this group, it has caused a loss to the casino equal to 25.64% of its carded win on video poker, Acres pointed out.
In addition, more than two in three of the APs profited from their play during the study period and profited from the casino’s loyalty program significantly more than other players, causing casinos to lose a lot of valuable marketing money.
VPA Allows Casinos to Save Marketing Money
Acres’ VPA product is powered by Acres’ Foundation hardware, allowing it to be integrated into any slot machine and any casino management system. The product evaluates player’s skill by dealing them a 5-card hand and checking which cards they discard. Using a robust mathematical model, VPA identifies players’ skill levels, assigning them ratings that casinos can use to predict their profit and loss each time the player visits the casinos.
Noah Acres commented on the matter, explaining that the Video Poker Analyzer case study shows the “true threat” advantaged players pose to casino profitability. In addition, APs have a further impact on the efficacy of player reinvestment through properties’ loyalty programs, Acres pointed out. He added:
By clearly identifying APs, Acres enables casinos to restrict their marketing offers and redeploy them to earn incremental play from more profitable lower-skilled players.
Noah Acres
The company’s VPA product restricts the impact of unprofitable players, allowing casinos to redeploy their marketing and loyalty program dollars to more profitable lower-skill players. According to Acres, this can lead to an uptick in video poker profits of over 45%.
Acres’ full study on APs and their impact on casinos is available on the developer’s official website.
