Why Do People Play Negative Video Poker Games?

[FloridaPhil]

If you ask any VP expert how best to play a negative video poker game, he will say you should have the discipline not to play them. With so much information in books and on the Internet, why do players play a game guaranteed to cost them the money?

If you ask a player who plays these games why they do, you will get a number of answers. He/she may say "I don't know if the game is positive or negative" or "I won big last Tuesday", or "I use my own strategy that can beat the odds" or even "I don't care".

I can't speak for everyone who goes to a casino, but I can speak for players my age. I am a 71 year old retiree. I have enough money to last me through my lifetime.... Maybe. I don't know what's ahead of me. I would like to leave some money to my son, my grand kids and a few charities. Taking financial risks with my money for the sake of entertainment is not a prudent thing for me to do . For these reasons, I handle my finances as if I was living on one social security check.

Most retirees go to a casino to enjoy social interaction. Isolation and the depression it causes are a big problem with older people. I am not suggesting casino gambling is a cure for this, but it does get you out of the house and around people for a few hours. Most retirees can't fly to Vegas every time they want to visit the casino. They go to their local casino and play the games they can afford to play. Those games are almost always negative. Most retirees can't play $5 games even if there is an advantage. To people living on a fixed income, $100 is a lot of money to throw away playing a game. Some people like me have money in retirement, but still think like a person who doesn't.

This puts me in a unique position as far as VP is concerned. I think like the older people you see at the casino, but I can afford to test the expert's advice. After years of this, I have determined the experts are correct. There is no way to beat a negative video poker game. However, there are ways to reduce the cost to play them.

The posts I make on this forum are not for everyone. Playing negative VP games is the norm in most of today's casinos. Yes, there are a few positive opportunities. They are most likely not available to your grandfather or grandmother when they go to the casino. The world is full of advice on how to beat a game where you have an advantage. If you have those opportunities don't listen to me, listen to the experts. If you don't have positive VP opportunities and you care about the cost of spending a day at the casino, you may be interested in what I have to say.

[pokerpokerpoker]

My dad is in his early eighties and still pretty sharp. He and his buddies pile into a car and drive the 40 minutes to the nearest OTB a couple of times a week. While he likely loses his $20 session stake, I think it is a good thing. It gets him outta the house, some socialization, and reading the sheets undoutably helps keep the mind sharp. I hope he is able to go for years to come.

[FAA]

Yeah, great value given the benefits. I'm thrilled to keep my trip cost two digits. I can play for an hour and have the discipline to spend another theee shopping, in bars/restaurants or now in one of AC's sports betting lounges enjoying whatever is on the tube. Not a bad deal at all with minimal discipline.

[stevel96a1]

the better question should be "why do people gamble at negative games?"

in my opinion anyone has gone to the casino more than a year sick of losing he or she would seek advantage and read books that will lead them towards card counting/video poker/live poker the very basics of advantage play. card counting issue there unless you have 10k roll and live in vegas, and no 9/5 id say go for it, but if you live in east coast and limited stores thats not a smart move, bad tables and limited tables here, you will be found out as a counter within 4 weeks if your lucky and if your bankroll holds.

live poker still has an edge since house rakes in a percentage of your wins Fred Renzy said that in his books or webpage

and finally the gold mine FPDW only accessable to the vegas natives residents not many wish to sit there for 6months and risk 6k$ and plug away for 10$ an hour is not very appealing if your making real money but i guess if you are working at taco bell or so many half naked girls on the strip on every block that might work for you

[FloridaPhil]

There are many reasons casino gambling is popular with seniors and few of them have anything to do with gambling. When I was a younger person, I didn't understand this. I thought all those old folks sitting in front of the slot machines were all hooked on gambling. I wondered why so many people enjoyed this activity when they would lose so often. Later I found out why.

