RNG Questions

[tech58]

Caught up on last two weeks of posts (kind of like tip-toeing thru a mine-field)
Many posts indicating a belief that the casino, thru their server, can play with things such as the RNG.
Being a dinosaur with limited computer skills i do not in any way mean to question any of you.
However let me add a piece of personal experience for your consideration.
Jan 16,2016 i hit a $5 royal and before the pay-off ritual began,a slick-suit showed up with a note-book and a tech and they proceeded to dive into the guts of the machine and check something against the book, reading off numbers and checking a list i guess.
So being somewhat less than a disinterested bystander i asked,very courteously,what was going on?
He very nicely explained that they were verifying that the machine was "as shipped" and that "the chip" serial number was "as shipped".
My interpretation of this, to date,has been that the machine "chip" contained everything about the game,RNG included, and was not alterable locally.
Since i have been wrong before ,on occasion, i await friendly feedback (gently please).

BTW been busy breaking even the last two weeks (thanks to two hail-mary pot-shots) and as you all know sometimes that feels just like a win.

[FAA]

So you basically Martingaled your break even trips, i.e., chased losses. I've seen that movie.

[olds442jetaway]

Me too, but the reruns can be more entertaining than the original sometimes. On the other hand, when the old 8mm film breaks, and you have to wait and wait and sometimes the movie never starts up again, you have to dump out or save the last few kernals of your now stale popcorn and go home. Those under 65 here will have absolutely no idea what I am talking about in relation to vp. If you get exactly what I mean you have been around the block a few times.

[FloridaPhil]

My interpretation of this, to date,has been that the machine "chip" contained everything about the game,RNG included, and was not alterable locally.

Modern computer's are miracles of miniaturization. When I first started working on computers, they took up entire rooms. Today your phone has millions of times more capability. There aren't many things in today's computers you can mess around with unless you have the capability of creating a custom chip. If there is any rigging going on, it would take a conspiracy between the manufacturers and the casinos themselves. As I have stated, this would be difficult to conceal and more expensive than it's worth. In video poker anything that can happen will.

I went to the Tampa Hard Rock yesterday. All the 98.9% machines from a dollar down have been downgraded to 97%. To play the 98.9% game, you must play $25 a hand. No thanks. The world is full of people who will. Yesterday someone paid $91 million dollars for a metal sculpture of a rabbit.

[tech58]

So you basically Martingaled your break even trips, i.e., chased losses. I've seen that movie.

I prefer to call it a "rerun", and to re-emphasize the "sometimes".
Chasing works when it works.

[FloridaPhil]

Chasing works when it works.

This is an interesting subject on it's own. What exactly is "chasing loses"? I play mostly max coin quarter VP. I always put aside some money at the end of the day for dollar play. Often I will recover all or at least half of my losses. To make this work, I set low cash out limits. If I play dollar VP until I bust or hit a big jackpot, I am practically guaranteed to go home broke. Walking out with money works for me. Staying until all my money is gone does not.

I know someone on this forum may interpreted my statement as being "dangerous". I am describing what happens when I play. If chasing loses means hitting the ATM, don't do it. Take your lumps and come back another day. When I go to the casino, I am prepared to lose all the money I brought with me. This happens once in a great while. I come home with at least half of my money more times than I lose it all.

[billryan]

You do realize that if you are playing dollars instead of quarters, you need four times the bankroll, no?
You make it seem like it's a conspiracy that your bankroll doesn't last as long playing dollars as it does playing quarters.

[FloridaPhil]

You do realize that if you are playing dollars instead of quarters, you need four times the bankroll, no?
You make it seem like it's a conspiracy that your bankroll doesn't last as long playing dollars as it does playing quarters.

I knew my comments would start a conversation. That's a good thing.

My playing dollars at the end of the day has nothing to do with the size of my bankroll. I don't expect to win long term playing at any denomination. I play quarters so I can be entertained as long as possible. I always save some money to play dollars at the end. When I've had my fill of VP for the day, I switch to dollar play. I expect to hit a few good hands. Most of the time, my expectations become a reality. I capture those wins and put them in my wallet. This allows me to leave the casino with money the majority of the time.

A month ago, I hit a $1,000 quad deuce this way. Last week I hit two wild royals for $250. Yesterday, I hit a couple of 5-of-a-kinds and a straight flush and went home with $200. I haven't walked out totally broke in months. This is not a plan to beat the casino. It is a plan that works if you like going home with money left and I do.

What I am talking about is money management, not play strategy. I believe the issue most Recreational gamblers struggle with is not having a plan of when to leave the casino. They continue to play until one of two things happens, either they hit a big jackpot or go broke. Most of the time it's the later. If I go to the casino and lose all my money, I consider the day a loss. If I go to the casino and come home with at least half of my money, I consider the day worthwhile. I am not going to a casino with the goal of making a profit. I go to the casino to play a game at a reasonable cost. That game could just as well be golf, bowling, fishing, hunting or any other leisure time activity.

[tech58]

Chasing works when it works.

This is an interesting subject on it's own. What exactly is "chasing loses"? I play mostly max coin quarter VP. I always put aside some money at the end of the day for dollar play. Often I will recover all or at least half of my losses. To make this work, I set low cash out limits. If I play dollar VP until I bust or hit a big jackpot, I am practically guaranteed to go home broke. Walking out with money works for me. Staying until all my money is gone does not.

I know someone on this forum may interpreted my statement as being "dangerous". I am describing what happens when I play. If chasing loses means hitting the ATM, don't do it. Take your lumps and come back another day. When I go to the casino, I am prepared to lose all the money I brought with me. This happens once in a great while. I come home with at least half of my money more times than I lose it all.

Your last two posts have a great question, and some key elements of the answer as i see it.
Ah yes, chasing losses,show me a VP vet who hasn't done it and i will show you a liar.
It's quite often been called "steaming",which is a great term for it.
For want of a better def. i would call it the antithesis of discipline, not following a plan, escalating up the denom. ladder because they have your money and the little man inside wants it back.
Not technically a martingale but a close cousin.
Summarizing the last two break even trips it took $5 quad to get within $200 of even and Free Play Lady had that covered and we walked slightly ahead.
FP's call of money management nails it in a different way.
Chasing losses is one of those things hard to define "but you know it when you see it".
All this begs the question, CAN IT BE AVOIDED?
Probably not, short of not playing!

[olds442jetaway]

That is a real bummer Phil about the Tampa downgrade. If they do that up here, i may just pick up one of my old hobbies and forget the casino. I have already given them a nice pay cut for 2018 for some of the things they did or didn’t do in 2018. I am giving them an even bigger cut for 2019. Their theories on making money from vp players are totally flawed and they don’t either care or even realize it. I almost enjoy the release of public record information showing their profits continuing to shrink month after month. They even just pulled my free weekend rooms though I have the Soar status card. That’s ok. What goes around comes around.