How to be a Happy Gambler

[FAA]

"The bankroll essentially excludes you from playing a dollar machine."---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Words to live by.

[billryan]

I've heard little good about Arizona casinos.
It's a good magazine. I had a free subscription a few years ago.

[Raner]

How I became a happier gambler...
Let me first say all I play in the casino is Video Poker. A while back I did a bit of soul searching on what version of video poker would be the best for me to stick with as my primary game version.
For years my primary game version was DDB 10/6 and 9/6 but DDB is a though game version.
DDB for me is feast or famine. Threw the years I did pretty good but the highs are great
and the lows are terrible.
With all the game versions out there I had to make a logical choice for me.
I play dollar denomination single line 99% of the time.
I can play 100% Correct strategy on J or B, Bonus Poker, A's and Faces and DDB poker.
Well with an locational hiccup ounce in while... I think that applies to a lot of us.
The first thing I did was eliminate all the fancy versions of video poker.
Examples:
Any version that you have to pay extra to activate any bonus pays. Well that eliminated 2/3 of the games.
Any version that did not pay 10 credits for two pairs. There went a bunch more out the window.
Basically I was left with Three games, Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker and A's and Faces.
Here is a little example I put together that helped me make the decision to get away from DDB...
..... Lets base this example on a two hour session .....
    ..... Dollar Denomination Machine (Single Line) .....
..... Playing a hand every 10 seconds .....
Equals to 1200 played hands which equals to $6,000 coin in... (Two Hour session)
Now just for kicks lets see how much money will get paid just for the two pairs only will leave all the other pay tables out for this example...
So lets say we get 10 two pairs every five minutes... (I thought this was an honest number)
The total would be 240 two pairs which equals $2,400.00 (Two Hour session)
That would be like getting a set of A's with kicker and a set of 2's,3's,4's with no kicker on DDB every two hours, What are the chances of doing that day in and day out...
Although Full pay Deuces Wild has the best return according to the info I found on the net...
I'm learning Deuces Wild Strategy but it's the hardest to master for me anyway but I'm getting there...
I still play DDB on progressive machines only...
Anyway this is my little story of how I became a happier Video Poker Gambler...

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=Ranir]A while
back I did a bit of soul searching on what version of video poker would
be the best for me to stick with as my primary game version[/quote]I like your approach.  High variance games are exciting when things are going well, mostly depressing when they aren't which is the majority of the time. They're also murder on your discipline. After 4-5 hours of no quads, it's easy to go on tilt and start a cycle of negative actions.  Dropping the odds and adding bonus multipliers makes it even worse.  The games you picked are good choices. Unfortunately, I personally find them boring to play for long periods of time. I switched to deuces wild some years ago and couldn't be happier.  It's true DW strategy has a lot of small nuances, but it's nothing a smart dedicated player can't handle.   If you don't have one already, buy a copy of VPW software or use this website to train and you will catch on fast.  The trick is to play games with the right balance between your bankroll, excitement expectations, playing time and tolerance for losing.  Once you get that right, achieving VP happiness is easy.

[Raner]

Hi FloridaPhil...Thanks for the comeback...
Well in my case I don't get bored because the games I play now are very easy on my wallet...LOL...
I went to Lake Charles Louisiana to play for the first time because the wife could not get off work to go to vegas. I checked Isle of Capri first because it is right off I-10. Went in checked out the pay scales on Dollar Bonus Poker and did not like what I found... The pay scale was a glorified Jacks or Better scale. But I was there so I decided to play a hundred just for the hell of it. I got on a bonus poker machine at the end of a bank and played for about five minutes... Held A,K,10 of spades and hit the draw button and boom the J and Q spades should up...I asked the girl who hand paid the royal if there was host I could talk to about getting a comped room. She got a host to come see me and got two nights comped on a very nice room with a great view and Jacuzzi to boot. Played two days and came back home to Corpus Christi, Tx with all the money I took plus $4,550 in winnings... I like Louisiana at least till I loose...

[FloridaPhil]

Sounds like you're having a good time.  We used to play in Mississippi and Louisiana at least 3-4 times a year and had some great times there.  In 2008 playing in Biloxi I hit 4 royals in one 24 hour period. Three for $4K and one for $1k.  All of them came on Jacks of Better.  I framed the W2Gs and have them hanging on the wall in my  office. The Florida casinos put in Vegas slots a number of years ago, so we don't have to drive so far these days.   If you set up a dedicated VP bankroll separate from your spending money and play low variance games, I think you will find it's easier on your wallet long term. You'll probably have to add some to it once in a while, but stashing money in it gets addictive and it helps your discipline.   I have enough money in mine now to play at the dollar level all the time, but my brain tells me not to. 

