One Coin Quarters

[Vman96]

Nice job running near expectation. I wish I could have said the same tonight, especially when I took a stab at full-pay quarter machines, doh!

[FloridaPhil]

I started playing video Poker after reading Dancer's first book.  After reading it, I was convinced that I could make money or break even on the game.  I had some incredible luck early, so I ignored his advice and tried to beat the numbers.   I play his software perfectly for hours, so I know I'm as close to perfect as I'm going to get.  Anyone with a pocket calculator can see this was going to happen.  So, after ten years of play I've come to this.    "The best way to play video poker is the cheapest way possible."   You don't give a damn about the pay schedule, you can play all day, you can't bust and you just have a lot of fun.   

[Minn. Fatz]

Game King I believe has multigame VP/Keno machines that offer 800 per coin in RFs at any credit level. If you find one of those that'd be the machine to play, but they are growing rarer by the day.

The best way to play video poker if you're interested in making a profitable hobby out of it is to play only games that will return over 100% including comps at the highest level you can afford.

I'm not opposed to playing VP for recreation; since my state has an upper limit on VP return below 100% that's what I'm reduced to. But it's the recreational players who keep the good games on the floors for the advantage players. And there's no beating the numbers, not over the long term. There is no such thing as luck; everything is mathematics.

So, Good Mathematics all.

[olds442jetaway]

Hi Phil. I am starting my own version on one coin quarters, but I also know that I don't think I will last too too long playing that way. So here is what I came up with. I will pick deuces wild as an example, but you could use it on any quads game, joker kings etc. I know that even on the worst paytable deuces wild game that the deuces will still pay 200 for 1. I will start out playing just 1 coin. If deuces hit before I lose 200 units, I will cash out that ticket and that money goes home. I will start all over again as if I had just walked into the casino. Now if I lose 200 units and haven't hit 4 deuces, I will start playing 2 quarters or units. Only now I will not go up again until I have lost 400 quarters more. If at some point playing 2,  I hit the deuces, I will see how far that cut into the first 200 units I have lost. For argument's sake, let's say deuces hit while playing 2 and after subtracting, I find that I have now lost only 56 units for the day. I will shift back to 1 unit and not go up to 2 again until a total of 200 units have been lost. At least this way, I have something to look forward to. If the Royal comes along, fine, but I'm not counting on it. If I happen to not hit deuces at all for the entire day, next time I come I will continue play at the number of units as the last visit as if I had never left the casino. Based on the average frequency of deuces hitting, (once a day for 8 or 9 hours of play), I don't think I will get to high a number of units bet before deuces hits. I can't ever remember going more than 3 or 4 trips without hitting deuces at least once assuming I played them for the entire day. I would play the same way for DDB except that I would go from 1 to 2 units after losing 50 units. I think playing this way on JOB runs the risk of betting even higher units assuming that you go from 1 to 2 after you lose 25 coins. I may try it on JOB, but I have more fun playing deuces or Joker Kings. You have a good idea though to slow down the losses and have fun. Good luck and good health

[FloridaPhil]

I have tried a number of similar strategies, some better than others. I still play deuces once in a while, but I prefer DDB for a couple of reasons.  Deuces is a lot harder to play perfectly and 4 deuces only happens about every 5,000 hands.  A quad in DDB happens about every 450 hands and I can play it computer perfect for hours at a time.  A four deuce one coin jackpot pays 200 coins.  In DDB a one coin 4 aces jackpot pays 160 coins or 400 coins with a kicker, but they come 10 times more often.  I realize the variance of DW is lower than DDB, but at one coin I don't really care about that.
 
The real question for a recreational player is how to keep the thrill of a decent jackpot in the game while playing at a very low denomination?   I have tried doubling up on small runs and it mostly doesn't work.  I play once a week, so it's important to have a low cost strategy that allows me to play as long as possible. My current strategy is to go to the casino with $120.  I always play my first $20 at max coin .50.  If I hit a quad, I stay with it using about 1/2 of my winnings as a stopping point.  A couple of weeks ago, I rode one of these to a $400 profit.  If I don't hit with the first $20,  I play $20 at a time and cash out every quad or higher.  When I'm out of money, I cull my smallest ticket and decide what to do from there.  If I get substantially up and see two quads close to one another, I'll go to max coins for a while in case I hit a good run.  The end of this story is that I am only risking $120 a trip.   I can live with this and for me it's a very low cost for a whole days fun.
 

[shadowman]

olds442jetaway, yours is a variation of a Martingale strategy, also known as a negative progression. They tend to work until they don't ... and then you lose back everything that you had saved. No betting strategy can change the return of a game. That has been proven mathematically.

Personally, I've gone of 30000 hands without hitting quad ducks.

[FloridaPhil]

I totally agree.   If you play negative expectation games, you will "always" lose in the long run no matter what strategy you use.  In addition, If you play 100% plus Video Poker less than computer perfect, you will also lose.   If you are going to pay to play, I choose to pay the smallest amount as possible.   Video Poker is great in this regard.  Take two players as an example.  One is sitting in the high roller suite playing $5 a coin 9/6 Jacks. Me on the other hand is sitting in the same air conditioned casino, drinking the same free drinks and listening to the same nice music. The only difference is the high roller is risking at least $12,500 an hour and I'm paying $10 an hour to play.  Video Poker is the only game I know of where you can choose your cost of playing.  You have to figure in the perks of playing at the higher denomination.  Maybe they give you free rooms, or let you chase cute girls around or whatever. If you think the value of those perks is worth the losses, go for it.  They don't have anything in the casinos that I go to that is worth that kind of money. 

[olds442jetaway]

I guess the bottom line is it really doesn't matter as long as we're having fun and not breaking the bank while doing it. As long as you are sitting there relaxing Phil and are down there in Florida, have you ever tried sipping a cold glass of Lemonchello on the rocks. I just recently tried one and really enjoyed it. I also made it last an hour. Unfortunately, the speaker system at Mohegan is terrible in the area I play in, so I am content with the sound of the machine on some nice hits.

[FloridaPhil]

The best sound system I have run into is at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi.  I get there early in the morning when I'm by myself and its paradise.  There are two mind sets in approaching the game of video poker.  Most
players are expecting to win and they want to maximize their winning.  
The other is expecting to lose and minimize your losses.  I played for
years like the first and finally had to make the choice of quitting
the game or going to plan B.  So far, I'm enjoying the choice I made. 
We'll see... 

[BillyJoe]

Personally, I've gone of 30000 hands without hitting quad ducks.
I would change games, regardless of the pay table. 
 
I have trouble doing something 3 times without success without making a change. I can't imagine 30k.