Do I play the bonus multiplier?

[Mudfrog]

Well, after reviewing all of my VP options in the area it looks like Super Times Pay VP is going to be my best bet. (pardon the pun) Looking at the paytables, it appears that 9/6 JoB is going to be my game option with the highest percentages. This is at Argosy in Rising Sun, Indiana.
 
The question is do I drop the extra coin to play for the bonus multiplier? I know with table games most extra bets are "sucker bets", e.g. buying insurance in blackjack, etc. Is that the same here?
 
As a follow up, if anyone has a suggestion for where I might find the best strategy card or articles to learn this game (and machine) cold, I'd appreciate it.
 
Lastly, how many lines do most people play and when do they make the leap?
 
I appreciate any and all feedback and please feel free to point out any mistakes in my reasoning or if I've missed something. Thanks to all for their help!
 
~Frog

[shadowman]

The extra coin does improve the payback slightly. It also increases the variance which may or may not be what you want. See:
 
http://wizardofodds.com/videopoker/tabl ... s-pay.html

[BOOPSAHOY]

mudfrog-be ccareful with the STP-it can eat up your bankroll real fast. If you play it theres no point unless you play the extra coin.

[Mudfrog]

Thanks for the quick responses!
BOOPSAHOY, would you elaborate on your caution regarding STP eating up your bankroll fast? As a real newbie to VP, I don't readily see where the difference you've eluded to comes into play.
 
Again, thanks for the timely responses...
 
~Frog

[bigboy]

STP costs 6 credits per hand and it is based upon a multi-hand platform. You could play a single hand, as opposed to playing 3,5,or 10 hands. Most people don't have the discipline to play just one hand, hence, the $$$$$$ can go quickly. Also, the multiplier will come on average, every 15 hands. So, for each single hand that you play, you are looking at an average of 15 additional coins lost before the multiplier appears. But, that multiplier may produce squat for you when it does come up. Over the long haul, it produces a slightly higher return over playing a 5 coin table. Variance is the term that applies here. I'll defer to shadow for a better explanation of variance.

[vpguy3]

Realize also that bigboy said "on average" the multiplier comes up every 15 hands. My last trip to LV I was averaging every 30 hands and it sucked up my bankroll enough that I gave up on STP and haven't played it since; what a beating I took

[shadowman]

Variance is essentially how much you tend to depart from the average (that is Expected Return) for a session. The higher the variance the larger swings you will see. The extra cost of the sixth coin causes the increase in variance since the paytable is still based on 5 coins.

[BOOPSAHOY]

If you are playing 3 lines, at 6 coins per line you need to hit for 18 coins or more to recoup, if you arent having very good hands and you arent hitting when you ahve the multiplier, you can go down real fast! Its a very exciting game, especially when you gt the multipier with a good hand. ENJOY!

[blublonde]

mudfrog, hey everyone is playing that game out here in cali,  it seems like a sucker bet to me, except for the other day when 4 queens came with a 3 times play , other than that though the extra quarter per line takes its toll, on your bankroll.

[rascal]

The game has a huge variance because of the floating multiplier and because the multiplier itself, when it comes up, has 6 different possible numerical results.
You are going to lose most of the time. The only possible victory on this machine is occasionally hitting a whopper jackpot that outweighs many, many small losses. Playing this game regularly for the past four years, I have had three large jackpots, about 25-30 more modest jackpots, many smaller jackpots, and literally hundreds and hundreds of losing sessions.
 
Yet I am still ahead although the gap is narrowing daily.
 
When the original VP variance is kicked up a notch with a multiplier, and then kicked up another notch with 6 possible random multiplier results, you are talking about so much variance that the basic strategy for this game is LUCK.