THE SWITCH

[olds442jetaway]

I an tempted to carry around a post it pad and on every machine i find with sticky or inoperable buttons write quote.....Don’t play this machine. This button sticks....I’m sure I would get banned in short order. I would need a rhick pad too.

[FloridaPhil]

Casino's have their down side... Sticky buttons, smokers, button wackers, loud talkers and drunks. I've even run into a few players with tourette's syndrome along the way. My personal favorite is the "professor". This is a player who wants to teach you how to play with your own money. Playing single coin like I sometimes do, I attract a lot of unsolicited advice. Most of it is wrong.

The good side of the casino experience is rarely discussed here. I like playing video poker. For me, it's an entire day's worth of entertainment. The drive over is about an hour and a half. I take the back roads. I drive by small farms, lakes, forests, little convenience stores and lots of flags. This is the Florida no one ever talks about. It's the Florida I remember as a kid.

When I get to the casino, I always park in the same area. I walk down to the non smoking casino. I walk past all kinds of people, mostly retirees. The casino has a smell and feel about it that no other place has. I can hear the people and the machines as I come in. It's a happy noise.

I have my favorite machine. It's the one that dealt me a $2,000 royal last year. I sit down and check the odds. They are the same bad odds as last week. At least they haven't reduced them....so far. It doesn't matter because I'm not playing for the long term return. All I want from my video poker machine is a quad deuce or a royal flush.

If I'm by myself, I will play for about 4-5 hours. I change machines. I walk around the casino. Sometimes I meet someone and we talk about all kinds of things. Once in a while someone wants to talk about their problems. I am kind and try to listen. Most of the time I move. I'm not there to council or train people. I'm there to be in a little world of my own. For the next few hours, it's me against the machine.

Over the years I have learned how to win most of the time. What's that you say? Are you claiming to be a long term winner? If I play video poker for 4-5 hours for free, I consider that a win. To me it's like playing golf all day for free. Sometimes the casino pays me to play. Over a years the casino makes a little money on me. I'm OK with that. I want them to be there next week.

My casino rewards me in a number of other ways. Their points system is generous. If I play like I do, I eat and drink for free. I don't drink alcohol, so they make out on me. I eat in the cafe. They serve breakfast all day and their sandwiches are great. My free play is about $25 a week. Last week was Bonus free play and my wife's free play and mine was $85. I play on her card too.

All I want from my casino is an enjoyable entertaining day with a good chance of breaking even and that's what they provide. Before the Hard Rock's opened, we had to drive 550 miles to Biloxi to play video poker. That gets old quick. I don't pay State taxes on my W2Gs. I don't get that many.

The key to maximizing my entertainment value is money management. I know the machines I play are negative. I know the more money I put into them the more the casino will get from me. Because of this, I play small enough to earn the comps I want and use low cash out limits. I collect a lot of white tickets. If I am ahead for the day, I will take a pot shot or two. Pot shot wins are what keeps me even. Two weeks ago, I walked away with a $1,000 white ticket with a $20 pot shot investment. This brought me back nearly even for the year. Lucky? For sure...

Casinos are great entertainment as long as you control your expectations and play accordingly. Few people can beat the casino. I'm not one of them. I play to break even and it works. Long term, the casino will win. Odds are they will no matter how you play.

[FAA]

Excellent read. Yesterday the casino remarkably felt like my ATM. Lunch fell through, so I extracted another $30. Left town +$129 net. Too gun shy to continue pot shots.

[tech58]

"A man at peace with his world,is indeed blessed."
That is not actually a quote, i just made that up.

[FloridaPhil]

"A man at peace with his world,is indeed blessed." That is not actually a quote, i just made that up.

[Vman96]

I predict video poker will eventually go the way of "Pong". As long as a few will play the game, it will remain in the back of the bus. The odds will be reduced to a point where the return is equal to slots. Right now, the worst video poker game I have seen is 95% nickel video poker. Those machines are so full you can't get a seat. In a few years, I predict 95% will be sought out as the best game to play.

On select machines they already have been.

Saw this at Sam's Town Tunica this past weekend.

When you crunch out the math, that's a 91.1% optimal payback. The worst I've ever seen nationwide. The same casino still offers 9/6 JoB for quarters elsewhere in the casino.

[FloridaPhil]

Yikes!

[Jstark]

I predict video poker will eventually go the way of "Pong". As long as a few will play the game, it will remain in the back of the bus. The odds will be reduced to a point where the return is equal to slots. Right now, the worst video poker game I have seen is 95% nickel video poker. Those machines are so full you can't get a seat. In a few years, I predict 95% will be sought out as the best game to play.

On select machines they already have been.

Saw this at Sam's Town Tunica this past weekend.

20190421_193302.jpg

When you crunch out the math, that's a 91.1% optimal payback. The worst I've ever seen nationwide. The same casino still offers 9/6 JoB for quarters elsewhere in the casino.

They're trying to fool people into believing it's a "10/7" JoB then fake them out further with the 400 for a SF. Manufacturers and casinos know that's what the savvy players look at and many times ignore the rest of the pay table. Same goes for the 9/6 that have the 2500 royal payout.

I've also seen micro denominations (1 cent, 2 cent) JoB games that are mislabeled and are really 8/5 (or worse) Bonus Deluxe games. I'll get a picture of one tomorrow or Monday.

[I'mnotfrank]

I predict video poker will eventually go the way of "Pong". As long as a few will play the game, it will remain in the back of the bus. The odds will be reduced to a point where the return is equal to slots. Right now, the worst video poker game I have seen is 95% nickel video poker. Those machines are so full you can't get a seat. In a few years, I predict 95% will be sought out as the best game to play.

On select machines they already have been.

Saw this at Sam's Town Tunica this past weekend.

20190421_193302.jpg

When you crunch out the math, that's a 91.1% optimal payback. The worst I've ever seen nationwide. The same casino still offers 9/6 JoB for quarters elsewhere in the casino.

Sam's, Hollywood and Resorts are about the same as far as vp odds go, won't be long before Resorts closes their doors, I believe the date is June 30. I don't play much anymore but when I get the urge I play at Horseshoe, Gold Strike or First Jackpot, the vp odds are a little better for $1 DDB.

[FAA]

The 9/6 2500 RF I would grin and bear, if my best option. I just wouldn't look forward to the RF.