[Raner]

Great story Phil...
Well I live in Texas, The politicians here are getting there pockets lined with gold from
the lobbyist from NM,OK,LA, and will not introduce a bill for casino gaming. I think it's just a matter
of time and they will have to give in. A poll was taken last year and 86% of the voters
in Texas were for casino gaming.
The best I've done on Royals is getting two in a day twice. They were all off Dollar DDB
single line machines. The first time was at Bally's and Paris, I hit a dollar machine at the bar when I went to
visit my bartender friend Josh in Paris, Then the wife came to tell me she was going to the room because
her eyes were itching and she thought her contacts lenses were causing the problem. She told me
to go play a bank of progressive machines that were near $10,000 at Bally's. So I told Josh I'll be back in while
let me go get a jackpot my wife just told me about. He laughed and said yah right.
I picked the 5th machine from the end and in less than 20 minutes I was getting had paid $9,995.
The second was at the red rock. I hit two royals on dollar machines in less then 30 minutes on my birthday
some years back.
I do have an honorable mention from Bally's also. I hit a set of A's with kicker, After the hand pay
the attendant asked me to clear the machine and was dealt another set of A's but this time I did
not draw the kicker...Damn...LOL...
I do have a question on Deuces Wild for you.
What pay scale should I look for when playing Deuces wild out side of Vegas. (None Progressive Machine)
Well, What I should really be asking you is what would be the worst pay scale that you personalty would play anywhere.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=Raner]What pay scale should I look for when playing Deuces wild out side of Vegas. (None Progressive Machine)[/quote]The best single line DW game we have seen outside of Vegas is NSU  (25/16/10/4/4/3/2/1) 99.828%.   Airport Deuces (25/15/9/4/4/3/2/1) 98.913% is a lot more common.   Fooler Deuces can be all over the board.  It's usually what you see in quarter play or at casinos where the patrons will play anything that's put in front of them.  The most common 'Fooler" pay schedule is (20/12/9/4/4/3/2/1) 97.055%.  Occasionally they will add 25 coins to the wild royal and drop the full house to 3 coins.  It's also common for them to play around with the 5-of-a-kind payout.My minimum game is Airport Deuces.  By the time they throw in comps and free rooms, it can be very close to a neutral game.   Sometimes I have to play at the 50 cent or dollar level to get the better odds, but it's worth it.  If I have to play anything worse than 98.9% deuces I will only play quarters for two hours at most and run like heck if I hit a royal or quad deuce.   Staying on a game like that is a lead pipe cinch to clean out your wallet.  The best way to compare these games is with software.  I keep a laptop with me in my hotel room loaded with Dancer's VPW software in case I run into something I'm not familiar with.   Sometimes a slight change in the pay schedule calls for a change in hand strategy.  This is a common occurrence in DW.Deuces wild is a very forgiving game.  Because the deuces are wild, the bell rings often and even making small errors can sometimes yield a decent payout.  How you do overall will depend upon your frequency of quad deuces and royals.  Like all VP games, you can have a bad day once in a while.  Thankfully they seem to be less common than in DDB or the gimmicky bonus games.

[Raner]

Thanks Phil...
Since I'm just starting on Deuces wild your information will be very helpful in giving me a good benchmark on what to look for especially on dollar machines...
I'm not a rich person but I can't get myself to play quarters anymore because when I hit a royal in quarters I always feel that I lost $3,000 instead of feeling that I won a $1,000... I'm sure you feel something similar when it happens to you...LOL...Thanks again for taking the time to help me out on my question to you...

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=Raner]when I hit a royal in quarters I always feel that I lost $3,000 instead of feeling that I won a $1,000[/quote]Playing bigger is not a financial problem for me, it's a mental one.  I played quarters for a long time because I feared playing bigger meant bigger loses.  This always kept me from enjoying the game fully as I was always yearning for bigger jackpots.   I tried all kinds of denomination switching schemes and made a lot of short visits to the high limit room.   Recently, I switched to 50 cent play and I'm working my way up to dollar play.  So far my results have been interesting.  I find I do much better when I play the same denomination all the time.  I consider money management to be at least as important as what game you are playing.  As I see it, the biggest problem players have is determining when to leave the casino.  When you leave the casino has no effect on your long term results, but it does affect your mental attitude.  Playing until you either go home rich or broke does not make you a "happy gambler".  I use both time and financial session limits.  What works for me may not work for everyone.