The Future of Video Poker

[Carcounter]

BTW, I just talked to my accountant and I am one of those blue state people that will take a shot on my taxes because of the 10k limit on SALT deductions. I'm ok with it , just hope the money goes for good causes

[olds442jetaway]

Be a bit careful when you do start taking the Rmd. Required minimum distribution. The irs lets you wait until the following april 1st after you turn 70 and a half, but if you do wait you will have to take out 2 rmds rhat year. That could put you in a higher bracket. Make dure you check with your accountant on that and who knows. The law may change again by then. If you have roth iras you wont have to do it on thise. Please double check me though. Also that delay rule only applies to your first distribution.

[olds442jetaway]

Wish i i was down in Florida back then to race Florida Phil one time. I know i couldnt beat his side oiler 427 Ford with my 440 mopar, but I would have had a shot with my friends car. When I graduated UCONN I worked in a lical junkyard for 6 months. The owner let us make any car we wanted from the yard for pennies. My friend stripped dowh a 1960 Falcon and stuffed in a ford 406 He had to put in a cut down lincoln radiator to cool it. He also had to put wheelie bars on it to keep it on the ground because so light. Well I would have had a shot anyway. Also could have got me to the casino today in no time.

[FloridaPhil]

I don't see a lot of young people playing VP at the Borgata.

Young people are used to getting their entertainment for free. They use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tinder, Pandora, Candy Crush, YouTube and hundreds of other free video games and software packages. They do everything on their phones. They even "sext" one another. Is anyone surprised they don't play VP?

[notes1]

olds, thanks for the best wishes for retirement.

while there may be plenty to complain about the younger crowd, our generation has plenty to answer for. the financial crisis that started in 2008 was largely the fault of adults (not kids) overspending, over borrowing and under saving. millennials may have asked their parents for a lot, but it was the parents who made the decision to spend/borrow it.

remember, it was also boomers, when we were much younger, that began the two income household, more women going to work. and, what was done with that extra income, buy bigger houses, while at the same time having smaller households. bigger houses, more expensive cars, just more 'stuff'. at least the younger crowd has an excuse, many were spoiled from the onset, indoctrinated at school, they didn't know any better. but, boomers were raised by the greatest generation. our parents fought a world war, sacrificed and were generally happy with a simpler life. we knew what we were doing.

i read/see stories of younger males playing video games all day, both sexes living in their parents basements, pounding on the doors of the supreme court over a scotus nominee, young people wearing hoods (antifa) and get upset. but, then i wonder, where the heck are their parents, how were these kids raised, whose paying for this lifestyle?

[FloridaPhil]

i read/see stories of younger males playing video games all day, both sexes living in their parents basements, pounding on the doors of the supreme court over a scotus nominee, young people wearing hoods (antifa) and get upset. but, then i wonder, where the heck are their parents, how were these kids raised, whose paying for this lifestyle?

It's easier for some parents to pay their kids to go away than be parents to them. When kids don't have role models, they find substitutes. It may be the gang leader down the street. It may be someone on the Internet, in movies or in sports. It may be a hero in a video game. If your adult kid is living in your basement, it's because you didn't do your job as a parent. You may have given the kid everything he/she wanted, but that was not what they needed.

[4094evr]

olds442 & florida phil.., I sold my 59 El Camino 409 Nostalgia Super Stocker 2 years ago, or I'd issue a challenge. I'm also about to turn 72, retired & playing VP in Ill. & Vegas. I agree the idiot Ill. politicians have destroyed casinos with their putting machines in every bar, etc. Used to get a pretty good gamble at my local casino, now not so much. Everybody thinks these casinos are baling money. I think they are barely hanging on. Local casino has lost every knowledgeable VP player in the last coupla years. They may not have made alot of $$$ on us, but about 10 people are for the most part gone when I quit(except on rare occasion ). I guess when downtown Vegas downgrades their VP & comps, I'll be completley done.

[FloridaPhil]

I have a question for the forum. If all VP games in the world were 97%, would you quit playing VP?

I wouldn't. My weekly trips to the casino would still be fun. I would play the same way I do now. I would still play quarter VP because I consider the entertainment I receive worth the cost of admission. I would still practice with my VPW software. There's no sense in making the admission price higher by making major errors.

I think playing 97% quarter VP is a bargain. I can be happy with a $1,000 royal flush. I would never be happy with a $20,000 royal because it may cost me a lot more to see it and definitely more to keep it. Playing video poker small is about reducing your expectations. I don't expect to make money playing VP, so nothing would change.

[4094evr]

99% is about it for me. I've been playing AP for the better part of 15 years.. I'll play 50c & $1 for advantage & it's cost me pretty bad last year. Worst year ever. With tax changes don't want 1040's any more so have changed play for the most part. Playing less than 100%, I better be getting pretty good comps. Used to get 5 - 8K/year on drawings, etc. Since $$$/point has gone down for VP, lucky to get any entries these days. Don't think things are gonna get better.

[FloridaPhil]

My wife and I both play quarter VP. I play one day a week. She plays about one day a month. We also enjoy frequent VP vacations that last anywhere from three days to a week. We take 3-5 of these VP vacations every year. We plan our mini vacations around comped rooms and whatever else they will give us. On rare occasion, airfare is included.

The odds on these quarter games vary from 97% to 99%. My bounce back free play is about $25 a week. We occasionally receive other comps such as show tickets or upgraded rooms. Before comps, our annual cost to play VP like this is around $5K a year. Adding back the comps and it's not a bad deal if you can afford to be flexible.

In order to be happy playing VP this way, we stay with quarter VP and play slow. We both play single line max coin quarter Deuces Wild. We modify the strategy at bit to give us a better chance at a royal flush. So far this has worked in our favor. Playing VP these days costs money long term. It doesn't have to be overly expensive.