New player

[Onenickelmiracl]

I just recently began learning JOB VP. I use the site here to play and simple strategy from Michael Shackleford. What other games should I know how to play, because I can say after a week, I know it enough to know what to do and when to double check. Also, what are the biggest struggles playing besides having money and winning or losing? I played slot machines winning for years and can guess actually being able to play the machine you want to play, will be the biggest issue. Do people pass these off mainly to their "friends"? If I am not in the "gang", do I just have to go downstairs at 5AM to grab a machine? I plan on mainly playing in AC 2-3 times a year because in Ohio, there really isn't options based on pay tables. What are the best progressive VP games to play in AC and what levels make them profitable?

[FloridaPhil]

I'm not sure what you are asking, but there are a few basic things everyone should know before playing more than a few hands of Video Poker. My wife and I play Video Poker at a wide variety of casinos all over the country.  The three most popular games for us are Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild and Double Double Bonus.  If you know these three games, you should be able to take advantage of the majority of opportunities. In video poker, unlike regular slots, you can clearly compare the payback schedule as it's posted on the front of each machine.  It's very important to check this schedule as two machines side by side can have completely different paybacks. Unless you are playing in Nevada, most Video Poker games are negative expectation, which means that long term most players lose money.  How much you lose depends upon your skill level, the payback on the machine and your money management strategy and execution.  In a very few casinos (mostly in Nevada) you will find 100%+ opportunities.  This means that the combination of payback, cash back and comps exceeds 100%.  Professional players try to take advantage of these situations by making large bets, playing computer perfect for long periods of time and having a bankroll large enough to live through the inevitable down turns.  For the rest of us, video poker is strictly recreation.  We stay in beautiful hotels for free, eat free food and get all kinds of perks in return to losing on the machines.   For us, the trade off is worth the effort and once in a while we get the thrill of hitting some pretty good jackpots.   Making money at Video Poker sounds good, but the reality is that very very few actually do that consistently.  Now that the disclaimer is out of the way what's your question? 
 
 

[BobDancer]

Jacks or Better is not a winning game in AC --- or most other places. 99.54% is simply too far below 100%. Yes there can be promotions that make it above 100% --- but learning the idiosyncrasies about slot clubs and promotions is more work than is probably appropriate for a 3-visits-a-year player. Also, your moniker implies you play for nickels. You're not going to find good pay schedules for nickels --- generally speaking. If you're serious about playing 3 times a year and playing for nickels, spending a lot of time studying doesn't make sense financially. On the other hand, if you enjoy studying and want to study video poker in particular you might want to start with the 500+ free articles on www.bobdancer.com. Some of them aren't particularly appropriate for AC players, but many are.  Bob 

[Onenickelmiracl]

Bob, the name is from a slot I played where the optimal strategy was to play only 1 line to win the progressive pots, so that clears that up. I will check your site out and I definitely know your name from Strictly Slots and everywhere else. Thanks for the advice. One question I have always wondered is how much VP affects the slot numbers, so in other words if there was no VP,  how much lower would reported paybacks be for slots?Florida Phil,I do understand it is a negative expectation. I mainly played slots and am just wanting to switch the gambling to something more intelligent with a better payback percentage as well as quit the local trips. I guess the question was a bit delusional in tone and I probably just asked a rhetorical question assuming the few best machines will be taken most of the time. I will learn the games you mentioned, so I can play them if I "had to".

[FloridaPhil]

We play mostly on week days and have never had a problem finding machines to play.  You need to sort through the machines to find the ones with the best pay schedules.  It's amazing how many times we find two machines side by side with totally different pay schedules.  I'm beginning to think finding good pay schedules is more important than most any other factor.  I'm compiling a spreadsheet with all the most popular games and common pay schedules comparing the loss/hr.  It's really interesting what I'm finding out.  Man, some of these games are real losers!  Anyway, video poker is our hobby and it works for us.  It's great having an activity that we both love and doing it together.

[Lucky Larry]

onenickel,

Welcome to the forum. We made the switch to VP for the higher returns and we prefer to have more control over our play. We choose which cards to play!

Whenever I introduce someone to VP I recommend learning Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild first and really well. The analogy I use is that these two games are the mom and dad of the family tree for all VP. Learn them well and you can adjust to the specific JOB VP variation or wild card variation.

Best wishes.    

[BobDancer]

Whenever I introduce someone to VP I recommend learning Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild first and really well.   
  For somebody playing in AC, don't bother with Deuces. I know of no Deuces games there that return as much as 99%. . . but I haven't scouted recently. Bob

[Lucky Larry]

[QUOTE=Lucky Larry]Whenever I introduce someone to VP I recommend learning Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild first and really well.   
  For somebody playing in AC, don't bother with Deuces. I know of no Deuces games there that return as much as 99%. . . but I haven't scouted recently. Bob[/QUOTE]

Bob,

First, we've never been to AC and its not a high priority in our life unless for the experience of going once.

Second, as a life-long educator I believe in teaching foundations skills that can be built upon. JOB and Deuces provide that foundation for beginning players who are learning VP. Since most of the people I introduce to VP are moving from lower return slots even 98-99% return games are a higher return on their money.

Finally, I would guess 95%+ of VP players are recreational players who play for pleasure and not a living. There are lots of other lower return entertainment values in the world. BTW: We have access locally to NSUD on the 25¢, 50¢ and $1 option. And, being small time players and not having the option for positive games locally we play lots of deuces and the deuces variables at 98-99% pay returns. I personally prefer deuces' lower volatility and the ability to reach high efficiency on deuces strategies.

But, I'll still take the luck of timing over skill when it comes my way.

LL

[BobDancer]

Bob,

First, we've never been to AC and its not a high priority in our life unless for the experience of going once.

Second, as a life-long educator I believe in teaching foundations skills that can be built upon. JOB and Deuces provide that foundation for beginning players who are learning VP. Since most of the people I introduce to VP are moving from lower return slots even 98-99% return games are a higher return on their money.


The original poster said he played in AC. So if you're going to provide an response to his question, shouldn't you frame it in context of AC --- whether or not you personally go there?  In many gambling locales, your advice would be very relevant. In AC, not so much. I'm not critical of your response in general --- just that it didn't answer the guys question.'Bob

[Lucky Larry]

I just recently began learning JOB VP. I use the site here to play and simple strategy from Michael Shackleford. What other games should I know how to play,....


Bob,
My response was to his original question.