CS 2018

[FloridaPhil]

Great posts both. For me, developing a good VP attitude was finding the right balance between my expectations and the entertainment I receive from playing the game.  I think having a good attitude is the most important factor in VP sucess.Many factors can affect your attitude negatively.   Playing high variance games, playing inaccurately and not having a sufficient bankroll are the most common.  You can easily fix the first two.You don't have to be a millionaire to play VP well, but you do need working capital.   The casino never runs out of money.  If you do, you are at a disadvantage.   Video poker is one long continuous race, not a bunch of short sprints.  There is nothing wrong with managing your money on a daily basis, but you aren't changing the long term outcome.When I first started playing VP, I read a book that got be very excited about the game.   This book got me into the game.  Once I was in it, I found out real VP is was nothing like the story I read.  My expectations were out of sight and my experience was lower than snail food.  For a long time I blamed the author.  This didn't do anything to help my attitude.  Today, I understand the game much better.  When I lose, I know why and it's not due to any conspiracy. Video poker is a great recreational activity.   It doesn't have to be painful or costly.  You don't need to play only 100% games or move to Vegas.  You don't have to be perfect to enjoy it either.   All you need is reasonable skill, a couple of bucks in the bank and the discipline to stick to a plan that works for you. 

[FAA]

Tread water on quarter or despair on dollar. Stark dichotomy. If you still need to hurtle over a cliff, there are many cheaper and safer ways to enrich your life.

[FloridaPhil]

Every VP strategy that I have ever employed has had the same goal.  That goal has always been to allow me to play VP as entertainment for as long and as cheap as possible.  Some of the strategies I employed sacrificed entertainment for low cost.   Some increased entertainment, but had the negative effect of increasing variance.  CS 2018 is the right balance for me.   All I had to do was stop day dreaming about big jackpots.   Jackpots will come, but here is no way to force them to happen.  Slow and steady is a better VP strategy than high variance games, pot shots and wishful thinking.Some members don't understand why I post my thoughts so openly on this forum.   My understanding is this forum is here to teach people to be better VP players.  By posting my struggles with VP, It helps me and I think it helps other Recreational players as well.  I never pretended to be an expert on VP.  My VP experiences have more in common with the experience of an average player across the US, not a high limit professional player in Vegas.  There is much to be learned from VP professionals, but not everything they do relates to us.  I believe my thoughts are a meaningful addition to the thoughts of someone who gets paid to play.  My world of VP is not full of positive games, cash back comps and ultra disciplined players.   It's full of 96-98% games, ever decreasing comps and human frailties.    I talk about what happens in my world of VP because it's the only VP world I know.  In order to benefit everyone equally, all sides of the VP world should be represented on this forum.  Right or wrong, I am attempting to fill that gap.Over the years I have been on this forum I have seen new members continually attacked for asking what they believed were serious questions.  Instead of having their questions discussed fully, they were insulted or made fun of.  How can anyone learn in that environment?  This forum needs new members who are not afraid to post.  We need to hear from players that do not consider themselves VP experts.  Players that play the same games we play and have the same challenges.  Player's that want to learn, but also want to contribute something positive.

[case]

Phil if your goal on this forum is to teach new players the truth of video poker there are just two things you need to say:

1: If you play negative games you will LOSE over time.

2: If you play positive games AND play them correctly you will WIN over time.

There is nothing more you need to "teach" them

This is the real truth

[billryan]

Phil if your goal on this forum is to teach new players the truth of video poker there are just two things you need to say:

1: If you play negative games you will LOSE over time.

2: If you play positive games AND play them correctly you will WIN over time.

There is nothing more you need to "teach" them

This is the real truth


I would add this
#3 If you play slightly negative games and learn how to exploit the casinos loyalty program, you'll be just fine.
You might lose a little cash but your rewards will more than enough to not mind.

[FloridaPhil]

1: If you play negative games you will LOSE over time.2: If you play positive games AND play them correctly you will WIN over time. #3 If you play slightly negative games and learn how to exploit the casinos loyalty program, you'll be just fine.  You might lose a little cash but your rewards will more than enough to not mind. #4 If you play negative games at a casino that has a lousy or no loyalty program you will lose bigger.  You'll be just fine as long as you keep your loses small enough where you do not mind.Number four needs to be there because we now have many casinos around the country that fit that description and a lot of players who play there.  These player's needs are not being addressed on this forum and they are the ones with the most to lose.

[FAA]

Loyalty program at CET is rendered ineffective on full pay games. They dilute it by 250% or more. 1 TC per $50 from $20 or even $10. Just view it as a comp free day.

[FloridaPhil]

VP odds and comp reductions have been the norm for a few years now.  What I find more troubling is the removal and replacement of VP with slots.  The number of video poker machines in the southeast is now about half of what it was 10 years ago.  If you limit your play to only positive games, you have nothing to play.

[OTABILL]

1: If you play negative games you will LOSE over time.2: If you play positive games AND play them correctly you will WIN over time. #3 If you play slightly negative games and learn how to exploit the casinos loyalty program, you'll be just fine.  You might lose a little cash but your rewards will more than enough to not mind. #4 If you play negative games at a casino that has a lousy or no loyalty program you will lose bigger.  You'll be just fine as long as you keep your loses small enough where you do not mind.Number four needs to be there because we now have many casinos around the country that fit that description and a lot of players who play there.  These player's needs are not being addressed on this forum and they are the ones with the most to lose.




Points 1 & 2, are not absolute. The outcomes cannot be guaranteed as stated. Winning or losing is dependent on how many VP hands a recreational player plays during his lifetime. There is no guarantee regarding"over time". One's VP playing might end abruptly with no long term to achieve projected mathematical results. Bottom line is that an occasional recreational VP player can be ahead on negative machines and lose on positive machines depending on a number of factors..

[FAA]

Yeah, a two trip a year player can go positive easier than a twenty or fifty tripper. If I can maintain a .500 trip average, I'd be okay. Machine removal is not a noticeable AC issue, which I suppose is nice.