CS Revisited

[FAA]

A two hour quad free JOB rut is usually my ruin, as I am always underfunded.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=FAA] two hour quad free JOB rut is usually my ruin, as I am always underfunded.
[/quote]Being well funded does not insulate you from loosing.   You can push a wheelbarrow full of money into the casino and still walk out broke sometimes.  Been there, done it... 

[olds442jetaway]

     I don't remember wheeling in a wheelbarrow full, but I do reluctantly recall some years ago hitting a Royal between 1 and 2k a couple of times and still walking out down for the session. That feeling can't even be described. I just remember looking in the mirror in the men's room and seeing the word idiot in bold capital letters on my forehead.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=olds442jetaway] I don't remember wheeling in a wheelbarrow full, but I do reluctantly
recall some years ago hitting a Royal between 1 and 2k a couple of times
and still walking out down for the session.[/quote]This first happened to me about 6 years ago.  I was very depressed and began seriously thinking about why I was playing video poker in the first place. I had read all the books, studied the holds, practiced until my hands hurt and I played good games.  The "man" told me he got rich doing what I was doing and I failed.  How could this happen? I eventually realized that video poker math is not guaranteed because chance is such a big part of the game.  I also realized that I needed to get a handle on my losses first, and let the jackpots take care of themselves.  Grinding it out at $1.25 a hand or $125 is the same thing.... gambling with your money.  Anyone who tells you that bankroll, or comps or odds or anything on this planet can guarantee you will be a winner is being dishonest.   No one that I know of makes that guarantee, but it is an unspoken assumption by a lot of players who don't read the disclaimer.

[ko king]

      I don't remember wheeling in a wheelbarrow full, but I do reluctantly recall some years ago hitting a Royal between 1 and 2k a couple of times and still walking out down for the session. That feeling can't even be described. I just remember looking in the mirror in the men's room and seeing the word idiot in bold capital letters on my forehead.


Been there, done that. Don't feel like the Lone Ranger, I'm sure most of us have worn the same shoes.

[olds442jetaway]

Playing CS starting with 5 quarters and on the hits of 4 times your bet or more betting max of 25 wipes out the nearly 2 percent royal penalty and follows all of the CS rules. The downside is it will be 5 times more expensive to play it should the royal not come in. I have tried it a couple of times so far and lost both times, but I didn't hit quad deuces either. Both times the losses were in the 300 buck range and both sessions did have some wild royals and 5 of a kinds. This was on airport deuces. The hit on the usual CS starting at 1 would only have been 60 bucks. That is the trade off when no royal arrives which is most of the time. When it does arrive though, we are talking about a hit of either 1k or 5k. I haven't had a 5k hit since 2001. That would sure be nice. A quad deuces hit of 1250 dollars would be welcome as well. My guess is though on a really bad stretch where virtually no 5 of a kinds or wild royals appeared never mind the 2 biggies, the loss could approach a thousand bucks a session. I guess we might have to alter the name a little to CSFHR....CS for higher rollers... for the CS game that begins at bet 5 quarters.

[FloridaPhil]

If you have the bankroll, you can use CS and stay within traditional strategy guidelines.   The financial object of CS is to minimize losses when playing negative games by placing very small bets.  Some players think CS is a more exciting way to play video poker and apply it to larger denominations.  Please note:  I do not advocate doing this unless you are willing to accept the potential negative effect it can have on your bankroll.Start out and stay with max coins. On a 20 coin win or higher, exit the game and move up in denomination. Return to max coins at the lower denomination when you lose a hand.   I played this way when I was ahead last year and it was a money hungry monster, so I abandoned it.   To me, it seemed better to just flat bet max coins and move up when you feel the urge.Playing above your bankroll is never a good idea, but we all seem to do it anyway.   I think this urge is the main cause of "walking out broke" disease.   If you read "Million Dollar Video Poker", you can clearly see this is what Mr. & Mrs Dancer were doing when they had the $500K evening.  He justified it because he believed they had the edge.  They were extremely lucky which he openly admitted in the book. I try to suppress this urge, but it keeps creeping back in.   I'm a human being, not a machine... 

[olds442jetaway]

It would be so much easier to play CS if the machines in your area allowed a 25 coin max bet like Mohegan Sun does. I have tried the change denomination route, and I know it is crazy, but it doesn't seem to work as well as staying in the same game and denomination. It could be because just like in basketball, a time out gets called by the team suffering an amazing run by their opponent and they are trying to break the momentum. That usually works by the way in sports. In vp it shouldn't matter at all, but whether it is perception or not, it does seem to. To me, keeping that momentum going on those very quick and seldom hot streaks is very rewarding sometimes. Nonsense, of course, but if it seems to work that way for us and keeps us a happy player, so much the better. . Finally getting some amazing weather in the 60's and 70's up north here. Fruit tree blossoms popping out all over. Let me know anytime you folks or any of the gang get up this way. The wife and I need a break. Heading up later this evening. Bagged nearly 50 bags of leaves the last 2 days mostly from one huge red maple that covers the entire small back yard. The town just picked them up, so we are set to go after spending some time with dad in a little while.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=olds442jetaway]I have tried the change denomination route, and I know it is crazy, but
it doesn't seem to work as well as staying in the same game and
denomination. It could be because just like in basketball, a time out
gets called by the team suffering an amazing run by their opponent and
they are trying to break the momentum.[/quote]I have noticed the same phenomenon. I don't talk about it openly on this forum because I know it will bring the wrath of the math guys down on me. As the leader is now on vacation, I'll come right out and tell you that is exactly why I prefer single coin CS.  I don't have any idea why this happens, but it is exactly as you describe.   Some things just can't be explained.

[billryan]

Voodoo and superstitions.   Just what an aspiring video poker player comes here for. do you find using one hand to press the buttons works better than two? Do you get better results with Franklins or Jacksons?