Florida Phil's Obsession with Me

[BobDancer]

This is you chance to tell us its BS, it don't work, I dare you to step up and show you are willing to put the time into it like a few of us have before bashing it. Dare ya.

Whew! I'm glad he didn't double dare me! Then I might have to do it! (Not!)thank you for your post. it cleared up several things. The big key is that your coin in this year is $100K less than last year. That is the big reason for your better results. If you can lower your coin-in by another $100K next year, your results will be better still.Being down only a quarter percent while playing a game with about a 5 percent edge is fantastically lucky. You seem to believe the reason you haven't done better is you haven't done well on your max-coin bets. You've actually done MUCH MUCH better than expectation.Your future results won't be as favorable. Playing a 95% game will, in the long run, turn out to be a 95% game --- not a 99.75% game. Playing mistakes will lower the return further still.

[alpax]

For a guy who says he's not going to promote his CS anymore, FP is sure posting a lot in its defense.$250 a week, huh? That's $13,000 a year. (That just might make you a mid-size roller on this site.) Quit playing a few years and you'll have sufficient bankroll to play dollars. You can actually play in New Orleans at an advantage on $1 Triple Play NSU, including various promotions. That's close enough to Florida for you to go there a few times a year (especially since they'll cover your airfare and rooms) and become Seven Stars. to be sure you'll have to build up your bankroll a bit, but skipping a few years of $250/week losses will have you there in very little time. You'll have to build up your accuracy level from the 98% accuracy you say is okay, but hey --- you have some time to do it while you're putting your $250 a week in the bank! That's a far better solution than playing 97% games --- however many quarters at a time!



Not sure if you are willing to divulge this, but does age have a factor in getting airfare/rooms comped at Caesar's Total Rewards casino club? I've lurked on a forum where some one played the exact game at Harrah's N.O. to build towards Seven Stars status. The person got what he called "mediocre" offers without airfare compensated for future visits. A great incentive to go to N.O. is that the casino is smoke free.

FP is about the same age as you are, so asking people to hold off for years during post-retirement is asking a lot. I've suggested this but most likely got ignored, for FP to explore the SouthPoint casino where just the casino club alone will make their 25c NSU a break even game even before the promotions. I also heard the South Point does not cater much to out of towners, so that gives. The 3% less hold (break even versus 97% game) is a benefit if FP is willing to coin in $20k on the trip to negate the travel costs (if it costs less than $600 to get there from Florida, $20k play in quarters is quite a lot).

[FloridaPhil]

This is all good and well, but you guys are missing the point.  My desire is to play video poker one full day a week. I don't live in Vegas, I live in Orlando and I don't want to fly to Vegas every week.  I also don't want to drive 3 hours round trip to the Tampa Hard Rock and go home in an hour.   There is no nickel video poker in Florida.  Playing single coin quarters allows me to stretch my $250 into a full day's play.  Switching to max coins after every four coin win keeps the game exciting because I have a chance of  a max coin win.  After playing this way for a few months, I found that switching to dollars at $25 worked pretty well.  I hit a few $200 quad deuces doing this and then one for $1,000 which really got me rolling.  I hit my first $4,000 royal last year and I was convinced.   The fact that I am ahead after three years is not what this is about.  It's about finding a solution to a problem.  Cheap Strategy is not about math, it's about having fun playing video poker on a budget without losing your tail.

[ko king]

The way I see it, Bob Dancer is not necessarily trying to teach people how to be like him or how to be a professional VP player. All he is really saying to the recreational player is: (i) pay attention to pay tables and find the best ones you can; (ii) study and practice strategy so you are playing as optimally as possible; and (iii) pay attention to benefits such as points, giveaways, comps, etc., which have value and will add to your total return. It's like watching a how-to video by a PGA pro -- he doesn't expect you to play as well as him, but he's giving basic pointers that will allow you to maximize your skill and play better. Of course, Mr. Dancer might disagree, but that is how I look at it. He's not trying to sell anyone a bill of goods.

{(i) pay attention to pay tables and find the best ones you can;}

Check.

{(ii) study and practice strategy so you are playing as optimally as possible;}

Check.

{(iii) pay attention to benefits such as points, giveaways, comps, etc., which have value and will add to your total return.}

Check.

Great advice, I stuck to this plan and it worked very well for 18 years running. The wheels fell of the bus a few years back and I finally gave up trying. I sought out and found equal pay tables at a reduced denomination, still got crushed in a big way. I haven't played in about a month now, the tried and true method isn't working out for me anymore.

[BobDancer]

Not sure if you are willing to divulge this, but does age have a factor in getting airfare/rooms comped at Caesar's Total Rewards casino club? I've lurked on a forum where some one played the exact game at Harrah's N.O. to build towards Seven Stars status. The person got what he called "mediocre" offers without airfare compensated for future visits. A great incentive to go to N.O. is that the casino is smoke free.

