Is that payback % adjustable.... I think so.

[pokeherguy]

{eta: I know what I saw but sadly I don't know what it meant.}
I saw techs in the machines often at my bad luck casino (casino B). Having played at casino A for around 10 years the only time I recall seeing techs in the machine was to fix a coin drop problem but now days its the floor slot attendent who opens the machine to get a ticket thats jammed. Thats not to say they were doing anything wrong but it was odd to see them messing around with them as much as they did. I also mentioned one time that while I was playing a vp machine the machine went all blue and all it said was "performing memory check" I couldn't do anything until it got done. And no this had nothing to do with power loss or anything of that nature. Never in all my years of vp play had I ever saw this before and it happened to me twice. Why would a vp machine perform a memory check? Did it forget what it was supposed to be doing? OR WAS IT SOMETHING ELSE? 

[Deloradeuces18]

What is going on here? If you are suspicious that the games can be rigged to return below what is advertised and you play any way, THEN you have a gambling problem, or a problem with overcommitment, or some kind of problem. Why would you play a game that you suspect is rigged?
 
If there were rumors of a specific blackjack dealer cheating, would you play his table just to see how you do?
 
I play video poker specifically because I can trust it. If a casino does something that violates that trust, they will be hammered. End of story. This stuff is reg-u-lated folks! And machines don't plot against you.
 
We all have bad days, piss and moan that the casinos cheated us, blah blah blah. But if that sentiment is anything more than superficial for you, it's time to find a new hobby.
 
If you've had back luck at a particular casino, I feel for you. We all have those experiences. Just like I can never get a flippin' window seat at my favorite restaurant.

[pokeherguy]

{But ain't this more fun than discussing the same old boring thing. I love a good conspiracy theory whether its true or not. }
 
Just so you know. Its more about the possibilities.

[spxChrome]

To clarify I never said anyone was cheating, rigging or demonstrating illegal activity.  I only brought attention to the belief that a payback precentage could be altered without altering the paytable.  Is it so far fetched?  If you compare it to all events that have happened in our life that made you go "IMPOSSIBLE" then I would say this is far down that list and very possible.  Especially for those casinos that are not regulated by the same governing bodies as American soil casinos.  Ironically in this situation it was the other way around.  I know after double digit years of playing my W2's and ATM receipts don't lie.
 
I don't get special aces on DDB ever 16K hands or a Royal every 40K hands or even a 4K every 423 hands.  Can anyone say they do?  I think after double digit years of playing I should be pretty close to those stats and its just not the case.

[shadowman]

I don't get special aces on DDB ever 16K hands or a Royal every 40K hands or even a 4K every 423 hands.  Can anyone say they do?  I think after double digit years of playing I should be pretty close to those stats and its just not the case.
 
The number of years is not important. It's the number of hands (statistical samples) where you would see stuff average out. That said, it's unlikely anyone will the see the exact numbers, even over millions of hands. In addition, we humans aren't real good at keeping records. I know because I keep records and I know I miss things once in awhile.
 
However, if you have been keeping records let us know what you have. If 4oaks are averaging every 430 hands then you are probably within reason. If it's every 600 hands then something is wrong. 
 
In addition, this is all based on playing perfect strategy. Recently on vpfree someone has been asking about "risk of ruin" because they lost $5500 playing FPDW. The odds of this happening were around 1-3%. However, then the person admitted they play at around 100.46% when they practice and who knows how they play in a casino. All of sudden this loss becomes much more likely. To use statistics to analyze VP results is not as simple as might seem.

[pokeherguy]

{I play video poker specifically because I can trust it.}
 
This is for Deloradeuces18. How do you know you can trust it?  

[shadowman]

I can tell you one way you can "trust it". Play almost a million hands a year, always play with an edge, play accurately and track your results.
 
I've done this for many years and have found my results track very nicely with expected results. Naturally, there are good and bad streaks. I have better luck in some casino than in others. I have better luck on some machines than on others. This is normal. In fact, it is required if the games are truly random. I had a bad streak in one casino that had odds of 1 in 10,000 of happening. I still knew they were honest as I saw other players doing quite well.
 
After double digits years of playing I feel comfortable that the machines provided by the big manufacturers are trustworthy.
 
Remember, it's not the casinos that build/program the machines. In addition, the law in NV, where most of the VP machines are built, require them to meet the requirements of the state in which they are sold. If the state requires random and fair results, the manufacturers MUST adhere to this or face fines and/or loss of license. It's big business and what manufacturer would risk their multi-million dollar business to help a casino cheat?????

[damule]

I'm just saying what I saw.  This was on a bank of 8 $1 progessive machines.  And I'm not a once a year nickel player.  I had W2's of over 200K last year and a coinin/coinout over 750k and I have been playing for 12 years.  Is it so bizarre to think that a casino can legally create their own payback precentage without adjusting the paytables?
 
@scorpio - I feel your pain, after staying even for about 8 hours last Sat. night I won a drawing for $1,000 of free play and then went $3,400 before hitting another 4ofK.  Guy next to me won the next drawing for $1,000K and went $2,700 before hitting his next 4ofK.  Go figure.  There is a fine art to the entire thing... believe that.
 

[damule]

spx,
     Either your calculations are way off or you're the luckiest player on earth. To have $200k in W2's with only $750k in play would be like hitting a royal every few hours.

[scorpio2]

thanks ya'll,i see now plainly,it takes thinking to play vp,that's why the 5-1,10-1 differential.