Musings of a casual recreational VP player.

[FAA]

If I was profit driven, I would have left after free play and $100 coin in in in today. But I opted for a PM session of $820 coin in. The decision cost me $35.

[markinca]

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.

Great, so I guess if I own a dozen medical textbooks that makes me a doctor.

[case]

If I was profit driven, I would have left after free play and $100 coin in in in today. But I opted for a PM session of $820 coin in. The decision cost me $35.


Maybe a gambling problem?

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=markinca]Great, so I guess if I own a dozen medical textbooks that makes me a doctor.[/quote]I didn't say I was a doctor of VP.  I said I was "informed".   Lots of players have no strategy at all.  I see players who don't know where the coin slot is playing dollar games.  I once had a lady who was playing TDB ask me if she should keep 3 aces.   I have had dozens of players tell me they make money playing VP when I know they don't.   I only need to know enough about the game to know what I am doing and why I am doing it.I use math to tell me how to play the cards.  I didn't do the math, our expert did.  This should make you happy.  Instead, you take jabs at me because I don't believe "long term" has any effect on a player's results.  I play the best games I can find with the best mathematically correct strategy and let the results take care of themselves.Video poker is a game where you gamble that the numbers you pick match the numbers randomly selected by a computer chip cycling millions of times a second.  The machine is there to do one thing and one thing only, make money for the casino.  If it doesn't, it's replaced with one that does.   Truly intelligent players know that.   There is only one way to absolutely guarantee you will be a video poker millionaire...  Start with a billion dollars and work yourself down.All I want out of video poker is to be entertained as cheaply as possible while having a chance of winning a jackpot once in a while and that's what I get.

[Tedlark]

Phil, just out of curiosity: what did you tell the woman who was playing TDB who asked you if she should keep 3 aces?

[onemoretry]

   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. 
Based on some of your other recent posts, it seems you are describing yourself.

Not everyone reacts like this.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=Tedlark]Phil, just out of curiosity: what did you tell the woman who was playing TDB who asked you if she should keep 3 aces?[/quote]I told her to keep them like her life depended upon it.  She proceeded to tell me her husband had passed away last year and she had been going to the casino because she was lonely.  She also told me her late husband would have killed her if he knew how much money she had lost.    I asked her if she ever hit quad aces with a kicker.  She said "A long time ago."  I asked her why she didn't play a game that paid her more often than "A long time ago?"   She was a nice lady so we talked for quite a while.  I told her about negative odds, variance and computer software.  I advised her to buy some and practice at home.You can't learn all there is to know about VP from a book.  I often wonder if the people who write these books ever think about ladies like that?   I talk about these things on this forum so others don't have to learn the hard way.  It's one thing to produce mathematics showing a few VP games are profitable in a computer lab.  It's something entirely different to make it happen in a casino.

[Jstark]

   Phil, just out of curiosity: what did you tell the woman who was playing TDB who asked you if she should keep 3 aces?
And if one of the other two cards was a 2, 3, or 4, would be have told her to hold one of those as well.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=Jstark]And if one of the other two cards was a 2, 3, or 4, would be have told her to hold one of those as well.[/quote]The TDB hand she was holding at the time did not have a kicker card.  If it did, I would have advised her to hold it as well.   She was not even close to being that proficient.   She was playing TDB because she saw the big jackpots.  Lots of players pick their games that way.  They don't think about the losses that build up between jackpots.The game she was playing was not close to positive.  As far as I remember she didn't even have a players card in the machine.   All most casual players read in these books is "Video Poker is Beatable" and they pull out their wallets.  The casinos know this very well.  They want players to believe they can beat the machines, that's how they pay their bills.  I don't begrudge them for being in business.  I want my casino to be there next week.    I also want players who read my posts to know the odds of them being a long term winner are slim even when math says the game is positive.   Long term video poker winners are the exception, not the rule. I doubt we are going to turn anyone on this forum into a huge VP winner.  If we can prevent them from being a huge VP loser, it will be worthwhile.

[Jstark]

I don't think many casual players even read gambling books. I'd say it's less than 5% that do read them. Just look how bad most blackjack players still are.