My Journey on Video Poker

[DAAnMAAn]

Hello. I guess you can say this is sort of my ongoing saga...my blog, my story on the continuing victories and defeats, struggles, and constant grind with video poker. I'll keep this going until I don't keep it going anymore. I'd like to share with you the pluses and minuses of this "heaven or hell" game as some call it. Sometimes it seems this is a pretty accurate description. I'm DAAnMAAn. I live in Las Vegas. I've been keeping a personal log for some time now on my video poker play and results, recently centered on 10/6 Double Double Bonus (100.06% Expected Return) quarter play single line with a low slow progressive meter tied to it for the royal flush (highest I've seen it at was $1,150. Can push the ER with card to 100.4%. There are better plays from an ER I know but this is pretty good and I like this game. FPDW has bored me to tears). I've been playing on this bank of 3 machines for about 2 years now. If you want to know where these machines are, do your own homework. VPFree is always a good source.     Long story short, it isn't the only game I've played, I also played alot of $1 single line 9/6 JOB until they took away the bonus points for it, and played alot of .50/$1/$2/and some $5 single line 8/5 bonus poker with full points on it. However, I've been more and more gravitating to 10/6 DDB especially after a year when I got so many W2G's it pushed my wife and I into the next tax bracket and sort of was a bummer.      I'm not a professional VP player, but I guess you can say I'm a part-time or semi-pro player. I'd rather just say I'm a part-time vp player, but tomatoes potatoes. I have a full-time other job and do the VP to help pay for the extras I suppose.    So to avoid the W2G's, stomache the swings of DDB, I play pretty much exclusively on these three 10/6 DDB progressives quarter single line machines. Usually after work for a few hours, sometimes a few minutes, but rarely more than 4 hours in a session.     The rides are not always fruitfull and I can understand why most pro's stay away from the DDB and TDB for that matter. The swings can be brutal. Case in point, these are the results of my last 10 sessions. I usually bring a session bankroll of $400, sometimes I might get some more if I run out, usually I don't like tonight.So last 10 session:+200+250+100+1350-500+50+100-600+500-400I had a rare good streak that extended before that another 10 sessions or so, but all things must pass. Now the worm has turned and getting some sizeable losing sessions. Which is not surprising. But certainly up overall.Sometimes I might get that early good hit like quad A's,2's,3's,4's with a kicker and just call it a night. Sometimes I grind for a while. Sometimes it just sucks, other times it's great like the +1350 session with a royal, 4's with kicker, and 2 quad Aces no kicker in about 90 minutes. Sometimes it sucks like tonight where I lost my session bankroll of $400 hitting nothing but a few quads in the 5-K range.My worst session was -$750 in about 2 hours hitting nothing but a solitary quad Kings.  My best session so far on the game is the +$1350. The most quad aces I hit in a session is 3, one with the kicker. My best video poker session in any game is $1 9/6 JOB when I hit two royals in a span of one hour netting $8,000.I think my biggest loss for a single day is $1,300. I'm not a high stakes player so I'm used to swings in the couple of hundred dollar range, not thousands. A loss of $1,000 or more in a day is hard to stomache for me, maybe not so much for others.So I can go on but I think I''ll just add to this as I go. I'm playing again tomorrow night so we will see if I can turn the worm and get to the plus column.Cheers and good luck to you all. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I may or may not answer them.Cheers,DAAnMAAn

[case]

Your results seem right to me. DDB is high variance and the big hands make a huge difference when playing single line If you hit the bonus 4OAK you will do ok but if not you will struggle. I have often played a lot at Bolder Station but they don't like to give comps on the full pay games.

[wildman49]

Nice report DA, it is nice to play in the Vegas market. Wish I was out there!Here in the Mid-west Its not as nice to play at the Indian casino's. There is a BIG sign on the wall where I play, this casino is NOT regulated by the state of Michigan. The Indian's have there own  gaming commission.With that said here was my day yesterday.Played 12 hours while trying to get my name drawn that never happened and played 9,000 hands. Had 4 to the royal off the deal 11 times.  (1 in 2765) Lets see 11 goes into 9,000 about 818.Had 9 four of a kinds. (1 in 423)Lets see 423 goes into 9,000 about 21.This is the norm playing here. It's so tough I have had to give up playing max bet every hand. Since playing systems (non max bets every hand) I have had 16 royals in the last 12 months well inside the 1 in 40,000. One came in on max bet.No one has an answer as to why or how some of these odd findings are happening in the eastern states as far a VP goes. All we hear is bad luck and it will change. I have been to Vegas 2 times 2006 and 07, am hoping to get out there next yearI am happy for you and hope you keep things going your way.  Good Luck on your next trip.

[ko king]

Nice report DA, it is nice to play in the Vegas market. Wish I was out there!

Here in the Mid-west Its not as nice to play at the Indian casino's. There is a BIG sign on the wall where I play, this casino is NOT regulated by the state of Michigan. The Indian's have there own  gaming commission.

With that said here was my day yesterday.

Played 12 hours while trying to get my name drawn that never happened and played 9,000 hands.

