Tampa Update

[Tedlark]

Better.

[OTABILL]

I have come to the conclusion that the best financially beneficial way FOR ME to play VP is not the most entertaining.

I agree though I would word it somewhat differently. The best financially beneficial way to play VP is not always the most overall rewarding for us. We find certain games more entertaining, the best paytables are often in the smoking sections of casinos thus increasing health risks (we prefer non-smoking), availability of bingo/on-site dining options the hospitality of staff and the friendliness of other patrons are important factors, location/access, and over all atmospherics. These are some ways we, as casual recreational players, differ from APs, pros and more serious recreational players. It is also why we look at each visit to the casino (including VP) the same way as attending a concert, ball game, etc. - i.e an activity we spend discretionary funds on.

[FloridaPhil]

The best quarter game at the casinos where I play is Bonus Poker. After years of playing Deuces Wild, I switched to all Bonus Poker last fall. Bonus Poker is easier for me to pay perfectly for long periods of time. The odds I have available are 6/5, 7/5 and 8/5. I was rewarded with four Royals in three months. I normally avoid the 6/5 games, but one of the Royals came playing 6/5 BP in Biloxi. Our room was comped and that's all they had, so I played it a few hours each day.

Since then I fell back into the denomination and game switching circus I was using before with predictably bad results. My experience with these schemes is always the same. You get ahead, switch to a higher denomination and the game sucks up your profit like a goose on a bug. Worse yet, you switch from Bonus Poker to Deuces Wild and stare at 4 aces. Then you switch back to Bonus Poker and you are looking at quad deuces. Nuts....

I need to pick a game and stay there. Bonus poker is that game. It's low variance. It's available with decent odds and I can build up a lot of points and free play while playing it. I'm thinking about starting a new thread to post my weekly coin in, results, free play and comps on a weekly basis. I don't expect anyone will be all that interested in reading about someone playing negative quarter games, but it may motivate me to stay on the same game for an extended period of time.