Another Happy Ending

[Tedlark]

Phil, when you say that:"anything that reduces coin-in reduces loses" is true but what you also need to say is reduced coin-in also results in reduced payouts.

[FAA]

Congratulations. My RF occurred at the same juncture: 2/3 BR in casino's possession. What possesses us to continue is a matter for psychological expertise.

[FloridaPhil]

Phil, when you say that:"anything that reduces coin-in reduces loses" is true but what you also need to say is reduced coin-in also results in reduced payouts.

Definitely true. In this case, it reduces the quad deuce pay out from $250 to $200 while increasing the wild royal from $20 to $25 and the 5-of-a-kind payout from $12 to $15. Even without the royal bonus, single coin dollars is a slightly better game. This is not true at the Hollywood Casino where you can play 98.9% DW in quarters.

The big issue is the royal flush bonus. Is it worth 20% more coin-in to go for a royal on a 97% game? If you have the option of playing 98.9% DW at the dollar level, I say NO. The way I play VP, the odds of hitting a max coin dollar quad deuce for $1,000 is much greater than hitting a max coin quarter royal for the same money. A quad deuce is 9 times more likely than a royal flush. I normally hit a couple of $1,000 quads each year. This is about the same number of royals I hit playing max coins all the time. If I hit a $4,000 royal flush, I am ahead of a single coin dollar game for a very long time. This takes luck. This has happened to me more than once.

I am of the belief that all VP jackpots involve some luck. For those who like to think math owes them jackpots, that fine. I don't. What I want to do is play cheaper (less coin-in), play better games and switch denomination when it feels right. This is not the way a professional would approach the game. I am not a professional VP player nor am I pretending to be. My investment is low and my potential is high. For me, it works better than sitting around watching my money go down a 97% rate hole.

I don't always play this way. If a casino gives me good games to play, I play them fully. If they don't, I modify my strategy to fit their games. If a casino wants me to play bigger, they must give me a decent chance to win or I won't play their games with max coins. Playing max coins on 97% games is not worth the money.

What we have here is a discussion of one person's approach to playing negative video poker games. It's not a tutorial. We need more of this. VP experts have painted themselves into a corner. They won't talk about playing negative games other than to say not to play them. In the mean time, odds have dropped and the world outside their books is playing these games. Until the experts address this issue, the experts will only be expert on a shrinking field of games few people can play.

[FAA]

Switch denomination when it feels right is key. Not to chase losses desperately. Stay calm, collected, rational. Relax.

[FloridaPhil]

Switch denomination when it feels right is key. Not to chase losses desperately. Stay calm, collected, rational. Relax.

Have fun. Life is stressful enough without adding more than you already have.

[Tedlark]

Phil, when you say that:"anything that reduces coin-in reduces loses" is true but what you also need to say is reduced coin-in also results in reduced payouts.

Definitely true. In this case, it reduces the quad deuce pay out from $250 to $200 while increasing the wild royal from $20 to $25 and the 5-of-a-kind payout from $12 to $15. Even without the royal bonus, single coin dollars is a slightly better game. This is not true at the Hollywood Casino where you can play 98.9% DW in quarters.

The big issue is the royal flush bonus. Is it worth 20% more coin-in to go for a royal on a 97% game? If you have the option of playing 98.9% DW at the dollar level, I say NO. The way I play VP, the odds of hitting a max coin dollar quad deuce for $1,000 is much greater than hitting a max coin quarter royal for the same money. A quad deuce is 9 times more likely than a royal flush. I normally hit a couple of $1,000 quads each year. This is about the same number of royals I hit playing max coins all the time. If I hit a $4,000 royal flush, I am ahead of a single coin dollar game for a very long time. This takes luck. This has happened to me more than once.

I am of the belief that all VP jackpots involve some luck. For those who like to think math owes them jackpots, that fine. I don't. What I want to do is play cheaper (less coin-in), play better games and switch denomination when it feels right. This is not the way a professional would approach the game. I am not a professional VP player nor am I pretending to be. My investment is low and my potential is high. For me, it works better than sitting around watching my money go down a 97% rate hole.

I don't always play this way. If a casino gives me good games to play, I play them fully. If they don't, I modify my strategy to fit their games. If a casino wants me to play bigger, they must give me a decent chance to win or I won't play their games with max coins. Playing max coins on 97% games is not worth the money.

What we have here is a discussion of one person's approach to playing negative video poker games. It's not a tutorial. We need more of this. VP experts have painted themselves into a corner. They won't talk about playing negative games other than to say not to play them. In the mean time, odds have dropped and the world outside their books is playing these games. Until the experts address this issue, the experts will only be expert on a shrinking field of games few people can play.

I am not talking about comparing single coin $1.00 play vs. max coin .25 play. I am talking about reduced payouts when playing single coin. Period.

[FloridaPhil]

I am not talking about comparing single coin $1.00 play vs. max coin .25 play. I am talking about reduced payouts when playing single coin. Period.

If you bet less, you win less. If you bet less playing negative video poker games, you lose less. Period.

[olds442jetaway]

Great job Phil.

[FAA]

WTG. After all my grandstanding this morning, I played a ton of max dollar JOB today. It worked out, as I reunited with my pal quad. Happy Hypocrite home bound!