I promised that I would write about some of the things skilled VP players could do that MIGHT keep them out of the cross-hairs of casinos desperate to pump up their bottom line. But I find that this is a hard subject to tackle. For one reason, skilled players vary so much in their goals, from the very few full-time professionals who have no other income to the more casual players who just want to have a fun hobby that doesn’t cost too much – and everyone in-between those two groups.
The second problem is that there is nothing any knowledgeable player can or can’t do that will guarantee that he will always be welcome to play the way he wants in any casino. Some players are getting excluded completely and/or their benefits chopped for unknown reasons. And most frustrating, some skilled players continue to be welcome while others who play in the same way in the same casinos are booted out – and there seems to be no logical reason for this.
So here is where I need your help, my dear readers. While I am working the next couple of days on my laundry list of wise – and unwise – moves by a player who wants to be able to look for good plays in the widest choice of casinos, I would welcome your lists of do’s and don’ts. What wise things have you done? What unwise actions have you observed? Just put them in the Comments section at the bottom of this entry. Hopefully we can share ideas in a polite and civilized way, with the goal of helping us all cope better with present conditions. And then in a few days I will come back to enter into the discussion and give some ideas I have found that are helpful.
I can tell you that anyone wanting to play VP professionally is crazy. I love VP and will usually play non-stop for 3 or 4 days when in Vegas, then I am so sick and tired of it that I will not play again for another 3 or 4 months before I return to Vegas. With that said, even pro VP players have to utilize a lot of luck to make a decent enough profit to live on. Even with perfect srategy, etc., they are working harder and risking more than a minimum wage worker. Not what I would call a good career.
But to answer your question, here is one thing I have done that seemed to have noticed attention before and prompted someone to walk up to me while playing. On $1 machines, I have a tendency of playing for quick 4oK’s and then cashing out and moving to the next machine. I continue to just move from one machine to the next right after I hit a 4oK. I did this one night where I put $200 in a machine and was usually cashing out right after a 4oK for usually $300 or more each time. I continued this about 6 or 7 times before I hit the 4 Aces for $800 and quit and cashed out my tickets up about $1500 for the 2 hour session. I returned to play another $200 and that was when someone walked over to me asking if everything was okay because I kept changing machines. I just gave them the truth and they wished me good luck and left. I lost that last $200 and left, but still won over $1200 in about 2 hours. I am not sure if they would have asked me to leave, but I am sure they knew I had won some money during that session and I was probably playing suspiciously, albeit legally.
if the VP Police is bringing on the heat, then…
DONTS:
Dont pull out your iPhone with a Video Poker Hand Analyzer program on it..
Haha.. I play lots of VP at the indian reservations, and they’ve seen me pull out my iPhone and enter in hands that baffle me..they dont seem to care..
im using VIDEO POKER + PERFECT PLAY TRAINER ..
fricken rocks!
Norm & David,
I understand you position, but I respectfully believe it to be flawed. This is the same argument that the casinos use to change payout to 6:5 for Blackjack. “Because of card counters, we have to change the rules.” As a result, blackjack has lost its place to baccarat and penny slots as #1 game. I believe the casinos are cutting off their noses to spite their face. If you look at the places that have the best BJ games and best pay tables, they are DT and local casinos – places that understand that casinos are not like any other business model.
The highest returning game @ 25¢ level returns 76¢ for every $100 put through and played perfectly. Or $76 for every $10,000 played through – perfectly. Speaking at a purely monetarily level, you’d make twice as much if you stuck the 10K in a CD for a year. Play 1 hand out of 125 wrong and the casino is making money off you. It’s a tough way to earn money.
If advantage players are really causing damage to the casino’s bottom line, they need to deal with their comp system. The casinos give out the comps, they run the player’s club, they can change the rules as they like. But remember, someone else will give the player a better deal.
In order for me to gamble, I need to believe that’s it’s possible to win. I’ll never count correctly 100% of the time, or play every hand of JoB correctly 100% of the time. But I need to believe that it’s possible.
As for tips to not get bounced, it’s probably a bad idea to have Jean Scott’s book sticking out of your back pocket.
My favorite casino game is VP and ive hit plenty of royals in my time but im not a pro and i really dont think the advantage players are making it harder for regular joe players like me the casinos are going to do what they want no matter how big your bankroll is the only thing they care about is the bottom line $$$. I just worry about my own play.
I agree with Norm, on March 24 2011. I just returned from a week long trip to Las Vegas where I played video poker at my favorite casino. During the week I observed 4 professional players playing the same machines that I play. I go 2 to 3 times per year and I always see these same gamblers. I wonder how long it will be until they wear our their welcome to this casino and/or the casino removes or changes my favorite machines. I am sure that they are there at least weekly if not more. One person explained to me the amount of coin in to receive the maximum amount on the monthly mailers. I sincerely believe that these people could easily ruin it for the recreational, occassional gamblers who like to play at an advantage when they play, like I do 2 to 3 times per year.
Perhaps you will cover this in your next blog. And you will likely not like this point of view. I’m not so sympathetic with professional and advantage players who are experiencing restrictions on casino benefits that they have long enjoyed. Here’s my (flawed?) reasoning. Serious, advantage players who play perfectly and are able to annually grind out winnings along with big casino benefits for themselves do so at the expense of the vast majority of ordinary recreational(non-advantaged) video poker players. Non-advantage players simply want to play games with decent, good – full pay -payouts. Casinos really like our business because we don’t play perfectly and they make money from us. Non-professionals don’t hog full-pay machines during juicy promotions. Non advantage players don’t end each year winning money. Recreational players enjoy playing the game in our non-perfect manner. But, because of the advantage players, casinos have to take actions that protect their financial interests. As you say, casinos are not non-profit organizations. So, casinos have been removing full pay machines. And benefits for all video poker players are being reduced. And some professional/ advantage players are no longer welcome at some casinos. It’s even more difficult for the VAST majority of video poker players to stretch their gaming dollars. Professional, advantage players are making it harder for the rest of us. It’s hard to be sympathetic to advantage players who may no longer receive complimenatry cruises, expensive giveaways, suites, lavish meals for extended number of family members, etc. The average player appreciates receiving whatever modest benefits that may come their way. I do agree, however, that casinos are totally at fault for physically removing players from the casino floor. That’s just wrong. Casinos have every right to restrict and even eliminate its benefits to professionals and advantage players. Banning them from future play is excessive and wrong. If professionals and advantage players no longer receive big benefits, they will probably play less and the casinos will receive more winnings. This could lead to a better deal for the average player.
So, now you’re asking your readers to help you and other advantage players to keep getting very generous perks.
My premise is that professional and advantage video poker players make it more difficult for recreational players to get a fair shake. How does it help recreational players to help you and other advantage players?