How many different video poker games do you play?

The lighter side... playing for entertainment, less concerned about "the math."
FloridaPhil
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Re: How many different video poker games do you play?

Post by FloridaPhil »

This argument could go on forever and probably will when I'm long gone. I am a strong proponent of Advantage Play. Who doesn't want more play for their money and more chances at hitting a jackpot? What I have a problem with is the assumption that everyone who plays positive video poker perfectly will make a long term profit. This is an assumption based on hope not fact. Hope sells.

How can anyone accurately predict what will happen in the future? The machine does not know what the last hand hand was or what the next hand will be. It does not know if it just hit ten royals or has never hit one in it's working lifetime. If I walk up to a $10 machine, put in a $100 bill, hit a royal and never go back, I will be ahead lifetime and I have never played a positive game perfectly in my life for longer than ten minutes.

Video poker professionals are gamblers, they are not harvesters. Recreational players should know they have just as much of a chance of hitting a jackpot as the most skilled player on Earth. That is what makes video poker playable.

New2vp
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Post by New2vp »

Great post! You may want to cut-and-paste to save this for later. Maybe you will find a thread to which this message is actually responsive.

Oh, and keep sharp objects pointed away from yourself and others at all times. And you might want to stay away from staircases.

Otabill, now I see what you mean. We really want to encourage gems like this. So much more interesting and insightful than normal on-topic posts! Have a great day!

FloridaPhil
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Post by FloridaPhil »

My purpose in making these comments is to get players to think for themselves. Hardly anyone on this forum plays positive video poker. I would bet less than .01% of us can play computer perfect for one day, much less than forever. At the casinos where I play, comps are never close to covering the house edge.

Choosing the right games and developing the skills to play them is advantageous. In my view, too much time is spent discussing game scenarios that most players never encounter. It's like a car club full of internal combustion engineers. They spend all day talking about compression ratios and cam duration when most members just want to drive.

advantage playe
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Post by advantage playe »

yes fl phil , why learn to play a musical instrument when u can just turn on the radio . one caveat , if everyone thought that way we would not have any music !!

FloridaPhil
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Post by FloridaPhil »

Dissecting video poker math is a good thing. It's nice to know a royal averages one every 40,000 hands and a quad deuce every 5,000 hands. Does that force them to happen on time? Sadly No. As long as we realize that fact, we are good to go.

These numbers are averages. It's easy for new players to assume a game with a better pay schedule yields a better result. When you have played as long as some of us have, you discover that's not necessarily the case. I can't tell you how many times I have lost big playing great games in Vegas only to win big on a crappy game somewhere else. How do you explain that to someone who is just starting out? Video poker is not predictable. If it was, it wouldn't be gambling.

olds442jetaway
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Post by olds442jetaway »

I would have to say, the hottest machines I have ever had in my lifetime are 95-96 percent nickel or quarter machines. Anytime I have ever had a great hand within 5 minutes of playing it has almost always been a nickel machine. Why? Who knows, but 20,000,000 hands is a big sample believe me, I would remember if those hands were on a dollar machine, yet I know Phil has similar experiences on a dollar machine. I attribute it to just pure luck and nothing else.

olds442jetaway
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Post by olds442jetaway »

Speaking of luck, I will never forget the time about 15 years ago I was walking into the casino. The bar was nearly empty and it was closed. Someone had played their last quarter on a draw poker machine and walked away. It was 4 to a Royal and they hadn’t completed the hand. Nobody was around so I held the 4 cards and hit draw good for 62.50. I’m sure they had been playing 5 quarters on the hands before that.

onemoretry
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Post by onemoretry »

New2vp wrote:
Thu Mar 05, 2020 12:44 am
I simply thought that onemoretry's question was more reasonable that Phil's response.
Me too, obviously! And thank you very much for your comprehensive (and colourful) dissection of Phil's statements.

I put the question out there, in the first place, because it seemed clear that Phil was already departing from his "I'm simply going to report on my casino experiences" position, and was branching out into subjects he said he was going to avoid. At times, it seems he sees himself as a teacher, a role for which he is, by his own admission, unqualified.

Ironically, I agree with him with respect to the undesirability of 9/6 double bonus poker. I wouldn't touch it with the traditional 10 foot pole. But, when the 10/6 version was included as being unbeatable, I could not resist jumping in.

FloridaPhil
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Post by FloridaPhil »

olds442jetaway wrote:
Thu Mar 05, 2020 11:59 am
I would have to say, the hottest machines I have ever had in my lifetime are 95-96 percent nickel or quarter machines. Anytime I have ever had a great hand within 5 minutes of playing it has almost always been a nickel machine. Why? Who knows, but 20,000,000 hands is a big sample believe me, I would remember if those hands were on a dollar machine, yet I know Phil has similar experiences on a dollar machine. I attribute it to just pure luck and nothing else.
The most money I ever won in one day was playing 8/5 Jacks or Better. The "hottest" video poker machines I have ever seen were 98.9% Deuces Wild machines played at single coin. The worst machines I ever played were NSU Deuces Wild (99.7%) at the Peppermill in Reo.

Any machine can get hot at any time. Conversely, any machine can go cold. Fretting over game odds has cost me more money over the years than anything else I can think of. It caused me to play games I did not know and take risks I could not afford. These days, I play the best game I can find in the version I know best at a denomination where I feel most comfortable. I stick with it and accept whatever happens. If I win, great. If I lose, I don't have anyone or anything to blame other than the whims of the RNG.

advantage playe
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Post by advantage playe »

rng s don't get hot unless they are near a radiator , they get cold if they are near an open door in the wintertime !

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