When you are young you have many choices of entertainment. Most of them involve mobility. I fished for recreation and professionally in tournaments, I restored and raced classic cars and I was a competitive hand gun silhouette target shooter. Today, I can't sit in a boat seat for more than a few hours. I wear glasses, it takes me longer to get out of bed and I have arthritis. If you saw me you would think I was in perfect health. I am for my age, but there are a lot of things I can't do like I used to. Like the song says "I'm as good once, as I ever was."

Casino gambling is popular with seniors because they can enjoy it with practically any handicap or physical inability. We have all seen people with walkers in the casino. I have seen people so crippled up I could believe they were walking and somehow they made it to the casino. It's also popular because they meet with friends, talk to each other, perhaps have lunch and if done right can be cheap entertainment.

These people know they aren't going to beat the odds. They know they aren't going to be escorted to the bus with bags of money. Most of them are living the "lifestyle" they want without having the casino pay for it. All they want is a good time and the thrill of hitting a jackpot once in a while.

What does this have to do with video poker? Video poker is the cheapest entertainment in the casino. Played right, your money will last longer than any slot machine. The worst single coin VP odds I have ever seen in quarters were around 95%. The slot odds in Florida have been calculated at 90%. I can tell you from experience your money will last a lot longer playing quarter VP than in any slot machine.

I am posting this to make you aware there are many diverse people and reasons for going to a casino. Not everyone has a huge bankroll. Not everyone can play perfectly forever. Not everyone believes they can beat the casino no matter what they do. If you can, you have and are are doing what it takes to make that happen. Not everyone can or even wants to.

This forum should be open to all players and opinions, not just APs or VP experts. Our own VP expert is my age. He knows what I am saying is true. Instead of ignoring or making fun of them, lets help them enjoy the casino experience while keeping more of their money.

[Waiting4RF]

I think for the same number of pushes, playing a 90% penny slot machine for 1 penny a push would be cheaper entertainment for seniors than $1.25 per push playing 95% VP. Those penny slots do exist but you have to look for them. I played one last weekend for a promotion.

[FloridaPhil]

I think for the same number of pushes, playing a 90% penny slot machine for 1 penny a push would be cheaper entertainment for seniors than $1.25 per push playing 95% VP. Those penny slots do exist but you have to look for them. I played one last weekend for a promotion.

Aristocrat makes a popular penny slot called Gold Pays or something similar. This slot can be identified by the fireworks that go off as the game plays. You can see the rockets on the screen when you walk up to it. This penny slot is unique in that all the Jackpots shown on the front of the machine can be won with the smallest bet. You can play this game for as little as 8 cents a spin. I have a friend who hit a $4K jackpot on one of these machines with an 8 cent bet.

This is the kind of information this website could use more of. Telling players how to beat the casino playing positive VP games is useful to some. Telling players how to stretch their casino entertainment dollars is useful to many more.

[Tedlark]

Phil, if you are going to discuss how to make your money last longer sitting all day in a casino then you should also be discussing the medical pitfalls associated with sitting for long periods of time. These types of injuries can affect people of all ages and physical types, even those who THINK they are in generally good lhysical condition. One prime example of such a condition is called: Deep Vein Thrombosis, or DVT for short. DVT can develop clots in the lower extremities which can then travel throughout the body and be fatal. I could go on but this is the Recreational Play forum and not the Medical forum. But, maybe a new forum, the Medical Forum, can be created here so that Advantage Players, Recreational Player, and those in between: can be better informed. I would be hopeful though, that all information in such a forum be proper information and not just summuation, supposition, whimsical, nonsensical, hypothetical, voodoo.

[FAA]

DVT is highly unlikely for me, at least. Venturing to the furthest northern AC casino and back from Caesars resulted in a 15,000 step day. I do love it up there, so I will probably walk over again. Jitney back from now on, though. Great $2 investment!

[markinca]

Phil, if you are going to discuss how to make your money last longer sitting all day in a casino then you should also be discussing the medical pitfalls associated with sitting for long periods of time.

I actually play VP standing up most of the time, and kinda lean from side to side. Yea, that's not exercise, but at least it's not just sitting in a chair for 6 hours straight. I hate doing that.