Playing Bad VP Games
Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2018 6:16 am
This post is not an instruction manual, strategy discussion or a tutorial on how to beat the casinos. It is a collection of thoughts and experiences relating to playing bad video poker games. What do I consider a "Bad" video poker game? Today's games range from 95% to near 100%. A few are over 100%. I do not have access to positive games at a denomination I feel comfortable playing. Because my experience is limited to negative VP games, I leave those discussions to the experts.
I consider any video poker game with max coin odds under 98.5% to be in the "Bad" game category. It would be very difficult for comps and incentives to overcome a 1.5% house edge. Unfortunately, most quarter VP falls into this group.
In our travels around the country, we see a lot of these games. After driving 6-8 hours to visit a new casino, we play what they have to offer or we don't play at all. This gives us a chance to experiment with these games and figure out how best way to play them.
Playing "Bad" games is going to cost you money. You can win big playing bad games, but long term you will lose more than you win. What is long term? This depends on how long you play. In my case, I gauge my results on an annual basis. I play at least 250,000 hands of VP a year or about 6 royal cycles. I average about 3-4 royals a year over the past 10 years. I have made money in some of those years. Over the ten year period, I have lost money.
Here is some of what I have learned. See if you agree with my observations.
The best way to keep from losing money in a casino is to stay out of them. Yes, there are some players who make a profit. Will you? Not if you play "Bad" games. The second best way to play these games is to reduce your coin-in. This can be done in a number of ways.
The coin-in is the amount of money you put into the machine over time. An average player plays about 600 hands of VP an hour. If I bet $1.25 a hand, I am running $750 an hour through the machine. If the house edge is 3%, that is the minimum amount I will pay the casino to play their games. If I make errors, that number could increase.
Option one is to play single coin VP. This reduces your coin in from $750 an hour to $150 which reduces the house take. It also reduces the size of your jackpots. It also takes away the royal bonus. This means you are paid $62.50 for a royal flush instead of $1,000. This removes the major incentive of playing VP. Who wants to play a slot machine with the big jackpot removed? Not many. Still, this is an option for those who want to play VP for as long as possible as cheap as possible.
Some casinos offer nickel VP. Unfortunately, they usually drop the odds even further. It is very common the find the single coin quarter odds better than the max coin nickel odds, so check this before you play.
A better option is to play less hands. You can do this by limiting your playing time, speed or by setting a bankroll limit. Instead of sitting in front of a "Bad" machine for hours at a time, take breaks, walk around, check out the other games and watch the other players. You may find a better game. The house edge costs you nothing unless you put money in the machine.
I once watched a player in BiloxI do something that I didn't understand until many years later. This player would get up and walk over to the ticket redemption machine every 15 minutes or so. I don't know what criteria he used for cashing out, but it slowed his play considerably. A smart move when the casino is taking 4% of your money just for playing their games.
How fast do you play? If you own software like Video Poker for Winners, you can time yourself. Many players play 1,000 hands an hour. A player who plays 1,000 hands an hour playing "Bad" VP games will lose twice as much as another playing the same game at 500 hands an hour. Slow down, take a lot of bathroom breaks, watch the people, talk to someone or just take in the sights.
One of our favorite things to do is "casino hopping". We like to go to cities with multiple casinos. Places like Biloxi are great for this. Within 30 minutes of our hotel are at least 10 different casinos. None of them have positive VP. Nevertheless, they can be very entertaining places to visit. We spend the day walking in and out of each casino, checking out the games and experiencing each one. Unless we find an opportunity, we play a few bucks and walk on. We avoid playing in cities that charge for casino parking.
Are there sights to see in the area other than the casino? Some casinos are in beautiful places. Black Hawk Colorado is at the top of our list. Black Hawk is about an hour west of Denver high in the Rockies. We drive around and visit the ski resorts and numerous mountain parks. A great two hour drive is to take the back road to Colorado Springs to play VP in Cripple Creek. Along this road you will see many 14,000 foot snow covered peaks. If you have never been there, put it on your list. Even Vegas has cool things to see and visit. After you have been to the obvious places like the Hoover dam and the Grand Canyon, drive out to Death Valley and check it out. You don't need to spend all your time sitting in a casino. We don't.
All over this country there are new casinos being built. Are they all going to have positive VP? I don't think so. Don't get hung up on positive odds. Don't get depressed if you can't find them. If you do find them, play them. If you can't, play smart and limit your cost to play.
