A player makes a wager and a starting five card video poker hand is displayed to the player. The computer controls of the gaming machine calculate the highest expected value (highest TEV.sub.i) for the five card hand displayed. The player selects which cards, if any, the player wishes to hold. The computer controls then calculate the expected value of the hand as played by the player (player TEV.sub.i). The difference between the highest TEV.sub.i and the player TEV.sub.i is also calculated (highest TEV.sub.i --player TEV.sub.i). This difference is multiplied by the amount of the player's wager and the resultant amount is the error made by the player. The error is accumulated over one or more rounds of play and the accumulated error amount may be returned to the player in a variety of ways, either directly or indirectly.