Long Term vs. Short Term

The lighter side... playing for entertainment, less concerned about "the math."
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FloridaPhil
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Re: Long Term vs. Short Term

Post by FloridaPhil »

There are things about playing video poker that are rarely discussed here. I believe most video poker players are solitary gamblers, I know I am. I don't like being in a group of people all that much, especially if one or more are loud or obnoxious. We play video poker to be in a little world of our own. It's especially annoying to me to play next to someone who is talking loudly on their cell phone. I prefer to play video poker early in the morning when no one is there, just me and the workers cleaning out the machines.

Table game players seem to like social activity. Craps players are nuts. Screaming and scouting is not relaxing for me. Those little oriental gamblers are the worst. You would think they win a million dollars every 15 minutes.

My cost of playing video poker is comparable with other entertainment options any financially comfortable person would undertake. No one is forcing me to go to the casino. If the casino didn't deliver what I want, I wouldn't go. It would be nice to play full pay games, but I'm not sure I would make money. An extra royal or two wouldn't hurt, but that can happen in any game.

If you are talking about making a nice living from video poker, you are talking about a completely different game than most of us play. That's like a big league pitcher discussing playing in the world series with a church softball team. They may learn something valuable, but they're never going to play in that game.

I also don't think most video poker players make a profit. Most would like to, but won't do what it takes. I like the way I play video poker. If I didn't, I would change. The next time I'm in Vegas, I'll stop by South Point. The last time I was there, I enjoyed myself.

Gronbog
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Post by Gronbog »

Good point regarding the social nature of tables games. For the recreational player, this can be a positive thing since it helps to slow down the game and hence, can reduce your inevitable losses.

Things can go bad socially, since most table games players (and especially blackjack players) believe that how you play affects their results. This kind of voodoo thinking is rampant. If you make a play (correct or otherwise) that they don't like and they lose their hand, you may sometimes find yourself in the cross hairs.

I should say that I'm not here trying to convince any recreational VP players to take up blackjack. The question was raised about whether it can be a better option and my opinion is that, under the right circumstances, it can be.

stevel96a1
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Post by stevel96a1 »

i used to be a big fan of blackjack Gron, i did count cards in atlantic city and sands pa, 80% of it was back counting and in that short term nothing unusual happened. id win id lose and id push. never went home with a woopin 1,000$ back counting and betting 10-15$ with a running count of 20+ (and dont get me started how fast the tables crowd when running count goes north they just come in droves) but back to the point yea i never won that much maybe 200$ if that and i lost it all back + interested , tried better rules in sands pa better rules s17 LS and 15min bet guess what? story ends the same. maybe i need 2 grand maybe im not using the KO as well as i should? funny thing is program simulations from different programmers from the mid 80s to todays date and im talking blackjack on dos and windows 98 the real nutty shuffles , to those shuffles id lose any where from 4 grand to 8 grand not my cup of tea.
me and my wife hit 3 jackpots (the ones that everyone looks for) and the comps are much better safe to say VP is better for me than BJ but again maybe just me, i read some stories where some joes kick off with 3grand and run it to 1mil+ others 4 grand and move to vegas and make a living at it, i just cant seem to get pass the baby steps i mentioned before =/ and i do watch blackjack tables in tropicana and ac this one old guy blew through 1/2 his buy in of 300$ in under 5min cause of splits/dd min bet was 10 or 15$

felt bad for em

FloridaPhil
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Post by FloridaPhil »

Given the bankroll required, I do not believe Black Jack is a better option for me. At the casinos where I play they vary the minimum BJ bet depending upon how busy the tables are. Could I play Black Jack all day with a $300 bankroll? I don't know, but I would doubt it.

During the week, I get to the casino about 10:30 AM. If I am by myself, I play solid until 3:00 PM. It is extremely rare for me to run out of money playing quarters, even taking a $20 dollar pot shot once an hour. Something always seems to happen. I hit a quad deuce at least 50% of the time. Often I will have a $100 run up or two on dollar play. I do not sit on a dead machine for long. I like to play as many machines as I can. Whether this helps or hurts me doesn't matter. It makes me feel better.

