Return from AC

[DaBurglar]

I came back from my recent AC trip yesterday.....overall it was a slightly profitable excursion but only because my total Video Poker playing time was under 10 hours for the period running from Wednesday morning (april 15 last week) thru Saturday night (April 18).....I played mostly No limit Texas Holdem, $1-2   and $2-5 blinds at Golden Nugget, Borgata and HArrahs!   I covered all my basic expenses (bus travel, fees for the "free" rooms I stayed in, and food) and wound up coming home with approx. $150 more cash than I took with me, so I figure I was up a total of $450-500 for the time I was there.....but I do know the 10 hours or so of VO I played I lost about $250 so my POKER winnings were around 750-800 bucks, give or take........I played in NO tournaments, just lots of long cash game sessions of at least several hours long, or more (longest was a 7 hour stint I pulled at the Borgata on Friday afternoon into the early evening.)As other people have pointed out, AC was seemingly busy this past weekend, but in actuality I think it was more a case of people congregating at several of the same places all at once, while IGNORING or avoiding other locations (like Trump Taj and Resorts), because on Friday night at least, after I finished my 7 hour Borgata session, I returned to Resorts for dinner and after wards was hanging around there and the TAJ, and I would not say either place was anywhere near as packed or busy as HArrahs or caesars was........this bodes ILL for both properties now that the busy season is nigh upon us!Anyway, the good news is my poker skills (at least as far as the game of No limit texas holdem is concerned) are sharpening up nicely so I am looking forward to putting them to work this summer and beyond in both AC and Vegas.......

[Eduardo]

You played 10 hours of VP in Atlantic City (on negative expectation machines I assume) and only lost $250?

I'll take that as an admission that whatever issues you thought there were with the machines are resolved.

That's great news!

[notes1]

glad to hear you played more real poker than VP. i believe i suggested that some time ago. also, agree with eduardo, only losing $250 for 10 hours of play, seems reasonable.

[alpax]

Hope your VP skills get up to where you want it to be. However there is no disputing results of live poker. Good job on the win and thanks for sharing!

[DaBurglar]

glad to hear you played more real poker than VP. i believe i suggested that some time ago. also, agree with eduardo, only losing $250 for 10 hours of play, seems reasonable.well I would love to be able to tell you notes1 that YOU are the reason I now play the way I play and do what I do, but that would of course be a falsehood.......in terms of coin-in/dollars I have reduced my VP play in AC by at least 50% since the end of 2013/early 2014, and in terms of actual TIME it is even more stark (I'd estimate I play about 60-65% less time at VP in atlantic city, or roughly speaking a "2/3" reduction.....I guesstimate the time by the fact that over this last trip where I played about 10 hours, in the past years between 2009 and 2013 over a similar time period and number of days I would typically log in about 30+ hours TOTAL time,  if not more......)My overall loss of 250 bucks playing a typically lousy AC paytable is, indeed, nothing to be scoffed at, but it bears making several remarks:During this 10 hours of play, I really did not swing too far up or down the entire time;  no HUGE hits, etc.    But one thing that is also extremely different NOW than in the past years when I played VP a lot more prolificly is the choice of games and paytables.     One of my BIGGEST gripes and peeves, and the reason I felt AC video poker was somehow skewed to really put players at a disadvantage, was I played MOSTLY 99% return games like the ubiquitous 8/5 bonus poker available at several AC casinos, and likewise other 99% plus games like 9/6 JOB and several others......I also must confess I was NOT playing any where near my usual level of either SPEED, intensity or enthusiasm during this trip, so while my OVERALL dollar loss appears reasonable, my number of hands and total coin in for my 10 hours was definitely less than normal, but how much less I have not yet bothered to calculate....again, my best guesstimate at this moment is I was chugging along at about 75% of normal speed/capacity, mainly due to the fact I was most interested in simply killing time (or on several occasions chatting with friends or total strangers I saw on the casino floor!)Still, I obviously do not have the absurd luck that some other people here seem to have, wherein no matter WHAT capacity or speed or goal or whatever is involved, I rarely nail that super hand like Royals or AWAK, etc.I can state with 100% certainty that my "ATTITUDE" during my trip in AC ran the gamut of ALL frames of mind, from blissfully positive to Oscar-the-Grouch incarnate, and all points in between.......it made no difference.And in fact, my single best LIVE n/l holdem session happened when i was in a extremely ornery mood due to a physical ailment that had me in a lot of pain for several hours, so that blows the positive mental outlook theory as ensuring success out the window

[Tedlark]

DaBurglar I hope you are not suffering from another round of kidneystones.

During the time when you were playing video poker and you were chatting with friends did you miss any hands because your attention was divided? I mean were you using optimal play strategy while you were chatting?

[FAA]

I mean were you using optimal play strategy while you were chatting?LOL. VP is not surgery. I think DB has sufficient intellectual capacity to multitask.

[DaBurglar]

I mean were you using optimal play strategy while you were chatting?LOL. VP is not surgery. I think DB has sufficient intellectual capacity to multitask.

    Good post FAA......yes, I can "wheel and chew gum" at the same time, for those amongst the Forum crowd who are wondering......and also for those wondering (I mean GENUINELY and SINCERELY wondering in terms of concern for my health and well being), the affliction I was dealing with was indeed Kidney Stones, but fortunately it was a bunch of SMALL, sandy "gravel" sized stones instead of the usual LARGE, single, solitary stone that moves (and blocks) the ureter and takes several days to pass.    I am glad that you (FAA) at least acknowledged (and recognized) the absurd attempt to "bait" me into yet another pointless exchange .... thanks for the assist.

[Tedlark]

DaBurglar I was making a genuine inquiry, no different as you so often do. I did not however; ask you what you were going to do with your winnings.

[FAA]

DB, I lost $60 Sunday in two hours of Tropicana VP play. Without a quad, I guess a $25 per hour loss is the new normal. It certainly put a damper on my day after winning $40 elsewhere. Well, my voucher was $25. If you consider that actual currency, I netted $15 in twenty minutes. I really got hammered at Trop, as all I play is ultra slow quarter JOB! WTH.