Using the players club card

[JayBareet]

Everywhere I've researched states that when using the players club card - it has no negative impact on play. Yet when I play with the card - I tend to hit less often, and when I remove the card my luck turns favorable. I find I'm using the card less often - but know that I'm missing out on valuable comps. Anybody else experience this "coincidental" phenomenon?

[New2vp]

Everywhere I've researched states that when using the players club card - it has no negative impact on play. Yet when I play with the card - I tend to hit less often, and when I remove the card my luck turns favorable. I find I'm using the card less often - but know that I'm missing out on valuable comps. Anybody else experience this "coincidental" phenomenon?It is hard to determine why casinos would want you NOT to use a card, so I haven't yet imagined why the casinos would have an incentive to rig it so that card use would give you poorer hands, especially in such a way that would make it obvious to you.  I imagine that the casinos would rather you always use a card, so that they could track patterns automatically.  Nevertheless, there are some fairly hard-core conspiracy theorists that may come up with rationale.  Who knows?Your method of testing, asking if there is anyone that has had the experience of poorer play like you when using a card, will be certain to turn up someone to corroborate the story.  If the results were truly random, 1/2 the card experiences would be worse than 1/2 the non-card experiences.  Thus, even if you find the one person out of 1024 that has had 10 sub-par performances in a row with a card, you will not know much more than you know now.  (I picked 1024, because the odds are 1023 to 1 that 10 similar sessions would consecutively be worse than a median performance  IF the hands were random and a playing card had no effect, positive or negative.)  I'm 100% certain that some people have had worse luck while using the card.  And it is just as safe to presume that there are people who have had better luck.  What's worse for this testing method is that people responding may not have kept careful track, so the report would be based on a "feeling" rather than actual results.The good news for you is that whether or not the card has this negative effect on the cards, you will not be worse off in terms of hands dealt or drawn when omitting the card.  You will as you have already suggested not be getting comps.  You will have to determine how many actual comps you are losing depending on how limited your play is.Best of luck.

[DaBurglar]

The only legit reasons to NOT use a players casino rewards card focus either on anonymity concerns/needs (like you are a fugitive, or on the casino's exclusion list), or you simply do not want the casino to bombard you with marketing detritus nor know how much you play and thus win or lose there. Obviously by not knowing how much you play or win/lose you potentially miss out on what that particular casino is willing to give you in return for your play, but if you just happen to be a extremely lucky player who wins far more than he/she/it loses then you wouldn't want the casino to know who you really are.

Naturally though, if a casino does indeed want to know who you really are, they are going to find out.

[paco13]

I always use the cards. The benefits outweigh any thoughts of conspiracy IMO. I have actually thought that some of the hits I had were given to me out of pity during long dry spells. This one time I recall hitting a Royal and the attendant appeared almost instantly. As he approached he said to me "You worked really hard for that one Paul." I did not know him or how he knew my name. Really though I don't think any real casinos use the card to manipulate anything. The NY Racino's however I have my doubts. Nothing would surprise me when the corrupt NY Gov. is involved.

[phnxnmartini]

I always use my players card, especially because it tracks your win/losses and you can get a report at the end of the year for tax purposes.

[FloridaPhil]

Always use your card.  Whenever you find yourself in a new casino take the time to get a card and use it.  Not using your card will mean you will never be getting any offers, discounts or free play.  All of these things have value and are part of your winnings.  As a human being you are entitled to believe there is a plan or conspiracy to everything that happens to you.   There is no one in the casino who says "Oh look...Jay is here.  Let's turn off the jackpots!" 

[Come Back Kid]

I agree with playing my card all the time...However, I see where someone might think that. I've pulled my card several times and hit, so its understandable and makes you think hmmmm...Even though I know it doesn't have anything to do with my card. I get it, and it's a fair question. Good luck Jay.

[FloridaPhil]

Great question.  Over the years I have been in the conspiracy camp many times myself.   When things happen our minds look for patterns.  If we think we see a pattern developing, we believe something has merit even if our brains tell us differently.   The technology investment required to enable a casino to manipulate the hands in VP is not worth the cost or effort.  The games are practically always negative plus human errors and variance makes the casino an overall winner.  There is no need for them to invest any further.  

[ukaserex]

I always use my players card, especially because it tracks your win/losses and you can get a report at the end of the year for tax purposes.

Those reports cannot be trusted for tax purposes; you should track the machine you're on, how much you put in, and how much you take out.

Each and every time, each and every machine.

[dbamaster]

I often wondered the same thing about the club card. But I have just started in the casino world. It is a really fun adventure for my hubby and I