How do you use your free play?

[Mr.Dawes]

Hey Bob, do you know if most casinos are sophisticated enough to track exactly which game you play or just the machine you play on? The reason I ask is that the 9/6 JoB machines at the IP only have one good paytable on them. All of the other games on those machines have paytables below 98%. I heard somewhere, possibly on Gambling with an Edge, that some casinos use an average theoretical hold based on all the games on a particular machine.Thanks for you feedback.

[paco13]

I often wondered if they keep track of what comps you do and don't use. I go to play VP not for a spa treatment or a hair cut. Don't play golf so don't take advantage of those discounts. Get free room offers for any day of the week but they always say, "Sorry we don't have any comp rooms available for that night." Just last week I was there on a Tuesday. Dropped a couple thousand and figured "Lets see if I can take advantage of the room offer it's mid week and not crowded." Didn't feel like driving the 2 hours home or giving up yet. Nope. Isn't any empty room an available room?? Be nice if I could trade comps.

[FloridaPhil]

I have a couple of serious comments here.   I have been trying to up my game to see what effect it has on my bankroll and comps if any.  So far, so good.  I hate playing Jacks or Better and I believe the best deuces wild game at the Hard Rock is 98.9%, so there you have it.Just because I make a comment or answer a question from my point of view on this forum, no one should assume I'm giving advice.  A forum is supposed to be for open discourse, not a teaching class or a marketing vehicle.  If others wish to use it for that purpose that's their decision, just don't assume I am.I too have a problem with "usable" comps.  Where we play the comps can only be used for food, lodging and gift shop purchases.  There is only so much food you can eat, I have enough sunglasses and T-shirts to last me a lifetime and I'm not in the habit of selling my comps at a flea market.Comped rooms are not difficult to obtain at the Florida Hard Rocks if you're flexible on the dates and you book well in advance.  All you have to do is log into their website with your player's club card and look for the comped nights on the calendar.  I suspect we are valued customers of the casino and we are not ashamed of that.  We don't see a war between us and the casino.  We like the place and they like us.  If we didn't think we were getting our money's worth, we wouldn't go.  We quit going to Mississippi for that very reason.I think Bob is right, there very well may be some slightly positive video poker opportunities in Florida.  In order to take advantage of them you would be forced to play those games even if you aren't enjoying yourself.  We play for enjoyment, not profit.   If we are not enjoying ourselves, no game is worth the money to us regardless of the odds.  If we can play 98.9% deuces wild in Florida, it's a better opportunity than playing a 96% game in Biloxi.  Not playing video poker because the game is not positive is not a solution for us.  If we felt that way, we won't play at all.

[BobDancer]

Hey Bob, do you know if most casinos are sophisticated enough to track exactly which game you play or just the machine you play on? The reason I ask is that the 9/6 JoB machines at the IP only have one good paytable on them. All of the other games on those machines have paytables below 98%. I heard somewhere, possibly on Gambling with an Edge, that some casinos use an average theoretical hold based on all the games on a particular machine.Thanks for you feedback.

I can't answer for most casinos. Some casinos do.

[pokerpokerpoker]

[QUOTE=pokerpokerpoker]Interesting, I have been playing mostly 9/5tb+ for quarters through dollars. Even though I have been going more often, because I have been doing well, many FP has dropped off the cliff. I used to get $20, then $10, now my latest was $5 - but only after earning 25 points. I guess they really do watch what you play.

I would use my freeplay on the tb+ at 99.8%, playing dollars, the expected loss per hand was 1 cent. So, $10 FP would allow me to play 1000 hands at no house edge. Maybe I will try the penny slot idea to see what that does to my mailers.You are EXACTLY the kind of player my advice was addressed to.try the penny slots for your free play for three months and see if it buys you extra free play.

(It takes a few months at least for this kind of "subtle" change in your play to manifest results.)I would be interested in you reporting back with your results.[/QUOTE]

I would report back, but another casino after several months of no play has stuffed my mailbox with FP mailers. I only make one casino visit a week at the most. So I doubt I will visit the original casino anytime soon. Besides, I have Vegas coming up.

[Mr.Dawes]

Free Play update.In March I made two trips to the IP in Biloxi. On the first trip about half my play was 9/6 JoB. On the second trip all of my play was 9/6 Job. I just received my mailer for May. My free play dropped from $15 a week to $10 after I play $10.This happened even though my total coin in was more in March than it had been at any point in the last six months. Until March I had played 9/5 DDB and airport deuces, but no 9/6 Jacks.I will try playing my free play on slots for a few months and report back.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=Mr.Dawes]My free play dropped from $15 a week to $10 after I play $10.[/quote]So you're saying when you play a near 100% machine, they cut your free play.  Interesting...  The trick would be to look stupid to the casino and sneak around playing 9/6 Jacks.  How about only using your players card when you play slots?   If you hit a royal with your card out, they wouldn't know.  Of course your comps would suffer, but I don't think they're that valuable anyway.

[Mr.Dawes]

[quote=Mr.Dawes]My free play dropped from $15 a week to $10 after I play $10.So you're saying when you play a near 100% machine, they cut your free play.  Interesting...  The trick would be to look stupid to the casino and sneak around playing 9/6 Jacks.  How about only using your players card when you play slots?   If you hit a royal with your card out, they wouldn't know.  Of course your comps would suffer, but I don't think they're that valuable anyway.

[/QUOTE]I have actually considered not using my card on VP before. I do accumulate a few dollars in food but not much else. But if I only use my card for $10 to $20 in slot free play a month I might drop off the mailer list altogether. My monthly mailer always includes a food credit that covers the cost of one buffet. It is possible that my drop is free play is coincidental and not related to my 9/6 Jacks play. I often wonder how casinos determine offers. Did they see my coin in increase in March and think this player is going to play anyway we don't need to offer him as much to come back or maybe May is a busy month for the casino historically and they reduce the offers compared to offers in winter and early spring. Who knows. But I will try the slot thing and see what happens.

[FloridaPhil]

I think I'm going to use my free play on slots also.  What can happen?  Maybe I'll win something who knows?   When I was playing quarter CS, my free play almost stopped.  This is understandable as my cash in was very low.  One thing is certain, If you don't go for a couple of weeks the mailbox is full of offers.  I've been playing max coin 50 cents lately and my free pay has increased.  I also think I see a jump in the amount when I hit a decent jackpot, but It could be my imagination.  I have been invited to a few limited drawings lately.  They're so hard for me attend because they are mostly at night when I'm sleeping.

[BobDancer]

Free Play update.In March I made two trips to the IP in Biloxi. On the first trip about half my play was 9/6 JoB. On the second trip all of my play was 9/6 Job. I just received my mailer for May. My free play dropped from $15 a week to $10 after I play $10.This happened even though my total coin in was more in March than it had been at any point in the last six months. Until March I had played 9/5 DDB and airport deuces, but no 9/6 Jacks.I will try playing my free play on slots for a few months and report back.It's not just the size of the mailers that's important. It's the cash back or free play from the club (if any) + mailers - expected loss on the game.Changing from 9/5 DDB to 9/6 JoB gives you about 1.5% more in EV. If you normally play $10K a trip, the change in EV is worth $150. That fact that your mailers went down from $15 to $10 is small change for an increase in EV of $150Be careful about listening to advice from FP. You're doing quite a bit better  video poker than he is.