Pot Shots Anyone?

[FloridaPhil]

Let's talk about something fun on this forum other than the same old rehashed number crunching.  How boring....   Pot Shots are an important part of my recreational VP play.  I am not an expert VP player, I'm a gambler.   You might say I'm a poor one, but I am a gambler nonetheless.  One thing we can agree on is that you don't have to be an AP to win with a pot shot. What is meant by the term "Pot Shot"?  To me, a VP pot shot is taking a chance on a bigger machine than you would normally play.  In his books, Mr. Dancer also adds he must have an advantage to take a pot shot.   We normally don't have an advantage, so we will require our pot shots to be extremely limited.  Taking pot shots is not about math, it's about luck.  If you take too many pot shots, you are playing above your bankroll and the casino will steam roll you into bankruptcy.   I never gamble with money I care anything about.  That doesn't mean I don't care if I lose, it means I can shrug it off and not kick the dog when I come home.   My strategy is to reserve a portion of my play for pot shots.  What's a portion?  In my case it's about 20% of my daily bankroll.   If I take $500 to the casino, I'll play $400 at max coins on the best game available.  I always take my pot shots $20 at a time.  This means I can take 5 pot shots of $20 each.I have been called undisciplined on this forum numerous times.  I disagree.  It takes extreme discipline to limit your post shots and walk away with a profit.  Most players give their winnings back, I don't.  My motto is "You haven't won until you get home with your wins."If I normally play quarters, a $20 bill will give me a minimum of 16 max coin hands.  50 cents gives 8 max coins hands.  Dollars gives 4.  I can't play anything higher because a max coin bet is more than $20.   However, if I win enough I may be able to play with house money and double up allowing me to move higher.This leads to the question of "When to cash out when taking a pot shot?"  This can be very tricky.   If you set your cash out limit low enough, say $50 you may walk around all day with a bunch of $50 tickets.  I have done this and at the end of the day you may have enough money to go home even.  Nothing wrong with that.However, suppose you play dollars and on the first hand you hit a wild royal for $125.  Do you take the $125 and run or do you keep playing?   This is where the gambler in you takes charge.What I want is a hit big enough to cash out and walk away.   I like to play single coin $5 games when I take pot shots.  I get a lot of flack for doing this, but it works for me.  If I hit a royal flush at single coin I am giving up serious money.   However, the odds are so long I personally believe max coin "royal Insurance" is not worth the cost.   When I play $5 machines, I keep my $20 pot shot limit and enjoy playing max coins on the casino's dime.Anyone want to talk about pot shots?   It's a fun part of VP and everyone does it, even if they won't admit it. 

[FAA]

That's great strategy. Even with a $125 BR, a low roller can carpe diem with $25 in pot shots. On JOB, you'll likely come close to even on that. You can even abbreviate in Sharpie the intended purpose on the currency itself. Five twenties get MC and the sixth PS. It's a thrill for me to simply get a $125 quad. You can see the trail of smoke as I sprint for the cage, then the boardwalk. 

[Carcounter]

The only time I can remember taking anything close to a pot shot,( I usually play .50 and 1.00 max coin)was at the Bellagio years ago when they had a 9/6 ten play JOB machine for dollars. $50 a spin. On my last night there, I put my last $800 into the machine. Didn't hit anything remarkable, but played maybe 2 Hrs. and cashed out at $880.A profit of $80.

[FAA]

9/6 ten play JOB machine for dollars. $50 a spin. My last night, I put my last $800. Played maybe 2 Hrs. and cashed out at $880. A profit of
$80.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Great stuff. A ten play JOB dollars that lets you hang around for two hours is merciful indeed. I would have settled for a $100 loss!

