Biloxi

[notes1]

Chicago, your trip was consistent with what I, and I am guessing many others have experienced. how we do financially comes down to just a few hands. you likely played 10's of thousands of hands and your overall results were heavily dictated by the 2 DDB at $5.

get those and you have had a good trip,don't get them and ....

again, congrats!

[FAA]

It's so deflating to consider. Elation to depression hinging on whether a quad or two come in on the trip. And that's just for the low rollers.

[Chicagoan]

notes1 is exactly right!!! You play thousands and thousands of hands and the outcome of just a few hands determines whether the trip was or was not a success. I always laugh when an AP tells me that it is the overall play on good paytables, not individual hands, that produce a profit.

Interesting side note: At most places I have played, the paytables drop as you move from $1 up. But at IP, the paytable actually gets better for $5, $10, and $25. At Silver Slipper, where I did well on both sessions, you lose traction as you go from $1 to $5 --- in DDB flush drops from 30 to 25, and in DW 5 of a kind drops from 80 to 60.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=Chicagoan]notes1 is exactly right!!! You play thousands and thousands of hands and
the outcome of just a few hands determines whether the trip was or was
not a success. I always laugh when an AP tells me that it is the overall
play on good paytables, not individual hands, that produce a profit.[/quote]A truer statement has never been stated on this forum.   Much of our results depends upon hitting a few rare hands and there is no strategy in the world that can force them to happen.  Good hand strategy and better pay tables let you play longer with the same money, they do not guarantee jackpots will happen no matter how skilled you are.  

[notes1]

when I play, it is always single line quarters. not saying this is right, just how I do it.

in your case, the end results really could vary wildly, due to the change in denomination you play. your 2 big hands accounted for $20k on wins and I think you said your overall net was +$10k. just playing those two big hands at $1 instead of $5 would have made a huge difference.

for the average recreational player, over the course of a year, a couple of dozen hands will decide whether someone wins/looses and how much.

I understand and agree with the argument about better paytables, but on the machines that many of us play, 'small ball' will only get one so far. you need to hit premium hands.

as I never play at higher than a quarter, I am surprised when you say the paytables get worse. I just assumed they got better.

[FAA]

for the average recreational player, over the course of a year, a couple
of dozen hands will decide whether someone wins/loses and how much.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For me, one. I hit annual RF, so I will be break even on the year. Had I missed it all year, I'd be paying for the privilege of my 200 VP hours.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=notes1]I understand and agree with the argument about better paytables, but on
the machines that many of us play, 'small ball' will only get one so
far. you need to hit premium hands.[/quote]This is why I believe it's a good idea for a recreational player to make "very limited" higher denomination play a part of your overall strategy.   This is difficult for most people to pull off because of the discipline required.  The math says playing a negative game bigger causes you to lose bigger.  However, If you use a hit and run strategy and don't get sucked into an extended losing situation you can benefit from a lucky circumstance.  Math does not always tell the entire story.  I'm not disputing anyone's strategy, I'm stating what works for me.

[pokerpokerpoker]

...ice cold on the $5 and you lost $500 or $700 - doesn't sound too bad to me. In my few forays on the fives, $500 could only be a few minutes of play.

[case]

Losing 500 on 5 dollar poker is just 20 hands. I agree that is excellent results on ice cold machines.