I hope members who read this post will understand it's purpose. I don't want players to think they can't have fun unless they can play 100% games. Playing VP is entertaining, but you must be smart about how you play. Combining it with a couples vacation is the best of two worlds. If your wife or significant other doesn't like VP, ask her why. Her answer may surprise you.
I consider any video poker game with max coin odds under 98.5% to be in the "Bad" game category. It would be very difficult for comps and incentives to overcome a 1.5% house edge. Unfortunately, most quarter VP falls into this group.
In our travels around the country, we see a lot of these games. After driving 6-8 hours to visit a new casino, we play what they have to offer or we don't play at all. This gives us a chance to experiment with these games and figure out how best way to play them.
Playing "Bad" games is going to cost you money. You can win big playing bad games, but long term you will lose more than you win. What is long term? This depends on how long you play. In my case, I gauge my results on an annual basis. I play at least 250,000 hands of VP a year or about 6 royal cycles. I average about 3-4 royals a year over the past 10 years. I have made money in some of those years. Over the ten year period, I have lost money.
Here is some of what I have learned. See if you agree with my observations.
The best way to keep from losing money in a casino is to stay out of them. Yes, there are some players who make a profit. Will you? Not if you play "Bad" games. The second best way to play these games is to reduce your coin-in. This can be done in a number of ways.
The coin-in is the amount of money you put into the machine over time. An average player plays about 600 hands of VP an hour. If I bet $1.25 a hand, I am running $750 an hour through the machine. If the house edge is 3%, that is the minimum amount I will pay the casino to play their games. If I make errors, that number could increase.
Option one is to play single coin VP. This reduces your coin in from $750 an hour to $150 which reduces the house take. It also reduces the size of your jackpots. It also takes away the royal bonus. This means you are paid $62.50 for a royal flush instead of $1,000. This removes the major incentive of playing VP. Who wants to play a slot machine with the big jackpot removed? Not many. Still, this is an option for those who want to play VP for as long as possible as cheap as possible.
Some casinos offer nickel VP. Unfortunately, they usually drop the odds even further. It is very common the find the single coin quarter odds better than the max coin nickel odds, so check this before you play.
A better option is to play less hands. You can do this by limiting your playing time, speed or by setting a bankroll limit. Instead of sitting in front of a "Bad" machine for hours at a time, take breaks, walk around, check out the other games and watch the other players. You may find a better game. The house edge costs you nothing unless you put money in the machine.
I once watched a player in BiloxI do something that I didn't understand until many years later. This player would get up and walk over to the ticket redemption machine every 15 minutes or so. I don't know what criteria he used for cashing out, but it slowed his play considerably. A smart move when the casino is taking 4% of your money just for playing their games.
How fast do you play? If you own software like Video Poker for Winners, you can time yourself. Many players play 1,000 hands an hour. A player who plays 1,000 hands an hour playing "Bad" VP games will lose twice as much as another playing the same game at 500 hands an hour. Slow down, take a lot of bathroom breaks, watch the people, talk to someone or just take in the sights.
One of our favorite things to do is "casino hopping". We like to go to cities with multiple casinos. Places like Biloxi are great for this. Within 30 minutes of our hotel are at least 10 different casinos. None of them have positive VP. Nevertheless, they can be very entertaining places to visit. We spend the day walking in and out of each casino, checking out the games and experiencing each one. Unless we find an opportunity, we play a few bucks and walk on. We avoid playing in cities that charge for casino parking.
Are there sights to see in the area other than the casino? Some casinos are in beautiful places. Black Hawk Colorado is at the top of our list. Black Hawk is about an hour west of Denver high in the Rockies. We drive around and visit the ski resorts and numerous mountain parks. A great two hour drive is to take the back road to Colorado Springs to play VP in Cripple Creek. Along this road you will see many 14,000 foot snow covered peaks. If you have never been there, put it on your list. Even Vegas has cool things to see and visit. After you have been to the obvious places like the Hoover dam and the Grand Canyon, drive out to Death Valley and check it out. You don't need to spend all your time sitting in a casino. We don't.
All over this country there are new casinos being built. Are they all going to have positive VP? I don't think so. Don't get hung up on positive odds. Don't get depressed if you can't find them. If you do find them, play them. If you can't, play smart and limit your cost to play.
I hope members who read this post will understand it's purpose. I don't want players to think they can't have fun unless they can play 100% games. Playing VP is entertaining, but you must be smart about how you play. Combining it with a couples vacation is the best of two worlds. If your wife or significant other doesn't like VP, ask her why. Her answer may surprise you.