[olds442jetaway]

Pot shots are about the only thing keeping me in the game. Of course its all pure luck. I don't know if anyone remembers, but last August 1st, I hit for 18k twice in the same 24 hour period both on pot shots. Am I ahead no. However, they kept me in the game much longer than usual. This year I have taken the usual number of pots shots, probably 200 bucks per session on a 1k budget. This year so far, I have 32 W-2Gs. My state will be very happy next April. In that number, 3 were nice pot shots 7500, 4800, and 4800 again. Again, I'm not ahead, but those bigger hits have kept me going longer. All pure luck. i also keep track of how many times I need one card for a hit of 50k to 100k. This has happened 12 times so far this year. i may never hit one of those, but seeing the possibility with a one in 47 shot is interesting to say the least. By the way, all of the sessions with hand pays would have been sessions where I would have been ahead a nice amount if I had quit for the day. That is the hardest thing to do. Out of the 32 hand pays, only a few were 2 in one day so that means, I was ahead a nice number in at least 25 sessions. I guess I need a monitor with me all of the time like the Mrs. to be my banker and to hit the cash out button. hehe.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=Olds442jetaway]Pot shots are about the only thing keeping me in the game.[/quote]Me too.  This year has been a royal flush drought for me with only one so far.  If it wasn't for pot shots, I would be down thousands.  I don't know why I even play normal VP any more (whatever that is).  Seems like a giant sucking tornado of money to me.  Thank God for luck!! 

[Onenickelmiracl]

I would disagree with the assertion a pot shot is not about the math. It's a basic premise if you gamble, you'll lose everything eventually at negative expection. So, your only chance is to bet as few times as you can as high as you can, denying the casino the grind.

I'm not convinced you're really taking a pot shot, more like a pot **** going from quarters to dollars. To be a pot shot, you have to go to at least one hand max coin in a $5 or $10 denomination.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=onenickelmiracl]I would disagree with the assertion a pot shot is not about the math.
It's a basic premise if you gamble, you'll lose everything eventually
at negative expection.[/quote]I agree.  Pot shots or whatever you want to call them are subject to the laws of math just like everything else.  If the game you are playing is negative, in time your pots shots will be too.  Pot shots are all about excitement and entertainment.  Have you ever walked by one of those giant slot machines and pulled the handle or bought a lottery ticket?  We all have.  That's a pot shot.  The odds of hitting the lottery are a lot worse than the odds of hitting a single coin $1,000 quad deuce.  So far I've hit 4 of them.  Does that prove pot shots are profitable?  No, it proves I've been lucky.[quote=onenickelmiracl]To be a pot shot, you have to go to at least one hand max coin in a $5 or $10 denomination.
[/quote]I like to take my pot shots on single coin $5 machines.  By playing single coin, I give up 1.2%.   The odds that I will hit a royal flush are 1/45,000.  I don't believe betting $25 a hand for "royal insurance" is worth the risk, especially on the small number of pot shot hands I play.   I prefer single coin for two reasons.   First, it forces me to play a minimum of $5 a hand and second it allows me to switch to max coins ($25 bet) without exiting the game.  Exiting the game has never worked for me as it interrupts the rhythm of the game.  This could be total foolishness on my part, but that's what my experience has been. I keep telling everyone on this forum that I play by what feels good, not by any math.  I am sorry if this offends some members, but that's what I do and I'm happy with the results.  Why do I keep posting on this forum?  Because lots of players play the way I do.  I'm in this game for entertainment, nothing else.  If I have to pay to be entertained, so be it.   Our two worlds of VP coexist in the casino, they should be able to on this forum as well. 

[pokerpokerpoker]

Much, or maybe most of my play is potshots. I like high variance games and my average casino visit is far less than an hour. I would rather play 30 minutes of dollars at $5,$6 or $10/hand than 2 hours of quarters. But of course when things run badly, $400-$800 is gone in a flash. Lately, I've been taking a liking to the .50 denomination - sort of a middle ground.

[FloridaPhil]

I switch around.  Some days all I want is to play for as long as possible.  Other days I feel like taking chances.  I do like changing machines.  That's one reason why I like Tampa so much.  Tampa is one of the largest casinos in the US by square foot.  All of the VP machines have the same odds.  To play them all would take quite a long time.  It's like going for a long walk only you get to play VP along the way.  In Hollywood, the six machines with the best odds are all in one place.  Pot Shots on slots are interesting.  I never knew how to play slots until I got into it.  Everything in a slot is a "Pot Shot" as far as I'm concerned.  I think the odds are probably around 90%, so you have to be lucky.  If you play slots with the minimum bet, all that happens is a slow wallet drain.  I hit them $20 at a time at max bet.  If I hit anything good, it's worthwhile.   I hit one for $1,000 on Tuesday.  Couldn't believe my eyes.