Had 4 to the royal off the deal 11 times.  (1 in 2765)
Lets see 11 goes into 9,000 about 818.

Had 9 four of a kinds. (1 in 423)
Lets see 423 goes into 9,000 about 21.

This is the norm playing here. It's so tough I have had to give up playing max bet every hand. Since playing systems (non max bets every hand) I have had 16 royals in the last 12 months well inside the 1 in 40,000.

No one has an answer as to why or how some of these odd findings are happening in the eastern states as far a VP goes. All we hear is bad luck and it will change.

I have been to Vegas 2 times 2006 and 07, am hoping to get out there next year

I am happy for you and hope you keep things going your way.  Good Luck on your next trip.



 
We don't have "Indian casinos" but I could show you some things that would still blow your mind. I could take you to a casino and the first thing you would pick up on was all the 4 to the flush off the deal, you would get your share of 1 card royal flush and straight flush shots. You would hit your share of royal flushes and straight flushes if you spent a year playing there. I could then take you across the state line to another casino and you would say where did all my royal flush and straight flush shots go, I could almost guarentee you that you wouldn't hit your share. I can't tell you why but I've played at both locations for a long time and the difference is easy to see, most players will point it out also.

[Carcounter]

My overall results on .50 Super Double Bonus and 1.00 JOB at Borgata in AC almost mirror yours. Need 2 .50 royals or 1 1.00 royal to get out of the hole this year, but have had positive years in the past. Have to be over-royaled, it's the only way.

[alpax]

Much thanks for sharing your report and the record keeping DAAnMAAn (not sure the reason in my mind just wants to call you damn). You are right about the benefits to moving to quarter denomination, while most people write off the W2G winners with reported losses, it does raise your adjusted gross income to higher tax brackets. You will not need to worry about state income taxes though.

Although the 10/6 game variant is a hundred percent returning game and considered to be positive expectation, it is not entirely immune to losses. Usually 10/6 DDB comes with very meager cashback from the casino's player club card. It is excluded from promotions and there are chances are the player will not receive any mailers for free play or meals. I am surprised to see it also has a progressive royal to go along with it, but you will need it in substitution for the lack of casino comps.

The one time I played 10/6 DDB for quarters at the Palms, I lost $150 in just half an hour. No quads and just one 10 for 1 full house payout. The game can be brutal at any given moment.

If you peek through the 9/6 Double Double Bonus thread on the recreational forum section, I looked into the possible nature of the Double Double Bonus game for recreational players. Not sure how fast you can play without losing accuracy, but part of that analysis shows it would take at least 5 million rounds for the results to be 88% (or 7 out of 8 players) fall within 1/2 percent the theoretical return; so in 10/6 DDB terms it will be 99.56 - 100.56% return range. It indeed feels like close a flip of a coin to see if you will be in the black or not in the long run. Most people work 2000 hours a year out of the 8760 hours in the year, so much time needs to be planned out to reach that volume of play.

I do not want to throw a bucket of cold water, congrats on your recent wins, but I thought I can give you some insight playing on high variance games.

[pokerpokerpoker]

10/6 DDB with progressive, nice.

I am a DDB player too and only can only dream of playing 10/6. My area has some progressives that can make the game positive, but only for a short while. 99.6% all in is more the norm.

Feast or famine is how my sessions normally go. I limit play to 800 credits and if aces or quads with kicker hit, I leave a winner. This has been my best year by far.

[DAAnMAAn]

Just finished off my session tonight. Brought my usual $400 and quickly went down to about 150-200 and was stuck there awhile. Then hit 4's with kicker which was great. But after about 1.5
Hours found myself close to $100 again. Fortunately made a bottom of the 9th inning win with 3's with kicker and 4 aces no kicker about 15 minutes apart to get out of there up for this one.
+120
Although up, still feels like a roller coaster ride. Perhaps part of the fun of ddb?
To reply to some posts,
I play fast and sober...wouldn't surprise me if it was over 1,000 hands an hour. I play as accurately as possible but of course make bone-headed mistakes sometimes.
I have studied on win poker software for a long time so play pretty accurately and know to drop to drop dealt full houses with three aces and hold the aces. (Tongue in cheek for this happened about 5 times tonight and didn't do me a damn bit of good)!!! 250 coins in full houses thrown away for 75 in trips. But the right play is the right okay, right? Ha ha
Yes, this game is $4 in for one point, no bonus points. Welcome to video poker in 2015 yes? But I am certainly not complaining when I'm able to play a 10/6 ddb game with a crappu royal progressive on it (was at $1,025 tonight). Anyway, there it is. Escaped with a win. Will keep u all posted on the next one.
Cheers,
DAAnMAAn

[DAAnMAAn]

Wow, bad one tonight. One quad 7's and nothing else. -400. Going to walk away from this one. Live to fight another day.

[wildman49]

Wow, bad one tonight. One quad 7's and nothing else. -400. Going to walk away from this one. Live to fight another day.Ouch but it happens, keep us posted on up coming trips!