Negative Game Strategies

[FloridaPhil]

I play negative video poker games. Chances are, you do too. I don't seek out negative games, they are the only games offered in the denomination I am comfortable with playing at the casinos I frequent and I enjoy my time at the casino. If you are going to lose long term regardless of how you play video poker, does it matter what strategy you use?

Over the years, I believe I have used every video poker strategy possible. From playing single coin to max coin dollars, I've tried them all. I learned from the experts on this forum and from observing other players just like me. I learned the most by watching my wife play. Her discipline is phenomenal. She plays max coin quarter single line deuces wild no matter what happens. She never changes games or denomination. She tries to play the best odds available. If she's losing for longer than a few hours at a time, she finds something else to do. She modifies the computer based strategy slightly to fit her desires. This doesn't seem to hurt her. She plays negative games, so she does have a cost to play. That cost is incredibly low. She keeps two bankrolls. One she regularly adds to and a second bankroll she plays out of. On rare occasions, she has to move money from one to the other. If I could play video poker for the rest of my life like her, I would consider it quite an accomplishment.

I try to play like her, but I can't. I need more excitement in my day at the casino. I could gain that excitement by moving up in denomination or by playing multi line games. It has been my experience that this increases my cost to play video poker substantially. I love hitting big jackpots. I don't like what it costs to hit them. So what do I do?

When I go to the casino, I start out playing like my wife. Like her, I only play single line Deuces Wild. Over the years I have observed that my money lasts longer playing this game than any other game. I ask players around me if they have noticed this as well. Most agree. What I am playing for is a quad deuce or a royal. If I don't hit either one, I stay with quarter play. If I hit one of these hands, I take more risks. There was a time when I systematically increased my bet on a frequent basis. I hit some great jackpots this way, but it only increased my losses. There is no doubt in my mind that staying with the same game and denomination all the time is the most efficient way to play video poker. You may already know this. I wish I did, it would have saved me some money.

So when I hit a quad deuce or a royal and move up, am I hurting my results? In my opinion, Yes. The game is still negative, so I am adding to my losses. Is the added cost worth it to me? Yes. The feeling you get when you get a hand pay is one of the best greatest feelings a small time player can experience. As long as I control myself, I can tolerate the extra cost.

The Recreational Forum is here to share our experiences. Gambling is a mind game. I know very few people who think like a computer. If you are having a good day, do you increase your bet? If you are losing, do you do the same thing? Does it work? Do you stay with the same game all the time? If you knew for a fact that you are going to lose long term playing a game, would you still play it?

[advantage playe]

hey phil we r all winning ,the S & p 500 just hit all time high !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FloridaPhil]

If I made as much money playing video poker as I have playing stocks in the last year, I could write my own book. All kidding aside, it's been a great run.

There comes a time in any investment when taking profits is advisable. I don't think we're there yet. After the election, look out. If the democrats win, they may be sorry they did. Of course they will blame everything on Trump and the Russians.

I hit a quad deuce yesterday with my free play. Played 98.9% deuces all day and came home even. I didn't hit anything else noteworthy, but I built up a lot of comp points. We are staying at Hollywood for my wife's birthday and I want to treat her to a nice dinner.

[stevel96a1]

i would too change my denomination but testing at home just shows no change in my of my desired results, Bradley Davis in joker poker book said if you play beat the deal its just a even game as long dealer doesnt win on a push or kicks off with an 8, i think its the same theory no change but will need a larger bankroll. i figured if im going to gamble play 1,000 hands somewhere in there will be a good hand or a great hand and theres no way i can tell when it will show up so i flat bet and pray for a good hand go home afterwards

[onemoretry]

i would too change my denomination but testing at home just shows no change in my of my desired results

Why would you think it would?

[FloridaPhil]

i figured if im going to gamble play 1,000 hands somewhere in there will be a good hand or a great hand and theres no way i can tell when it will show up so i flat bet and pray for a good hand go home afterwards

Funny you should mention that. I think 1,000 coins is a minimum daily bankroll, at least it's been for me. To play max coin quarters, that's $250. I usually take a little more as I tend to take small pot shots when I get the urge. Most times it doesn't work out. Once in a while, something wonderful happens. A couple of weeks ago I hit a $1,000 quad deuce on a pot shot. Last week I hit two back to back max coin dollar wild royals at the end of the day recovering all my losses. Whenever I take these pot shots I assume the money is gone before I put it in the machines. If anything good happens, I'm surprised. I keep the same attitude for all my gambling.

[olds442jetaway]

Still go up as i am losing, but have cut way back on the amounts and how fast I increase my bets. Long term, it is definitely more expensive than flat betting, but I enjoy the thrill of hitting a big one. That thrill is greatly diminished due to the Federal income tax changes on doubling the standard deduction and capping the state and local tax deductions at 10k. Also because my greedy state that is still always broke no matter how much money they get, steals 6 or 7 percent from all gross gambling winnings. No writeoff is available. For that reason, the casinos are only getting a fraction of my total coin in of the last few years. The result is the greedy state is getting less revenue from the casinos month after month. Their cut is huge like 25 percent of casino profits. So they are losing there and losing on individual filed tax returns as well. The dems will no doubt attempt to raise taxes again and drive even more retires out of the state. Businesses too. What morons and we elected them. Well some of us elected them.

[stevel96a1]

Onemoretry, i believed in gamblers fallacy in video poker there is no sucker bet in VP but still gambling

[olds442jetaway]

Though Ct doesn’t have the worst by far the worst negative vp games in the country, it does have population and businesses fleeing faster than almost any state in the country. When you have 53 or more percent of the people paying no taxes other than sales taxes, the rest of the people get fed up and those that can move do

[FloridaPhil]

Every now and then some politician says we should have a State income tax. Luckily, our residents are smarter than that. Better schools they say. They sold us the State lottery with that lie. Governor Scott took office when the State was in trouble. He cut the budget and put the State back on it's feet. The teacher's Union had a heart attack. Today, Florida is one of the most financially healthy States in the country. Google it.

According to the most recent Census Bureau data on state-to-state migration flows, 523,000 people moved to California from other states. But at the same time, more than 661,000 Californians moved to other states. That is, on net, nearly 138,000 more people left California than moved into it from elsewhere in the US.

I'm sure the Northeast has lost more than it's share as well. We live in an area that was sparsely populated until about 20 years ago. The Villages is the largest retirement community in the US and one of the fastest growing areas. It's about ten miles away. It encompasses three counties. An average of 20 people a day move there, most are from the Northeast. New York's Governor recently accused our State of stealing their residents. Our Governor said NY is driving them off. NO kidding.

My wife is retired now. She crafted a great career in Real Estate helping retirees to move here. One of her selling points wasn't great video poker odds. Go figure...