Thoughts For Beginners

[olds442jetaway]

I am only a year behind you Phil. Standing, walking, staying hydrated all very important. Any repetitive motion does damage over time. I switch back and forth between buttons some of which require a hard push and hitting the glass buttons. For me, sitting for over an hour without standing and stretching guarantees a stiff day tomorrow. Water and speed walks work the best for me. Like you at times I have come close to giving up vp due to the cigar smokers. There seems to be more of them than ever. 95% are fat older balding men. Could care less about anyone else and even flaunt it sometimes. Only fear of getting banned has saved me from really getting into it with some of the worst offenders. If they ever offer a firing squad for them, I will be the first to volunteer.

     Edited to add. If playing for fun, play any way you want. If you go all the time and want to lose the least over time, learn and play the strategies as perfectly as you can. Pay attention to paytables and pick the best ones. You have to learn those too. If you want to play a dollar vp machine like I do many times and want to play 8 hours or more, you better have a bankroll of 2-5k just for the day. If not, stick to quarters. Even then you may need a grand if you want to play all day. Drop to nickels   
if you have less than 200 bucks and want to play all day.

[ukaserex]

   When that happens I usually just switch arms and use more lotion.

Ewww!

[billryan]

Phil starts another advice thread, this one called Thoughts For Beginners but then claims he isn't trying to offer advice to newcomers.
Just another example of his being less than honest in his arguments.

[olds442jetaway]

   When that happens I usually just switch arms and use more lotion.

     Hmmmm seems like that happens to me too when I finally get to bed at the casino at 6AM and she has been asleep for hours.

[olds442jetaway]

a little digression and levity never hurts to keep up the interest. No pun intended.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=billryan]Phil starts another advice thread, this one called Thoughts For
Beginners but then claims he isn't trying to offer advice to newcomers.
Just another example of his being less than honest in his arguments.[/quote]"Thoughts" are not advice.  The definition of "thought" is "the action or process of thinking".  If you want to be the "strategy police" and start an advice column where you repeat everything you learned in Mr. Dancer's class, be my guest.  I have a pile of his books in my closet you can copy from.  He teaches that video poker is a predictable mathematical puzzle that can be solved by following his exact methodology.  I have no problem with his strategy if you can play positive games and/or earn valuable comps.   Many of us can't and don't.   I say if you are small time gambler playing for recreation alone, doesn't it make sense to play the way that gives you the most recreation for your money?  The strategy I outlined previously in my post is purely a recreational strategy.  It's designed to make a terrible game worth playing and save you some money in the process.  Not from a monetary standpoint, but a "recreational" standpoint.  You keep comparing it to the game Bob Dancer teaches.  There is no comparison.  If you can play like Bob, why wouldn't you?

[OTABILL]

Enough with the math. EV doesn't equate with actual results at least for my wife and I. Since I began playing VP in 2005 I have never been dealt a royal and neither has my wife at a casino. Despite playing DDB almost exclusively, 99% single line, we have been dealt AWAK only once. In numerous trips to Vegas and Laughlin in that timeframe neither of us have had a single line rf. Until we cut back on casino trips about a year ago, we averaged 2 - 3 trips per month to local casinos and 1-2 trips to Vegas/Laughlin per year. VP is still gambling which is impacted by luck. Some folks are more fortunate than others. Being the same age as Phil and Olds, actually slightly older , we can't bank on the so called long run. We have always viewed VP as entertainment and use discretionary funds budgeted for that purpose. Someone can buy a $3,500 super bowl ticket and won't be criticized as much as someone who spends $500 playing negative VP machines at a casino. As pointed out, in the latter case, you may lose less than the $500, break even, or even get "paid" to be entertained. Obviously we all want to win and find the best paytable for the game we prefer. I agree with Phil, don't risk what you can't afford to spend (or lose) however you want to phrase it. Fiscal discipline must prevail.

[FloridaPhil]

Most players gamble for the experience, fun, recreation or whatever you want to call it.  It all depends upon what kind of video poker experience you want.  It's true sitting on the best game in the casino with computer perfect strategy yields the best long term monetary result.  Is everyone in the casino concerned more about the long term result or having the gambling experience their way?   Personally, I don't want to play the same boring game for a week straight even if it's the most profitable.  I can't even tolerate it for more than a few hours.  I also don't want to pump money into a game where I may not see a quad for hours on end.  Video poker allows me to choose my entry fee and adjust the game to my liking.   In the end I am totally aware it may cost  me more money long term to play the way I do, but I am willing to pay extra to do it because it enhances my experience. I have spend years studying video poker strategy.  I know perfect play strategy.  I also know math and the ramifications of going against it.  I choose to play my way because I get what I want out of the game which may or may not not be the most profitable long term.  The strategy I outlined earlier in this post allows me to play at the dollar level without risking a lot of money.  It holds my loses to a minimum and the excitement level high.  That's all I want out of video poker.I am a Bob Dancer strategy follower myself.  When the conditions are right, I play his way.   I have absolutely no reservations about recommending his methodology if profit is your motivation.  It isn't mine, so I occasionally change things around.  Video poker can be anything you want it to be.

[ukaserex]

Most players gamble for the experience, fun, recreation or whatever you want to call it. 


I am not convinced of this. I honestly think that most first time gamblers start off for fun or the experience or whatever - but I honestly believe most are the equivalent parallel of a functioning alcoholic.

They may be managing their life just fine, and they may tell themselves they're having fun (heck, maybe they are! I'm not a mind reader)

But, I think, as the house wins more often than not, over time, they'd like to stop, but one thing or another keeps them coming. It might be a cocktail server, or the buffet, or the trill of the credits being paid out. Something keeps them going back to a place that simply took their money last time with nothing more in return than a few smiles, a small percentage of free play and a free buffet.

Maybe it's transference, but I noticed in my own life that I'd gone to Biloxi about 16 weekends in a row. Some trips I won, most I didn't. If it hadn't been for that one big jackpot, (11k+), I'd have lost on the year. As it was, I might have to claim that on my taxes, but I really only came out ahead about 850 bucks. Darn shame! I kept thinking I could reproduce similar results - and I did, sort of. A couple of smaller royals. But, a lot of trips (wear and tear on the car) a lot of sitting (added weight to my abdomen) and my IRA not being funded the following year as quickly.

It could just be me, but seeing as I see the same faces all the time at the casinos, I don't think so. Those folks I see aren't laughing or smiling. They stare at those machines, swear under their breath and nervously tap their feet. I see it all the time. They're hooked and they're not going to stop until they run out of money - all of it.

[FloridaPhil]

We all want to think we could stop any time we want.  It's like sex.  We'll stop when we can't anymore.  The only thing that keeps me out of trouble is I hate losing.   If I didn't, I'm pretty sure I would be broke by now.