The Big Switch

[olds442jetaway]

good show Phil. I play tons of hands as well. I agree on the Royals, I just can't hit them anywhere near that average of 40k hands or so. Therefore I just concentrate on hitting the deuces especially dealt ones in DDS. Hitting one playing a buck a hand gives me 800 bucks and if I play bonus deuces on DDS and hit one with the ace, it pays 1600 bucks. I can play double the amount of hands per hour too on that game because you don't have to hold cards. The bad streaks can really clean out your bankroll in a hurry though. I also agree that luck prevails for all of us most of the time. The math comes around, but only in infinity. Last I knew, none of us are going to live that long.

[FloridaPhil]

I made some modifications to my denomination switching strategy for BP.  When playing deuces wild I would play $20 and switch every time the counter reached $40 and play back to $20.  Occasionally, I would hit a high denomination quad deuce or royal.   All too often I would contribute another $20.   This increased my bankroll needs substantially. No one can predict quads, but they do seem to bunch up on occasion.   When playing BP quarters, I play $100s not $20s and I don't move higher unless I hit at least two quads in a short period of time and I'm substantially over my original $100.  This means I switch higher less often, which is easier on my daily bankroll.  So far, I seem to hit at least one of these runs on each day trip.  This keeps a normally boring game exciting for me and I'm enjoying BP.   I've been coming home with more money, which is the whole point.  No BP royals yet.I remember someone on this forum said there was math that showed quads
happen more frequently in certain sessions.   I not counting on math,
I'm counting on luck.  The house edge on these games is 2%, so I'm going to need a lot of it.We are going to Hollywood next week for my wife's birthday.  Sooner or later I'm going to hit a royal.  If it's for $4K it will put me substantially ahead for the year.   We'll see what happens.

[paco13]

BP has been good to me in the past but lately not so much. I haven't given up on it though. Waiting/hoping for it to come back around. At least half of my play is on BP each trip. I think of it as Ol' Faithful.

[FloridaPhil]

If you play outside of Nevada, you usually find BP has the best odds of any quarter game.   7/5 BP is a 98.015% game.  8/5 DDB at 96.786% is the most popular quarter game in the casinos where I play.   Seems like everyone plays that game.  The lure of those big kicker jackpots draws them in.  Even 9/5 DDB is worse than 7/5 BP and you get those long losing spells between Nirvana.  The biggest problem with DDB is busting.   My guess is most east coast DDB players go home broke before anything good happens.  You can find 9/6 Jacks and 8/5 BP in Florida if you are willing to risk big money.  I'm not that big of a believer.98.9% Deuces is available in Florida if you look for it.  That's the only game my wife plays. She is very good with numbers and plays slow and deliberately.  Her results are much better than mine as I have a tendency to play too fast and sloppy.   BP strategy is easy enough for me to play pretty close to perfect.

[paco13]

Most of my play is at Mt. Airy. I was playing DDB or TDB almost all the time but it started killing me. A little while back is when I started playing BP more again. At least I stay in the game longer with it. I play mostly Dollar denom. They have 8/5 BP, 9/6 DDB and I believe the DB is 9/7 but don't play it much.
They use to have 10/6 DDB before the table games came in. That's when I got hooked on it. What a difference the drop to 9/6 made.

[FloridaPhil]

When we play in Hollywood the bank of VP machines with the best odds are in one small area.  Next to the six good Deuces machines there are three triple play dollar 9/6 jacks machines.  There is a husband and wife team that play these machines all the time.  I've talked with them and they seem knowledgeable.  It's nothing for them to run up a $20 grand loss.   If you get cash back or something you can use, perhaps your comps can make up the house edge.  In Hollywood there are only so many hotels rooms and meals you can eat.  When I make a decision to gamble, I weigh the cost with the enjoyment gained.  I never expect to win money.  If I do it's a bonus.  For me, playing quarter VP is a fun way to spend a day and I never go back to my room feeling beat up.  When I switch to dollars, it's a part time thrill.   If I have to give up 2% of my quarters for the privilege, it's worth the cost.   I don't have any problem with how someone else plays or what they do with their own money.  I mind my own business and do what makes me happy. 

[FAA]

I like the tight knit, low variance area of JOB, BP and DW. My issue is quarter level discipline. Once I escalate, same fate as DDB and TDB victims.

[FloridaPhil]

When we move up in denomination we are playing  at a higher average bet.   This requires a bigger bankroll.  When I make a day trip to Tampa, I take $300.   On a three day trip I take $1,000.   Some days I can go through $200 before I see a quad.   It hasn't happened to me yet, but I expect there will come a day when I never see one.   Wading through long quad-less spells is part of these games.   The more hands you can play the better your chances.Moving up does require discipline, especially if something good happens early.  My $100 at a time strategy works for me.  As long as the counter never goes over my original $100, I'm sticking with quarters and if drops below it I always switch back.  There's no math to this strategy, it purely emotional.