Why are we all so glum?

[Minn. Fatz]

I hear playing VP just isn't providing the kinds of returns it once did. Hanging around here and in casinos, some of the alleged reasons for this seem to be:

-- The paytables are worse than they used to be.

-- The casinos changed the comp structure to pay out less for the best games, the best players, VP in general or some combination of these.

-- There are fewer full pay machines/games available.

-- The newer games place a premium on variance rather than expected return.

And then there's one of the most-cited reasons:

-- The machines have been jiggered somehow so they don't deliver the results the VP geeks calculate from the paytables and strategies.

Setting the math to one side for now, I'm interested in why we seem to be so glum these days.

Here's my take: for all the reasons VP (and casino games in general) are like life -- we don't get to make the rules, the house almost always has the edge, and the jackpots are dangled in front of us mostly to keep our hopes up and our credits coming -- there are a few important reasons it's different. Namely, the rules and the odds are known, the correct strategies can be calculated, and -- maybe most importantly -- you don't have to play VP unless you choose to.

For many of us, life itself hasn't been what it once was, whether it's planes flying into office buildings, young men and women going off to war again and again and again, jobs and markets in flux, the political system in stasis, houses underwater, less security in our lives, having to pay to watch HBO 'cause the Blockbuster closed, climate change, whatever. It's only natural we'd feel one of our favorite pastimes is letting us down as well.

So after all is said and done, are the games fair?

Is life?

[DaBurglar]

i like this post, very thought provoking and pensive.     thanks minn fatzBut as I said many times before........playing video poker in Vegas from the mid 1990s thru 2005 or so, you could very well hold your own and even make a small profit, even without resorting to Bob dancer;s INTENSE ANALRETENTIVE system and strategies (as good and sound as they are/were, they require a lot of work and vigilance and take a lot of the "fun" factor out of it and turn it into work.....its his job and he's good at it but still...)I had a several years in that time period where I made a profit, and any losing year was not that bad at all.Since 2007 or thereabouts, it has been progressively hideous, less so in Nevada more so in AC.   and I cannot see how it can ever improve significantly, which is why I am playing more real poker.And no, I can personally attest that life is not fair.

[Minn. Fatz]

Table poker can be just as much work, if not more, than VP. A hard way to make an easy living and all that. But if you're good enough to beat the rake it's another way to walk out of a casino with more than you walked in with. Good Mathematics.

[jocker]

I am only five years new to vp and have really enjoyed it. When I first began playing, I did fairly well for a newbe that made some errors. Over the last four years I have been doing much better following the correct strategies for the right game. However now that I play much better I win less and less. You are right, something has changed! I listen all you veteran vp players and respect your comments and advise. Something is changing out there and it is not for the better. The quads are getting further and further apart. It is just not the same anymore. I am just saying here, who knows where it is all going. For all I know, maybe on my next outing I will hit back to back RF's. Good luck to all!

[olds442jetaway]

I only get glum after the trip sometimes. While there, somehow, it is still exciting and a world unto its own.

[ravenbynight111]

In Reality the casinos are not on the square.Let's be honest in america everything has corruption, politics,football,slots,wall street it is every where. Until Americans face the truth it will get worst.I am not trying to be negitive but I see the truth and most people refuse too.Look at the Phil Ivey story the casinos are crying,because they felt they got cheated.No   the casinos made mistakes and a player took advantage. This what they have been doing to players for decades.

[Minn. Fatz]

In Reality the casinos are not on the square.Let's be honest in america everything has corruption, politics,football,slots,wall street it is every where. Until Americans face the truth it will get worst.I am not trying to be negitive but I see the truth and most people refuse too.Look at the Phil Ivey story the casinos are crying,because they felt they got cheated.No   the casinos made mistakes and a player took advantage. This what they have been doing to players for decades.

I always used to say the difference between Wall St. and Las Vegas was that Las Vegas was regulated. Somehow I hope that hasn't changed.

[spxChrome]

I been playing since 1994 I can't even count the number of hands I have probably played. But since the economy tanked a few years back VP has never been the same and I doubt it will ever change back. The games are harder to win so the less people go and more casinos close. To bad it used to be fun to play VP now its just a reoccurring nightmare.

[daily_double]

Things are always changing. I have been reading the negative posts about VP here for a while. I have only been playing for a year, and am extremely happy with the results I get. But maybe because I didn't enjoy the good ole days like most of you all did, I don't know any better.
There was a guy who wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper here when our one and only casino opened a couple years ago. The guy wrote that the video poker was unplayable and that he would not play here and instead continue to travel up to Detroit to play. I was not playing VP at this time, but within a few months I saw a reply in the letters to the editor column that things had changed for the better with payouts being increased. Perhaps a letter to the editor in some of your local papers constructively criticizing your issues could help. Bad publicity is something most business people would like to correct/avoid......and with the few active participants I see on this forum, nobody who can correct things is listening or even cares.....

[chattycattty]

Things are always changing. I have been reading the negative posts about VP here for a while. I have only been playing for a year, and am extremely happy with the results I get. But maybe because I didn't enjoy the good ole days like most of you all did, I don't know any better.
There was a guy who wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper here when our one and only casino opened a couple years ago. The guy wrote that the video poker was unplayable and that he would not play here and instead continue to travel up to Detroit to play. I was not playing VP at this time, but within a few months I saw a reply in the letters to the editor column that things had changed for the better with payouts being increased. Perhaps a letter to the editor in some of your local papers constructively criticizing your issues could help. Bad publicity is something most business people would like to correct/avoid......and with the few active participants I see on this forum, nobody who can correct things is listening or even cares.....

Great ideas and I applaud you for a very proactive attitude and post. Please continue to participate as we need more people like you participating in this forum.