October Contest: Super Times Pay!

[emmytoo]

Actually, CD, I did only see that 'train' of conversation one time (that contests should be for gold members only) - one person said it, everyone else agreed, but haven't seen that topic since.
 
I agree with Vidopoker.   5 or 10 hand games would be a great choice.  It would be interesting to see what choices people would make if you took a survey of favorite games.   Although, I do like being introduced to new games via the contests.
 
Hey.  We're all gamblers.   But it's the adrenaline produced by big hits that keep us coming back.
 
 
 
 
 

[shadowman]

I really don't think they could change the games to return much better. If they went away from random results they could be accused of attempting to lure players into VP (remember Action Gaming derives revenue from casino machines).


 
Same could be said if they provided pay tables that were beyond anything found in casinos. I think we need to be satisfied with games that play exactly the same as casino games.
 
Doesn't mean we can't whine though.  
 
So, I want to know where the multiplier was when I was dealt 4 aces (or the quad 4s). Also, no kicker on the deal or the draw.

[faygo]

[QUOTE=Grannyjudy]Thanks for the replies to my griping. 


 
The preferred term here is "whining". 
 
My main whine is the time it takes the game to load on my dial-up connection.  When the contest started I dug out my copy of "War and Peace" from my college days to read between sessions, and I'm about halfway through.[/QUOTE]


 
cd it isn't really that bad. Heck, load times for the contest are averaging  slightly less then 12 MINS. 

[Mel_N_Collie]

A friend and I started having our own private "contest" during the last one, giving us a goal to shoot for that might be a little more obtainable than the main contest.  For the last contest it was the highest single hand Random Rewards win.  (I won that with a $511.25 full house).  This time it is the highest 1 game, (3 hands), total that includes a multiplier, (for which I'm in the lead with the 5X quad 3's I picked up last night for a total of 2050 on the hand).  
 
For verification we just use the "print screen" to capture the image, a photo editor to save it as a picture file, and then send it via email to taunt the opponent.  This could obviously be forged, so I wouldn't suggest betting large sums of money on it
 
We don't actually bet anything other than bragging rights, but I could see where a friendly wager of a drink or dinner the next time you met might be fun. 
 
I find it adds quite a bit to the enjoyment of the game.  Facing the need to get a dealt royal to even get on the leader board can be frustrating, but knowing you have a goal that is readily possible makes the play a little more interesting.

[emmytoo]

what a good idea, Me!!  Side bets are always fun.  
 
Reminds me of an interview I saw with Jack Nicholas (back in his winning days).  He was friends with Tom Weiskopf, and when asked how they did when in the final pairing together, going for the win...... Jack said - we're usually playing for who buys dinner.  All that money at stake, and they're talking dinner.

[Grannyjudy]

I agree that I would like to have the games pay out like the casinos.  I have not been to a casino that paid so poorly as this contest.  I would like the excitement of even 4 of a kind or a good multiplier hand.  i don't expect to make the leader board.  This is one of my favorite games so I have played it a lot in the casinos.  Just too many bad hands to keep me interested.

[cddenver]

I agree that I would like to have the games pay out like the casinos.  I have not been to a casino that paid so poorly as this contest. 
 
I know what you mean, but I'd LOVE to see these contest games in a casino - scores aren't always big ones, but at least they're always positive! 

[Slowhand10k]

Emmy, I would love to hear more thoughts on this. It is not an uncommon feeling. With thousands of people playing, and many millions of hands (more than 62 million in the last contest), there are going to be some amazing hits. And getting on the leader board is a very challenging thing, indeed. Making even the top 100 is something to be proud of.
 
Your win of over 10,000 points was fantastic. But should 4 aces with a kicker for 10,000 get a player on the board, when the current 10th place player had a hand worth 20,000 points? Probably not.

 
People have a tendency to see those leader scores and expect to come close, but the truth is, those are simply amazing scores that only a select few will be lucky enough to hit. But there are indeed a lot of other great scores out there, which is why we post the top 100 at the end of a contest, even though there are no prizes for that level.
 
If there is some way that we could improve the contests to make your own great scores more rewarding while you shoot for the top, we would love to hear them. We have continually adapted things here based on customer comments and this is a common sentiment that we have so far not been able to resolve.


Just a thought, maybe you could have a side award for highest average score,  with a minumum of 20 games played.  That would add a little to the incentive though maybe the minimum should be 50 games so people can keep playing and go for the leaderboard.

[New2vp]

Just a thought, maybe you could have a side award for highest average score,  with a minumum of 20 games played.  That would add a little to the incentive though maybe the minimum should be 50 games so people can keep playing and go for the leaderboard.Slowhand, liked your jokes during the contest.I get what you're trying to suggest here, but when the top scores are so lop-sided, since average score includes those top scores, this prize will still be weighted heavily in favor of the miracle hits.Something that would be along the same lines without having this problem would be:Best 2nd-highest personal score, or 3rd highest score, or 4th highest score, or even 10th highest score.  My preference is best 5th place score since vp.com shows the top 5 personal scores.  That way you would be able have changes in the standings for this prize deep into the tournament without the necessity for those 1 in a million (or 5 million) hits.If you want to give incentives to play more, using 2nd highest, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc., are all preferable to average score since with average score, you will have an incentive to play less.  If you succeed to get a high average with the minimum number of required games, you will have incentive to stop to protect that score.  Also, if you are behind, after a few games, the effect on the average of each succeeding game will be less and less, so again, the incentive to continue to play will be lower.Webman, On a side note,  I do believe that most people would like to be able to see the scores that they are competing with.  I recognize that someone wrote in a while ago and suggested they were discouraged from playing because the scores were so high and they would rather not know the scores they are competing with.  Of course when there is not unanimous opinion, someone is bound to be unhappy no matter what you do.  But after monitoring the chat sessions with people comparing notes and, when you were chatting, all the attempts to "bribe" you into spilling the beans on most session wins, it is clear when you have any prize (like most winning lines), most people would like to know what (and who) they're trying to beat.The head-in-the-sand "ostrich" preference of not wanting to know likely is a minority opinion shared by a few, but that shouldn't override the preferences of the much larger majority.  Perhaps you could appease those couple people who don't want to know by putting the top scores in a link somewhere so if they did not want to know, they wouldn't have to follow the link while still allowing the majority of people to be able to find out what they have to beat.Nevertheless, even if there are no changes or even changes I don't like, I want to express thanks for the obvious effort shown by you and those behind the scenes at this site.  Each of you shows what seems in this era to be a relatively rare obsession with customer service.  Thanks for the quality of the site and the contests.Actually (tongue-in-cheek) I would be better off if you had fewer contests because I spend so much time on them that I neglect other duties, but I wouldn't want you to reduce the contest frequency just to help me since that would dampen others' enjoyment.

[cddenver]

I like the idea of showing the top session lines somewhere.  Maybe on the post-session screen that shows the top current points.  In one way the "mystery" of the session lines can keep up interest in a contest when reaching the leaderboard itself requires a miracle, but if beating the top session lines requires a miracle as well then I know I'm better off doing something more productive with my time. 
 
There was a lot of back-and-forth in the chat window about who had what as far as those session lines were concerned.
 
I liked this contest as only a minor miracle was required to make the leaderboard instead of the usual omigod miracle.