VP tournament (DDB) this week. A little help?

* Just found out that the game we are playing will be DDB.

Hi guys. I posted this on the paid side- thought I would look for a little help over here as well.

We are heading up to the Peppermill in Reno this Sunday 1/22 & 23, to watch the 49er's v. Giants game and do a little gambling. There is a VP tournament during the same period and I thought I would give it a try. I have played quite a bit of VP but have never played a tournament. Any advice would be truly appreciated. Here are the rules and some information. Thank you very much.


Freeze Out Video Poker Tournament

Sunday, January 22, 2012 through Monday, January 23, 2012Get your hands on some cold, hard cash during the Freeze Out Video Poker Tournament, January 22-23, 2012. You could win a share of over $25,000 in Cash and Free Play!

Your $129 entry fee includes:

•Three rounds of tournament play
•Shuttle service to and from the airport
Tournament Schedule:

Sunday, January 22, 2012

•11am-2pm: Registration in the Naples Welcome Center
•3-5pm: Late Registration
•3pm: Round 1 starts at the Tournament Area on the Casino Floor
Monday, January 23, 2012

•9am: Round 2 starts
•2pm: Round 3 starts
•7pm: Prize Pickup and Results Postings
Prize Structure:

•1st: $7,000 Cash or Free Play
•2nd: $4,000 Cash or Free Play
•3rd: $2,000 Cash or Free Play
•4th: $1,500 Cash or Free Play
•5th: $1,000 Free Play
•6th: $900 Free Play
•7th: $800 Free Play
•8th: $700 Free Play
•9th: $500 Free Play
•10th: $400 Free Play
•11th-30th: $100 Free Play each
•31st-100th: $50 Free Play each
•101st-150th: $30 Free Play each

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Contestants and guests must be at least 21. Machines are identically programmed Free Play machines. Highest total combined score for the three rounds of play will determine the First Prize winner for that game. *Prize money based on 350 entrants and may be adjusted based on actual number of entrants. All decisions of the Tournament Director are final. All complimentaries are based on your casino activity and will be posted to your account. Peppermill reserves the right to refuse entry into the tournament and/or cancel the event prior to January 22, 2012. Tournament sessions will be 15 minutes long with 1000 credits to play. Session is over when either 15 minutes have expired or 1000 credits have been used. All Royal Flushes will be worth 1000 Points and $100 cash. Registered account holders must play their round; substitutions are not permitted. Session times determined by number of entrants on a first come first served basis. Free Play will be automatically loaded to Passport card and will expire after 90 days. First through Fourth Place winners have the option to choose cash or Free Play for their prize. Fifth through 150th Place will be awarded Free Play.

As Clemenza would say: "Leave the Free Play. Take the Cash."

Free play doesn't generate a tax form, while annual tournament winnings >$600 (from one casino) does generate a 1099.

I would definitely try for late starting rounds, especially on the last one. It's immensely helpful to have an idea of what's needed, so I would spend my time "clocking" the two earlier rounds, see what the totals are, etc.

Having that information, especially in the last round, would allow for strategic decisions to affect your finish. There are just too many variables to "suggest" anything or go in with a preset strategy.

Having information from earlier rounds, and totals for the two days, would be an immense help in figuring a final day strategy.

If you are "serious" about winning, you'll also need a way to "identify" the competition to add their scores for round 1 & 2. Maybe a smart phone with database or spread sheet, and a picture of the other players to identify them. Casino may frown on those tactics, but so what. I know that if I were in it, I'd definitely be scouting the scores.

Who knows, with great luck, if you have a monster 1st & 2nd session, you may find yourself better off not playing any spins, just collecting the 1K points to start the round to insure a high finish. Or, you may find you need to go for a RF on every hand to have a chance in round 3.

Good luck.

DD- "He was banging cocktail waitresses two at a time! Players couldn't get a drink at the table! What's the matter with you?" -Moe Green

DtD- Thank you Sir.

TR- Excellent! That's what I need. I shall employe those ideas.

Do you know what the pay schedule of the game will be? Interesting how they are handling royal flushes. The $100 prem (sp?) just about covers your entry fee, but a pay of only 1000 points would seem to have a less than usual effect on the standings.

Sounds like a fun weekend. May the VP Gods give you a couple RFs.

The first question we need to understand is what is your goal. Do you want to cash or do you want to have a chance at winning. The reason for this has to do with the strategy will be different based on your goal. Also, as RR mentioned it would be good to know the game. Most tournaments use DDB but you already noted one variation with the RF being 1000 credits, so I wouldn't make any assumption.

350 contestants playing 600 hands each yields a total of 210,000 hands. Hence, you should see around 5 royals and 50 sets of aces. That pretty much means you would need to hit one or more of those hands to place in the top 5. However, if you dedicate your strategy to this kind of result then you will likely score very poorly if you don't hit them. That would make cashing unlikely.

Here's some potential strategy variations that you might think about if the game is DDB. It really does depend on the paytable so it will take a little more effort to determine if these are good ideas or not.

- always hold a high pair over two pair to improve the chances of hitting a quad.
- hold a single ace over any low pair to improve the chances of hitting aces.
- hold 3RF over high pairs (except aces).
- throw away dealt FHs to go for quads (especially 2-4).
- hold kickers with appropriate 3oaks if you start falling behind.

You should be able to estimate what will be needed to reach your goal after the first round. If you have a lucky round you may want to start playing more conservatively. If you have bad rounds in the beginning then you may need to play for quads even more.

Again, thanks for the responses so far. Some excellent information.

I just found out that the game for all (3) sessions will indeed be DDB.

RR- Thank you sir.

B-

Arc- Excellent information! A question;

1- "hold a single ace over any low pair to improve the chances of hitting aces" But not if the low pair is 2's - 4's, correct?