Some of the most common questions I get are about our choice of casinos, why we play – or don’t play - at a particular one. It is difficult to “explain” many of our plays because there are so many factors that go into them and some of the “advantage” benefits are not generally known or readily apparent. Here are some of the factors that influence what and where and why we play at a particular casino:

--We live in Vegas and are able to get certain benefits in casinos here not available to out-of-towners. But remember, often out-of-towners get benefits that locals can’t get – it works both ways!

--We play mostly at quite high denominations these days and there are benefits that come from that which won’t be available or even known to those who play at lower levels. But before you get too envious of this, remember that you may be able to find higher-EV plays at the lower denominations and you won’t need to have such a large bankroll or suffer such severe losing streaks!

--We sometimes find out about a game or a casino promotion that isn’t known to the general public. Some of this information comes through our wide network of friends but a lot comes from constant research. I scour through many Internet forums and Web sites for kernels of information that we can use to grow our gambling profits.

--Brad and I been doing this for many years and have a long history with many hosts – some who have moved – perhaps several times - from the casino where we originally met them. They know that we will give good play where we take high-level comps and that we will never abuse the system. Most importantly, they also know that we go for long periods without asking for any comps so they are happy to provide them, even “special” ones, the few times we do ask for them. In fact, we have some hosts who “beg” us to eat at their gourmet restaurants when all we want is a buffet comp! 

--Although we don't count the value of comps when figuring out the EV of a video poker play to be sure it is an “advantage” play, we will occasionally do a play with a smaller edge than we usually like IF the comps are valuable to us. We are always careful, however, to be sure that we have the bankroll to cover this low-edge play.

--And last, but certainly not least, Brad and I work together, with much bigger gambling success than either of us could achieve alone – since we don’t want to “work” full time. Brad does not like to plan ahead. However, I love to “organize” so I spend a lot of time in my office keeping track of all casinos offers and promotions and combining them into “super” plays. I hate to run around town every day, in and out of casinos picking up free play. However, Brad loves to have an excuse to go out most days, so he enjoys getting “casino pickup assignments” from me.   And then on those days that we are scheduled to put in some time actually playing video poker, we enjoy going out together for this pleasant “job.”  

These are some of the many reasons I can’t give specific advice to players who ask where would be the best play for them. It is such a personal decision with so many complex issues.

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