Musings of a casual recreational VP player.

[FAA]

I actually think that Informed Rec is a more precise term. Consider Uninformed Wreck, a species all too common. I'm not going for the jackpot at the first hint of a RF. I would rather maximize my chance to win the hand. I rest my case.

[FAA]

No movie and very few ball games are worth $300. My goal is to knock my trip cost to a tenth of that. All while racking up $1,000 coin in.

[FloridaPhil]

There are things you can do as a Recreational player that make losing your daily bankroll less likely.  I always start out with quarter play.   These days I always play max coins ($1.25).   If I want to play for 2-3 hours, I know I will need a minimum of 1,000 coins or $250.  Take any less and you will likely bust before any downturns can recover.     When playing quarters, I never put more than $20 in the machine at a time.  I cash out immediately whenever the counter reaches $50 or more.  I put the white ticket in my wallet and start again with a fresh $20 bill.  If I put more than $40 in one machine without cashing out, I move machines if possible.   I do not believe moving machines changes the cards that are dealt.   It helps your attitude.  A bad attitude causes problems.  You want to be relaxed and clearheaded so you can make good decisions.   Bad decisions cost money.Never move to a higher denomination until you have at least the amount you took to the casino locked up in white tickets.  When all your cash is in white tickets, count them up and decide what to do next.   You may decide to walk out.  You may decide to keep playing.  Quit before you lose it all, not when it's gone!   It's about wanting to walk out with money and making it happen.Learning to walk out with money left is not easy, especially when you are losing.  The first few times will be a struggle.  It's worth the effort.     There is a good chance you will lose some money over a year's playing time.  By using an effective money management strategy, you can hold your cost to play VP to a minimum.  Continuing to play until your all your money is gone, upping your bet and playing beyond your bankroll will double or triple down on your losses and make playing the game much more expensive.  Ask me how I know....  

[case]

Phil you said you are not concerned with VP odds over time because you only play a short time and then go home. You are wrong because your video poker is one long session. Just because you quit and go home does not matter. You come back the next time and continue. It is still the same game, just a different day.


If you play perfectly or close to it your odds will reflect the true odds as time goes on. This means you might win against a negative game this year but eventually it will catch up to you. Of course you will not realize this if you don't keep accurate records but you would be very surprised how close the game plays to its pay table.

I don't expect you to except this because you don't understand what long term playing really is. You my friend are playing for the long term.

[FAA]

Short vs. Long will always be a semantic/philosophical issue in my view. Like half full vs. half empty. Love the money management technique.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=case]I don't expect you to except this because you don't understand what long
term playing really is. You my friend are playing for the long term.[/quote]The term "long term play" is meaningless to a player like me.  Everything you say may be true. I only concern myself with what happens on a daily basis.  If I strive to go home more often with money in my pockets, the game costs me less to play.  If I play until my money is gone or I hit a big jackpot, I lose more.  The reason this is true is my VP is being played by a human not a computer.   Humans do not play level and perfect forever.  They panic when things don't go well.  They dream dreams of big jackpots and take chances that don't pay off.  They bore easily and play 90% slots or games they don't know.  Despite what some players think, we make errors.The holes in Advantage Play Strategy are not in the mathematics, they are in the players.

[markinca]

Phil, the fact that you consider yourself an informed vp player is baffling.

[FloridaPhil]

I called myself an informed Recreational VP Player.  What do you call yourself?

[FAA]

The man owns three copies of VPW software and VP books by the dozen. If he is uninformed, I fear for the rest of us.

[FloridaPhil]

I call myself "Informed" because I know how to determine a game's odds and always play the best games I have available.   I also learn and practice computer perfect strategy for the games I play and I use it to the best of my ability.  I call myself a "Recreational" player because there are other things higher on my list of VP priorities than profit.