Double up or not

[FAA]

FAA I agree with you: casinos should give at least 1 chance of an
over card. I haven't hit the double up button in many many years.This has me kicking and screaming many times. I mean, come on. Just give us at least one measly chance of an over card and beating the house. I am very close to joining you and ignoring or disabling the Double Up button as well.

[COLTON]

Bucko, what casino do you play in?  I'm probably the exception, but I love playing Double Up.  Unfortunately, I can hardly find it anywhere anymore in L.V.---it used to be all over.  I usually play two machines next to each other, and will Double Up one against the other, until both are over 100 credits (or lose trying).  Over the years, when I used to play a lot of it, I had some great hits.  Doubling up on $5 Jacks or Better, a number of times I reached 640 credits (several times, I had one machine at 480 and the other at 640---the goal was to keep going until one busted, but I don't think I ever had the guts to go over 640 on a $5 machine).  On dollars, I hit 1280 credits a couple of times.  On quarters, I remember hitting 3200 on a Deuces Wild Game.  I think it's a great feature, since there is no house edge (and ultimately it allows your sessions to last longer).  I used to play a lot of Double Up on Harrah's LV on their 9/6 Jacks or Better.  Nowadays, when I ask a casino host to turn on the double up feature, invariably they decline.  If anyone in LV knows casinos that turn the feature on, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

[Vman96]

When you say "last longer"? Are you sure about that? I figure most people who constantly double up would quit sooner. Either as a decent winner, or going broke, outweighing the extra time it takes to play the double up.

Unfortunately I can't remember a place that has it in Vegas because I rarely care to use the feature. I've seen it occasionally on machines, even newer ones that have the "Yes, No, and No, don't ask me again feature".

I'm a little surprised they won't turn it on by request though. They fixed the "bug" right?   

[FAA]

Prolonging the DU experience is also anathema to me. I mean, you got lucky and won the DU bet. You're gonna keep tempting fate? If I do win one, it's one and done. 

[bucko31]

Colon, I the double up feature is turned on the VP machines at the Fitz in Tuncia MS.  I was just curious as to other gamers experiences.  I see some players that are very good or lucky in double up play.  I am not one of those who is ether good or lucky with Double up gaming.  But I have seen several players do very well, espesically with $5 games, whch can add up very quickly. thanks for you experience you surely have more nerve than me!   continued good luck!!!!!!

[FAA]

Good isn't a factor, unless you are psychic. DU seems to be all luck.

[EDC1977]

It's a bad bet unless you are that lucky. I avoid that option. Don't donate any more than you have to.

[Vman96]

Yeah, Fitz is one of the few places I've seen with it being turned on most of the machines.

[BobDancer]

When you say "last longer"? Are you sure about that? I figure most people who constantly double up would quit sooner. Either as a decent winner, or going broke, outweighing the extra time it takes to play the double up.

  I usually agree with Vman's posts, but this time I believe he's wrong. Players who use the double up feature regularly last longer because they lose money at a slower pace (on average). Let me explain what I mean.It's actually a 50-50 bet. Another way to say this, it is a 100% return game.Whether it's a waste of time or not depends on how often the player is playing "to kill time." It's clearly bad for the casinos to allow this feature.Casino
would rather you play their 97% games all of the time than their 97%
games some of the time and their 100% double up game some of the time. A
player who doubles two or three times consistently will actually last
longer because he is playing fewer hands with house advantage per hour.That is, let's assume a player can play 600 hands an hour and is playing a $1 five coin 97% game. (Why any player would want to play any game where the house has the advantage is beyond me, but this site is full of such people.)$3000 coin-in per hour, times a 3% disadvantage, means the player's normal session is to lose $90 per hour --- with considerable variance.If the player doubles up twice every time he at least gets his money back, now he's playing 300 hands per hour while he is treading water (EV wise) on the double up feature the rest of the time. Now his expected loss per hour is $45 --- and he's playing just as fast.He's getting half the slot club benefits as well --- as the DU feature doesn't give such benefits --- but since dollar players don't earn $45 per hour from the slot club, players who use the DU feature are actually losing less over time than the ones who don't.which is why casinos run by intelligent managers don't have the feature turned on.Bob

[notes1]

(Why any player would want to play any game where the house has the advantage is beyond me, but this site is full of such people.)Bob
do you go out to dinner and is your bill more than the pure cost of the food? why would anyone do that, when you could just buy the ingredients for less? is there not some value you have received? why would anyone buy tickets to a live event, when they could watch it on tv for free?why would anyone buy an $80k car, when they could buy transportation for $20k? i do not want to take a 7 hour flight to bet $1.25/hand, for one day of play, to gain a 2% advantage and pay $400 for the flight. i do not want to spend my entire life in a casino. playing VP is entertainment for me, not a something that consumes every minute of my life. i strive to get the most value i can from any visit to the casino, just as i do with going out to eat or buying a car. i have played 10 VP sessions this year, it would have cost $4k in travel costs to gain that theoretical advantage. that is substantially more than i lost in all my sessions combined. and, there is no guarantee that the theoretical advantage would have paid off. that is why i play a a game, at a casino,where i have no advantage.