Video Poker Forum

One of the hardest VP lessons I have had to learn is knowing when to walk out of the casino.  I'm a recreational player and I play regularly about once a week. It’s about a 3 hour round trip to and from my nearest casino, so my desire is to play for a minimum of two hours.  I also like excitement, so I usually play DDB. The best DDB odds around here are 8/5, which is terrible but I can put up with that or not play at all.  In the past, I would usually play until either I ran out of money (most of the time) or hit it big and decided to leave on my own.  Lately, I have been forcing myself into a new money management system that seems to be working.  It’s not easy, but it works for me.  My session budget is $300.  I could afford to play at higher stakes, but I don't feel comfortable doing so.  I have had other hobbies that cost way more than $300 a week, and they never paid me back anything.
 
My system goes like this.  First, I break my three hundred dollar bills into $20s which gives me 15 mini-sessions.  I start at the first machine and play DDB .25 cents until I either hit a quad, straight flush or a royal. If I lose the $20, I move to another machine and try again and so on.  Once I find a machine that gives me a quad, I stay put.  Whenever I hit a quad, straight flush or royal, I immediately cash out and put the white ticket in the back of my wallet.  I continue to play at .25 cents until I exhaust my original $300 or I reach $300 in white tickets.  Once I have $300 in white tickets, I can do anything I want as long as I don’t cash the original white tickets.  Often I move up in denomination to .50 or $1.00 and go for it.   Most of the time nothing happens, but once in a while my $20 turns into $1,000 or more.
 
The rule is “never touch the $300 worth of white tickets until you are ready to leave”.  This means that I run out of money sooner, but I now realize I can always come back next week. I break even a lot more times than I used to and it's cut down my loses considerably.
 
I realize the pros on this forum will think this all is an exercise in futility, but beginning recreational players might get something out of it.
 
 
 

Interesting post, FloridaPhil. Winning is not my problem, it's hanging on to those wins. In Vegas, I plan to hit an ATM every day if necessary rather than carry a big bank roll from home. However, on day trips, that ATM is OFF LIMITS for me. Hubby and I both hate double ATM charges and I often (read always) prefer NOT to leave a paper trail. When I run out of cash, it's time to crawl home and fight another day! I find the lower my bankroll the harder I try to focus on perfect play.

Seems like a good system. You have it mapped out pretty good.

 I say anything that help you come home with money is good!

Phil,
I really appreciate hearing about your system. Pulling tickets and putting them back has worked several times for me and we try to put back for our next trip. We drive for 2 hours and usually stay the night - which leads to long playing sessions -sometimes 6-8 hours. Unfortunately, what we've found is that because we stay and because we fund each other if one of us is up - we tend to play longer.

I have found that putting away tickets is even more important for me when I am on a long gambling trip.  My wife and I frequently make three day trips to the Beau Rivage in Biloxi.  Because of the high volatility of DDB, I tend to have a few sessions where I am up quite a bit.  Before I started stashing my white tickets, I would frequently "go on tilt" and blow my winnings on some crazy pot-shot.  My wife seemed to break even or lose a lot less than I did.  I had some really crazy wins (4 Royals in 24 Hours!), but over the long term she was way ahead.  I watched her continually stash her white tickets and learned a lot from her.  Playing 8/5 DDB is a long term loser no matter what, but I am working to have the most fun for the least lost.  Of course, I could always take up golf... Yawn

Of course, I could always take up golf... Yawn
Or, you could do both. Many casinos have golf packages that are nice and provide a break from playing hour after hour. Don't know if your casino has anything though. I visit a casino about once a week. I play golf 3-5 times a week ... weather permitting. So, it's nice to have more than one option for my entertainment.

Not a bad system...but understand that leaving a machine that hasn't been paying out...or staying at a machine that gave you quads is a "feel good" strategy....but a common one, and it hurts nothing