Video Poker Forum

Sometimes at the casino I noticed that they shut down a bank of machines usually during the week.  anyone Know why?.

details,
 
I'll find out the answer for you.  I'll ask one of the slot attendants at work and see what they say.
 
Mike

I'll hazard a guess:  They are probably changing the paytables.  Either that, or they are preparing to shuffle the location of the machines.  They do that quite frequently based on traffic in the casino.

MikeA is pretty much right on target.  If they are changing the paytables, they'll do it during the week when the traffic is low.  They also shut them down if they are going to relocate machines, which they tend to do quite frequently.  The other reason I found out is that they also perform routine maintenance on the machines during the week as well when the volume is lower.  At Showboat, they try to do maintenance overnight though..
 
Mike

MikeA is pretty much right on target. If they are changing the paytables, they'll do it during the week when the traffic is low. They also shut them down if they are going to relocate machines, which they tend to do quite frequently. The other reason I found out is that they also perform routine maintenance on the machines during the week as well when the volume is lower. At Showboat, they try to do maintenance overnight though..

Mike
Just an observation: They're changing paytables because VP.com now has over 42,000 members and more folks are learning to play the "right" way. When I joined last year there were about 13,000!!I've been seriously studying VP for about three years and my take has definitely improved.Practice, practice, practice...WIN...WIN...WIN!!

[quote]
Just an observation: They're changing paytables because VP.com now has over 42,000 members and more folks are learning to play the "right" way. When I joined last year there were about 13,000!!I've been seriously studying VP for about three years and my take has definitely improved.Practice, practice, practice...WIN...WIN...WIN!![/QUOTE]
 
What is VP.COM?  On the web, that is a building construction site?  Are you talking about vpFree, the Yahoo VP eMail Group?
 
As far as reducing paytables on machines....Lot's of speculation on that.  concensus seems to be GREED on the part of the Casinos.  But I do think (and hope) that "education" of VP players will change that trend of lowering paytables.
 
With the wealth of knowledge being diseminated on the Internet, even the most casual player can easily tell which paytables are favorable.  Even if they play the most sloppy strategy, if they know that a paytable on a particular machine is a rip-off, they will likely pass it by.  The reason?  They don't want to lose any advantage even though it will not help them in the long run. 
 
My hope is that the casinos will lower their "greed meter" and bring back the full pay knowing that even though some can play them to the hilt and possibly make a little money of the full pay machines, the vast majority of players will make enough mistakes to make the return adequate.
 
A thread about the Orleans (Coast casino) just off the Strip in Vegas is a good example.  They removed all Full Pay machines.  It wasn't long before they started bringing them back.  There was a huge "boycott" by VPers on Las Vegas Advisor of those properties.  Now, they are beginning to return to play those properties.
 
There is a precarious balance by the casinos between Greed (profit margins) and volume of traffic.  Low pay machines will not be profitable if no one is playing them.  On the other hand, Full Pay machines WILL pay off even with a lot of traffic of knowledgable players!  Remember, perfect play nets a positive EV of less than 1% on the best Full Pay machines and not many can play perfectly!  Toss "variance" and ROR into the mix and even "perfect" players can easily donate to the Cadilac funds of the casino owners!

No need to worry about Trump Marina changing paytables. Just returned from there, and if they were any lower every win would be a push.