Harrah’s Cherokee Trip Report – Part 5
A big thank you for all who have used the comments section here or on my Jean Scott Facebook page, or written private e-mails, to express their appreciation for the detailed Cherokee trip report. I see a pent-up desire to hear more casino stories, while so many are impatiently waiting to get back to begin their own.
And yes, you’ve had many questions for me, all of which I’ll try to address!
One of the biggest issues that was brought up was the high denomination I was playing: $25-a-hand video poker. I realize that most readers here don’t have the bankroll or relish the risk for this kind of play. Because of that, when I first started writing this report, I considered giving just a general description of the trip with no math details. However, sometimes I’ve been accused of being just a sunshine girl, only talking about the winnings, jackpots, and positive adventures. In fact, I’m pretty much a tell-it-as-it-is person. And I’ve always tried to show the lows as well as the highs of gambling. No gambler, no matter how knowledgeable or skilled, wins all the time.
So I emphasized with details how you must check the math of your play, be aware of what the risk is, and be absolutely sure that your bankroll and risk tolerance was strong enough. And in spite of a nice last-minute jackpot, we did lose. Those are lessons you must learn, even if you’re playing dollars or quarters. If you’re a dollar player, go back to the previous parts of this report and divide all the numbers by 5 for an idea of how much you’ll need and what can happen if you’re playing NSUDs at $5 a hand instead of $25.
Many of you wanted to know if you could do what we did at a lower denomination, specifically at this casino. In a word, “No.” I didn’t make a complete check, but it seems there are no video poker games at Cherokee at a lower denomination with as high an EV as the 99.7% we were playing. If you go to vpFree2, the next best game listed under $5 is a $2 game of what is called “Illinois Deuces” (1-2-3-4-4-9-15-25-200-800), with an EV of 98.91%. And the few quarter VP “fun” games I checked out in the All Star machines (Ultimate X, Spin Poker, multiline, etc.) had scary low-pay schedules. My advice would be to accept the fact that you’ll be doing recreational, rather than advantage, play if you want to play VP at your more comfortable lower-denomination level and that’s all right. You might want to cut down your time in the casino and enjoy more of the glorious outdoor activities.
This is a good place for me to temporarily stop talking about Cherokee and do a little venting. Recently, I’ve heard some podcasts and have read some gaming writing – in various blogs, gambling forum chats, and even in the comment section here – that actually made me mad. I just hate it when long-time skilled and professional gamblers put down other players. They question others about whether they’re playing with an advantage. They’re rude when newbies ask “stupid” questions. They mention their own “superior” methods to judge other’s “inferior” actions.
Have they forgotten the steep learning curve back when they didn’t “know it all”? And most of all, have they not learned that not everyone in a casino has the same goal? Those who plan to make money, much less make a living, are in an extremely tiny category. The majority of players are simply looking for fun; they’re recreational gamblers. It’s a good thing that most gaming writers are experienced gamblers and they have valuable information to share with us to help us gamble smarter. But no one wants to be insulted or ridiculed for a basic question or put down for their differing gambling goals and choices.
I’ve tried to remember this, though perhaps I’ve been guilty of some of these failings in the past. I’m a born teacher and sometimes that can be a bad thing. I want to help people so badly that sometimes I become pretty forceful. (Ask my younger sisters, my daughter, and my grandchildren about that! 😊)
Actually, before I started writing my last book, The Frugal Gambler Casino Guide, I re-read all my previous books and realized that they were too “narrow” for the current casino climate. I needed to help all gamblers, not just those wanting to be “gambling students.” So I got rid of the gambler pyramid, a ranking which seemed a bit too judgmental. Instead, I promoted a new goal that would include almost every casino visitor: losing less! This would be a worthy goal no matter what game or denomination you played.
And this Cherokee report gives an example of how I’ve put my new outlook into personal action. I still work hard to lose less, but I’m not ashamed to admit that the recreational part of this trip was just as important as the gambling part.
Stay tuned for more questions to be answered ahead.