Losing at VP – Part 12

More from 2001 article – still just as good advice for 2010!

8.   Find ways to decrease the volatility of video poker and/or get to the long term quicker. One idea is to find a gambling buddy. Two people playing out of the same “pot” don’t need a bigger bankroll than one person; and, because they’re getting in twice as many hands, the roller coaster ride will be a little less breathtaking.

Another idea is to play multi-line machines. However, consider carefully before you choose this technique. For one thing, the volatility in the short term will increase dramatically because your results for all lines are still dependent on the ONE dealt starting hand. You don’t need to multiply the single-line bankroll requirements by the number of lines to determine how much to increase your bankroll; math calculations say that you won’t need nearly that much.  But I find I’m most comfortable with a bit more than the math would indicate, because the increased volatility short-term can take you much deeper into your bankroll in any one session than on a single-line machines. I like twice the bankroll for Triple Play, three times for Five Play, and five times for Ten Play.

One reason you might be suffering bankroll shock when playing multi-line machines is that you often are playing more per hand than you were when playing single line.  You have to compare the per-hand bets.  Quarter single-line players who go to quarter Triple Play are tripling their per hand bet.  The figures I give above are for that situation – you don’t need triple the bankroll but at least double.  For a better comparison, these players would be better to play nickle Five Play – then the total bet per hand would be the same.  Dollar single-line players will need to go down to quarter multi-line, and so forth.  A problem arises, however, when often the lower denom multi-line has an inferior paytable.  This is the reason we can’t find as many good multi-line plays as in the past.