Surviving Biloxi

[FloridaPhil]

After three years of abstinence we have decided to make another Biloxi trip.  Since the Hollywood Hard Rock pulled the good Deuces games, we will be back to our old stomping grounds.  The Beau Rivage is comping us three nights.  What a great hotel.  If you have never been there, it's wonderful.  Unfortunately, the VP stinks. We will be facing 97.579% Deuce Wild and 96.8% Bonus Poker.   Mississippi, also has a 3% State Tax on hand pays.  The rooms are worth about $200 a night.  Free drinks and a little food come with the package.  The trick is to play just enough to satisfy the casino without giving up too much.   They allow my wife and I to play on the same account, so that's some help.  There are other casinos in the area with better odds, but we want to make MLife happy.   They're comping our stay this spring at the Borgata, so it's not all bad.I'm training myself to play slower.  It's hard, but I should be able to get my play down to 500 hands an hour.  Frequent bathroom breaks should help.  I'll drink a lot of water.  I'll cash my tickets on every double win too.A royal or two would be of great help, but I'm not counting on it.  The Beau has a quarter 8/5 DDB progressive in the back.  I always get sucked into that game and regret it later.  NO DDB this time.The best odds in Biloxi are at the IP, so we'll sneak over when we can.  We'll also check out the new Scarlet Pearl and do some scouting around.   Time spent walking is time not losing. 

[Chicagoan]

The IP's odds are not as great as they once were. I go to the Mississippi Coast frequently, and the best paytables I have found are at the Silver Slipper in Hancock County. But --- I have never been to the new Scarlet Pearl, so maybe it has decent odds. I would not set foot in the Beau simply on principle --- their paytables are highway robbery, for suckers only.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=Chicagoan] I would not set foot in the Beau simply on principle --- their paytables are highway robbery, for suckers only.[/quote]Some members of this forum haven't been here long enough to know what CS was developed for playing VP at the Beau Rivage.  If you are going to play negative games like that, the only sure way to reduce the house take is to reduce the amount you run through the machines.  Playing single coin is one way to do this.  Unfortunately, you can't get free anything playing that way.  Max coins will cost me more, but I will have a better chance of hitting a $1,000 royal.  I'll need it.I've been practicing using the slowest game speed.  It's tedious, but it's dropped my hands per hour down by about 1/3.  My accuracy is picking up as well.   We'll go the small slow route and report what happens.   At least the beach is free. 

[Lucky Larry]

Phil,
Good luck to you and your lady in Biloxi. Been awhile since Sweet C and i played there. IP was the only place we felt we had a fighting chance. Look forward to hearing your reports.

LL

[Vman96]

They offer 97.58% Deuces at Beau? I thought it was the 95.96% or 94.82% versions the last time you were there, for quarters anyway. Good luck bucking the odds there!

[FloridaPhil]

We haven't been to the Beau Rivage in three years, so I don't know what the odds are now.  You can hit a royal flush on a 60% game.  The problem is always how much you lose, not how much you win.   The most financially beneficial way to play any negative VP game is to play small and slow, limiting the amount you put through the machines.  You can not sit on bad VP games all day letting the odds eat up your bankroll.   This is not about making a profit.  It's about not overpaying for your entertainment and comps.My biggest complaint with our expert is he never discusses the best ways to play severely negative VP games.   He will tell you not to play them.  What good is that when 99% of VP games are now negative?I do not claim to be a VP expert, but I have made every mistake you can make playing VP and some you never thought of.  I want you to learn from my mistakes so you don't make them yourself.When you walk into the Beau Rivage with a comped room, you are already up at least $200 bucks a day before you put any money in the machines.  You are staying free in one of the nicest hotel resorts on the Gulf Coast.   As soon as you play, you are playing at a severe disadvantage,   Play their games, but play them as small as you can stand and play as slow as possible. Set a very low cash out limit and stick to it.  Stay out of the high limit room. Drive down the beach to the Silver Slipper.   Go for a walk or just watch the terns as they jump the waves.  You are there to be entertained, not pay anyone's bills.  Believe me I know.At the end of your visit you will have had a great vacation on the cheap.  You most likely won't make a profit, but you will have a good time without the depression of losing a lot of money.  In the end, that's what VP should be about.

[Vman96]

My biggest complaint with our expert is he never discusses the best ways to play severely negative VP games.   He will tell you not to play them.  What good is that when 99% of VP games are now negative?I do not claim to be a VP expert, but I have made every mistake you can make playing VP and some you never thought of.  I want you to learn from my mistakes so you don't make them yourself.When you walk into the Beau Rivage with a comped room, you are already up at least $200 bucks a day before you put any money in the machines.  You are staying free in one of the nicest hotel resorts on the Gulf Coast.   As soon as you play, you are playing at a severe disadvantage,   Play their games, but play them as small as you can stand and play as slow as possible. Set a very low cash out limit and stick to it.  Stay out of the high limit room. Drive down the beach to the Silver Slipper.   Go for a walk or just watch the terns as they jump the waves.  You are there to be entertained, not pay anyone's bills.  Believe me I know.At the end of your visit you will have had a great vacation on the cheap.  You most likely won't make a profit, but you will have a good time without the depression of losing a lot of money.  In the end, that's what VP should be about.


Yes, I remember from billyjoe's and your stories, the Beau treats VP players fairly well, partly due to those rough paytables. So if you're gonna stay there on a room comp, it's best to play as little as possible to keep that room comp. Of course, if you don't ever want to go back, then feel free to "torch them".

And as for Bob, he's not like most of the forum. VP is his job. Would you work for a negative wage? Hell, I contribute fairly useful contributions to this and other forums for free, at times I wonder if it's worth it myself, especially if I spend over an hour on it. That includes my latest Trip Report I reformatted for this forum...

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=Vman96]And as for Bob, he's not like most of the forum. VP is his job. Would you work for a negative wage?[/quote]I get this.  If forum members want to discuss positive VP, how to beat the casinos or becoming an AP, Bob is the man.  I want to discuss VP as I am able to play it and I think others do as well.  There is no need for these two VP worlds to collide or for members of each group to waste their time slinging arrows at one another.  Hopefully we will get to a point where both worlds can coexist in peace.

[FloridaPhil]

We're back after three days in Biloxi.   I changed my VP strategy over the past two months and I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere.  After nearly 15 years of playing VP my way, I decided to stop reinventing the wheel.  Three solid days of playing the worst VP odds you can find anywhere.  Our results?   I made $600 not counting comps.  It cost my wife $300 in cash out of her bankroll.  Comps? Three nights at the Beau RIvage worth $250 a night.   One free meal a day plus all the wine she could drink.  $100 in free play.  Here's a royal I hit playing 6/5 Bonus Poker.  The counter was still clinking away when I took this picture with my phone.  My wife hit three sets of quad deuces for $750.  We had a fantastic time.  Before I changed strategy, I was averaging negative $1,500 on these Biloxi trips.   If I had not hit this royal, I would have cut my losses to less than $200 a day.  That's progress.I will start a new thread on Biloxi tomorrow and post a full report with photos.

[FAA]

Congratulations. You had to like your chances dealt four. I would enjoy the run up and photograph at 4000 even. It must feel great to abandon dollar and save all the stress. I'm used to -$200 attempting to navigate dollar. Dollar makes you holler.