The largest number of quad deuces I have hit in a day has been four. Since my four royals back in 2008, I have hit two royals in a day twice. I have hit four single coin $5 game $1,000 quad deuces. I consider everything that happens in a casino to be short term. I don't expect anything. I accept everything.

Gronbog
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Post by Gronbog »

FloridaPhil wrote:
Fri Apr 19, 2019 8:20 am
Given the bankroll required, I do not believe Black Jack is a better option for me. At the casinos where I play they vary the minimum BJ bet depending upon how busy the tables are. Could I play Black Jack all day with a $300 bankroll? I don't know, but I would doubt it.
Flat betting and playing basic strategy at a $10 table, $300 would almost always be enough be enough to play for from 10:30am to 3pm. At a $15 table you would be ok about 82% of the time. At a $25 table, forget about it. Giving into temptation and raising your bet on a whim or for a pot shot will make the situation worse.

Gronbog
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Post by Gronbog »

stevel96a1 wrote:
Fri Apr 19, 2019 8:10 am
maybe i need 2 grand maybe im not using the KO as well as i should?
It was likely a combination of both. To make decent money, you probably needed a bigger bet spread and the much bigger bankroll that would go along with that. Unless you are betting large amounts, playing blackjack will rarely give you big daily wins.

However, as a recreational player, if you are disciplined enough to always bet the minimum and have enough bankroll (see my post to FP above) you can play for a few hours at a time at a small cost. As a card counter, the swings get bigger due to your large bets at favorable counts and your bankroll requirement is much higher as a result.

billryan
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Post by billryan »

Fifty times table minimum is more than adequate for a bankroll for a non counter, as you won't be spreading your bets.
Playing BJ at a table with other players is very different than playing a machine. In one casino I frequent, the $2 tables are full of retirees who play as long as their $20 buy-in lasts. This particular game has the best rules in Vegas but more money is bet on the Lucky Lady side bet.

Tedlark
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Post by Tedlark »

billryan wrote:
Fri Apr 19, 2019 10:09 am
Fifty times table minimum is more than adequate for a bankroll for a non counter, as you won't be spreading your bets.
Playing BJ at a table with other players is very different than playing a machine. In one casino I frequent, the $2 tables are full of retirees who play as long as their $20 buy-in lasts. This particular game has the best rules in Vegas but more money is bet on the Lucky Lady side bet.
And I'm guessing that there are nop issues with "those little oriental gamblers" at those tables either, making all that noise.

Come on Phil, "those little oriental gamblers?"

tech58
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Post by tech58 »

Tedlark wrote:
Fri Apr 19, 2019 10:45 am
billryan wrote:
Fri Apr 19, 2019 10:09 am
Fifty times table minimum is more than adequate for a bankroll for a non counter, as you won't be spreading your bets.
Playing BJ at a table with other players is very different than playing a machine. In one casino I frequent, the $2 tables are full of retirees who play as long as their $20 buy-in lasts. This particular game has the best rules in Vegas but more money is bet on the Lucky Lady side bet.
And I'm guessing that there are nop issues with "those little oriental gamblers" at those tables either, making all that noise.

Come on Phil, "those little oriental gamblers?"
Steadyyyyyyy, FP , Steadyyyyyyy!
Oriental gamblers are sometimes "loud" , not much more than most other groups, but they are "little", and definitely "oriental". That's two out of three , good for this forum.
Maybe he can repeat the question? :) (thanks to Wildman for the tip on how to do a :). )

FloridaPhil
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Post by FloridaPhil »

How's this for political correctness?

It has been my observation that table game gamblers are noisier than video poker players. Some table game players yell, slam the table or shout seemingly at every turn of the cards. This activity is not limited to them but does seem common with players who appear to have Southeast Asian heritage. These players are generally small in stature. This is part of the casino experience, so I ignore it. If you are offended by drunks, smokers, cussing, loud talking, shouting, rebel yells or obsessive behavior of any kind, you should stay away from casinos.
Last edited by FloridaPhil on Fri Apr 19, 2019 2:50 pm, edited 5 times in total.

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