FP is about the same age as you are, so asking people to hold off for years during post-retirement is asking a lot. I've suggested this but most likely got ignored, for FP to explore the SouthPoint casino where just the casino club alone will make their 25c NSU a break even game even before the promotions. I also heard the South Point does not cater much to out of towners, so that gives. The 3% less hold (break even versus 97% game) is a benefit if FP is willing to coin in $20k on the trip to negate the travel costs (if it costs less than $600 to get there from Florida, $20k play in quarters is quite a lot).yes playing that game exclusively in NOLA can hurt your offers. Still, after the first year, you get a seven stars trip and an appreciation award that can easily cover airfare. But no matter, FP isn't interested. He's committed to a 1-day-a-week gambling trip near his home even though there are no games to play.  The South Point does award out-of-towners. I'm not sure of the rate. Unfortunately the cashback on $20K coin-in is $60, not $600. For a quarter player, flying across the country to Las Vegas just to get a better gamble simply does not make economic sense. There are other reasons to come to Vegas, but it makes more sense for higher-denomination players.

[EDC1977]

I started playing VP in the mid 90's. Studying various methods and paying attention to paytables etc, I gained a slight edge. Living in Ca. had me at a disadvantage since lower denom games always had bad paytables. The sole reason for my trips to LV was to play games at 99%+ paytables. It did help me to play and at least break even considering: cost of trip, RFB and any entertainment $$$ aside from a gaming bankroll. I've attended a few of Bob's classes and they're quite informative and helpful to my gaming. I won't knock either system, only that you don't donate any more than you have to to the house edge. Play as optimal as possible to cut your losses and hopefully Lady Luck will shine your way. It really is about not falling prey to the house putting out a bank of machines at a 6/5 paytable vs. a 9/6 game. Find your game and good luck! That's my 2 cents worth.

[Galeygoo]

I've been listening to your two or three cents worth for a long time now, EDC....they've always been priceless to me.....just sayin.....you are a funny guy....

[alpax]

yes playing that game exclusively in NOLA can hurt your offers. Still, after the first year, you get a seven stars trip and an appreciation award that can easily cover airfare. But no matter, FP isn't interested. He's committed to a 1-day-a-week gambling trip near his home even though there are no games to play.  The South Point does award out-of-towners. I'm not sure of the rate. Unfortunately the cashback on $20K coin-in is $60, not $600. For a quarter player, flying across the country to Las Vegas just to get a better gamble simply does not make economic sense. There are other reasons to come to Vegas, but it makes more sense for higher-denomination players.

I appreciate the response. I did not think of the annual travel and guaranteed room benefit that comes with being a Seven Stars member. FP does not believe your advice works, but the lack of studying casino clubs is one noticeable vulnerability you've uncovered.

FP's local casino Hard Rock Tampa does carry 35<all quads>-8-5 Bonus Poker for $1 denomination and up as well as 9/6 Jacks or Better for $2 denomination. I see it on VPFree and on the casino's website winners page. I am confident you will be able to find a way to play towards your favor if you were stuck in Florida out of imagination.

I should have been more clear that the cashback at the SouthPoint makes the NSU Deuces game theoretically break even compared to a 97% game FP claims to be playing. That is where I got the theoretical loss of $600 number if $20k coin in was played on a 97% game compared to a break even game. Then again $20k is not even close to reaching the long term result.

I have been following past posts, FP does not want to believe the opportunities in Vegas is good enough to warrant a return visit, at least the SouthPoint is one of the closest if not the closest to the McCarran Airport to avoid the Strip. billyjoe and Vman96 have tried thoroughly that Full Pay Deuces Wild does exist in Vegas locals casinos.

I will need to figure out on my own what it takes to get RFB from SouthPoint. The M Resort nearby did offer RFB for playing quarters.

[DougJ]

In the Kansas City area, the local casinos have abysmal pay tables. 8/5 DDB, even on dollar games.

Four casinos within 40 minutes from my home.
But, I never ever go. Never.

Some people, like FP, are committed to that one day/week gambling trip, no matter what. If FP wants to deem that $250/week to be his "entertainment" budget, so be it.

I prefer to fly to Vegas 6 times/year. I save my gambling budget for those trips by not wasting them on 8/5 pay tables in Kansas City.
I disagree with Bob that "flying across the country to Las Vegas just to get a better gamble simply does not make economic sense."
We get generous RFB at locals casinos such as the M. For a week every single trip.
Don't know about airfare from Florida to Vegas, but Kansas City has inexpensive flights on Southwest.

[Tedlark]

Excellent post Doug. Unless I do decide to go to a local casino, my weekly entertainment budget is well under $250.00. As a result of my most recent trip to Las Vegas I've been contacted by casino hosts from Red Rock, the M, and South Point. This is in addition to my CET host.