Which Game is Better?

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=jstark]That picture doesn't prove anything.
[/quote]I didn't post it to prove anything.  What are you trying to prove?    My dog could have been dealt this royal.    I believe I have learned a valuable lesson.  After reading all the strategy books and listening to the experts, I made an incorrect assumption.  I assumed a game's odds are the most important factor when choosing a video poker game.  To gain better odds, I believed playing single coin at a higher denomination was a viable solution.  I still don't see anything wrong with short coin play if you are on a budget or you wish to extend your play despite the long term cost.  Playing single coin will do that.  The rub is you need the royal bonus if you are going to have any chance at breaking even, especially if you are going to play negative games.  Sooner or later a royal will appear and without playing max coins, the bill will come due.The best financial strategy is to play the best game you have available with the best strategy at max coins.  If the odds stink, so be it.  You can limit your play if you have to.   There is no advantage in playing short coin unless you cannot play VP otherwise.

[FAA]

Congratulations. Not only did you stay post RF, you went dollars! You milked that machine dry! I've had success with machines that read high three and low four figure Cash Out figures. So, I am no longer terrified of playing them. In fact, I think that they are likely to keep on paying out! So many success stories recently on the site. Hope that they rub off on poor me.

[Tedlark]

Nice outing Phil and good luck to you in Biloxi.

[Eduardo]

The best financial strategy is to play the best game you have available with the best strategy at max coins.  If the odds stink, so be it.  You can limit your play if you have to.   There is no advantage in playing short coin unless you cannot play VP otherwise.

















It only took 3,873 posts to learn this lesson but at least you've arrived.Congrats on the great hits. Now don't go changing your mind again.

[FloridaPhil]

It's too early to draw any final conclusions, but essentially here's where I am now.Math based Video Poker strategy is legitimate.  What confuses many players is it is being presented in the light of professional gambling.   If you are going to make a living at VP by wagering hundreds of thousands of dollars a month, you must limit your play to positive games only.   You also must play 100% perfect as a single error may cost you big time.  In addition, you must become a comp expert so you can wring out all possible benefits and incentives.  Most Recreational video poker players can't or won't do what it takes to succeed in that world.  If it was easy the world would be full of Bob Dancers, and it's not.I have no control over the VP odds in my local casino.  I am not going to move to Vegas so I can play 100% games as a hobby.  I wrongly assumed playing negative VP games required different strategies than positive games, that there was some way to beat these games through betting strategy or money management.   This thinking was in error.  When I lost money, I overreacted.  Not losing on a daily basis became my goal.  Playing single coin definitely limits your losses on bad days.  You pay the price on the good days.  This may work for someone with a limited gambling budget.  I have moved beyond that point.It takes money to play serious Recreational Video Poker.   My daily bankroll is now up to $400 a week just to play quarters.  To someone new to VP they may conclude it costs me $20,000 a year to play.  It doesn't.  My wife and I keep that much in our Video Poker playing fund, but we never use 25% of it.   This fund goes up and it goes down.  As a max coin quarter player,  if you don't have at least, $5K in a box somewhere, you are limiting your game.  You will constantly be concerned with your losses and you will do things that make you lose even more money.If you are searching for a way to play video poker without ever losing, you are in trouble.  The nature of this game is to lose so you can win.   I play video poker for entertainment.  I do not know of any entertainment you can do with no cost unless it's counting the flowers on your bedroom wallpaper.   What matters is the long term cost, not what happened last Tuesday,Play the best VP games you have the best way.  Use computer software to find the best games and teach you the best plays.   Train until you can play as perfect as you are able.  Stop trying to reinvent strategy or go your own way.  Someone has already done that for you.  All you have to do is follow it.

[FAA]

Great. I'm still in Limited Budget hell. So I will continue to limit losses on bad days, which still far outnumber the wondrous good days on our negative games. A casino trip solely for non max play is lunacy. My grab bag mix works these days.

[FloridaPhil]

I am not of the belief that there is only one "right" way for everyone to play video poker.  I do believe there is only one financially advantageous way.   Everyone is different, has different goals, different playing budgets and different opportunities.  How someone chooses to play VP with their own money is their own business.   We should be mindful of this when we use the word "right" as it refers to VP strategy.

[billryan]

If someone constantly contradicts themselves, do we consider them inconsistent or is there a better term?

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=billryan]If someone constantly contradicts themselves, do we consider them inconsistent or is there a better term?[/quote]Billy, are you going to spend the rest of your life posting rebuttals to everything I say on this forum?   I said I agree with your strategy.  What else do you want me to say?Let's knock it off and go back to talking about the game.  If you want to continue your jabs at me, ask Webman to create a special forum so we can let the rest of the members enjoy it in peace.  You won, get over it.

[FAA]

All max all the time is the financially advantageous way. But if one must cut corners, so be it. Only a RF will cut my nose to spite my face. Quit the racket, already. I must enjoy my five quad day.