Question:    If I have $200 to play with on poker, should I play one machine or several? If you suggest staying on one machine, should I do so even if it is not paying off at first? And should I stay on the same machine even after I hit a royal flush or other large payoff?

Answer:    It really makes no difference in either case. There's no way to determine when a video poker machine will hit a big payoff. The video poker machines do have "hot" and "cold" streaks, but that is simply a characteristic of randomness. Having just hit a big payoff does not make a poker machine any more or less likely to hit another. You can always move on if it makes you feel better. That might give you a psychological boost, which may, eventually, improve your accuracy. In any case, $200 is only a short-term bankroll on quarter poker machines, and it's a financial suicide on dollar poker machines unless you get very lucky. Your best bet is to look for some attractive nickel games, and failing that, you should be gaming the lowest volatility quarter game that is attractive.