How to view one's dealt hand

[Alliewallie]

Waiting for RF

"So the best you can do with no comps and the 96.78% return 8/5 DDB game is get back $1.20 for every push of the deal button with perfect play on average long term".

I'm not sure I understand exactly what you said here. Could you "Rookie" it for me?

[Alliewallie]

RF

Are you saying I lose a nickel for every push of the deal button since I wager $1.25?

[Alliewallie]

If you don't mind, could you define "mistakes"?

[FloridaPhil]

High variance games like DDB have larger and more numerous jackpots.  They also
have longer periods of losing in between.  They are a feast or famine
situation.  Most rookies love this game because of the big jackpots and
don't think about how much it costs to win them.  When you first start
out, the best games to play are those that double your money for two
pair.   The strategy is easier to learn and your money will last
longer.  Those games are mainly Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker. Try to find and play the best games in the casino.  You may find two identical machines side by side with one having better odds than the other.   Playing games with better odds does not guarantee better short term results.  What they do is allow you to play more hands with the same money.  More hands played equals more jackpots.Keep in mind that professional players are playing different games than you may have available to you.  They never play any game unless they have an edge on the house and they exploit any and all opportunities to do so.   It's getting harder and harder to find such games.   This does not mean you shouldn't listen to what they say.  It means you should not expect the same results.Video poker is a great leisure time activity.  My wife and I play it as a hobby.  Played right, it doesn't have to be expensive.   Played wrong and out of control, it will bankrupt you.

[Alliewallie]

Thanks Phil.

[billryan]

RF

Are you saying I lose a nickel for every push of the deal button since I wager $1.25?

A 96.78% game means you lose an average of3.22% every spin
Every $100 spun means you lose $3.22 Playing $1.25 a spin you lose 3.2 cents plus .8 cents so four cents per spin.
If you play slow at 300 hands per hour, it will cost you $12 an hour to play. Most hours, it will cost you more because you don't hit a premium hand every hour at that rate.
If the casino isn't giving you value - mailings, free play, cash back , food, rooms, shows, ect, this can get expensive when you get up to speeds like 500 hands per hour.
Some people will argue that its better to play bad games than not play at all. Others will tell you to save your money and instead of weekly trips to lousy casinos, save your money and make two or three trips to Vegas or some place with good games.
When I lived upstate, every pizza place in driving range was really bad. It's my favorite meal but I'd go weeks, sometimes months, without a slice of inferior pizza.
Some people play the game. Some people attack the game.

[Waiting4RF]

You are playing a negative game with the 96.78% return. It doesn't matter if it is DDB or Bonus Poker, the result long term means you will lose assuming you have no comps, no cash back, etc. The professionals want their return to be over 100% which includes the cash back, etc. A casino mistake would be mailing you too much free play on one machine that looks just like all the other machines in the casino. The one machine would have been setup incorrectly by the casino but it looks just like all the others. The professionals find these machines and play them. They may be losing most of the time but the free play in the mail makes them a profit. These are the insider secrets. Read all the Bob Dancer articles for other examples.

You can do the math. You said there are not any comps. If the royal average is 40,000 hands, then assume you play 40,000 hands and get all jackpots according to their average and get the royal at hand number 40,000. You played 40,000 hands: 40,000 hands x $1.25 x 0.0332 is your loss of $1,610. When you hit the royal at hand number 40,000, you will still be in the hole $1,610. If you play 5 nickles at $0.25 per push, you will lose one fifth of $1,610 ($322). If you do lower your denomination, always look at the pay table to verify the 5 coin royal gets you 4000 coins instead of 1250. Many nickle machines will make the royal 4000 coins only if you play 10 coins or more.

[Alliewallie]

Thanks again to all for taking the time to respond.

We can play in the low 400's re: HPH but it seems we are losing about $30/hr/player at $1.25. Maybe we just haven't put in enough play time to get the decent hits.

We have adequate resources to boost our play to $5/hand to push the comps. and we can surely play a low variance game such as BP but we are going to need a decent bankroll to prevent getting out before the hits. Just not sure it's worth it spiritually, financially, psychologically or otherwise.

I actually think we need to play on one card, get to the next comps. level and see what the casino will bring to the table. Maybe.

[Alliewallie]

Plus we are going to start paying more attention to exactly what freebies are being offered, and value each and every one so that we can actually calculate how much we are truly receiving. We do get free play, cash back, food, receptions, booze bottles, gifts, etc. and so we definitely need to add all that stuff up before complaining about 'no comps'. But we are still way way behind even with the freebies.

My sense is that after playing a lot more and with the fullness of time it will all make more sense but it may take many more months of play at least several times/week with 3 hours/sessions.

[Alliewallie]

And we will very likely stick with BP 8/5 to accomplish that goal and enjoy ourselves at the same time. The DDB variance was just too much.