More from the 2001 “Strictly Slots” article:
You May Not Be Playing the Right Games
You protest, “But I’m playing video poker, not slots. Everyone knows you have a better chance to win on video poker!”
Not quite true!
Yes, it’s impossible to win over the long term on slot machines (unless you’ve studied the complicated subject of slot bonusing) – the machines have all been set at the factory to give the casino the mathematical edge. This edge may be large or small, but the result is the same. You CAN win one time — or even have a long winning streak. But if you play long enough — and, just as the sun sets in the west, no matter how many charlatans say otherwise — you’ll be a long-term loser playing the slots.
However, just playing any VP machine does not GUARANTEE that you can snatch the mathematical edge from the casino. If you’ve been reading this magazine for very long, you’ve been educated to the fact that there are many paytables for VP, but only a few will give you the chance to win in the long term. We call these positive-expectation machines.
And you’ll need guidance to find them. No gambler, even those experienced in other games, can walk into a casino and choose a “good” game if he has never read anything on video poker. I wrote The Frugal Gambler for this very purpose — to give the beginning gambler guidance in that maze called a casino. And one of the most important parts of this book is a list of resources for the gambler who wants to study to become a skillful VP player.
Remember, you can’t beat the math. If you play negative-expectation VP machines, you can’t win in the long run. Just like playing slot machines that are negative, it’s possible to having a winning session, or even a series of winning days. But if you’re interested in having something more dependable than just luck, you’ll want to carefully choose plays that can give you a probable long-term result of over 100%.
The $2.00 machines are at the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. There are 15 machines with $1 and $2 denomination.
Jan,
Where are these $2 DDB machines as I only know of the $1 after the “purge”. As a warning to those that believe Casinos and their employees are their “friends”, a loose-lipped player bragged to her host about the $5/$10/$25 3/5/10 play machines and low and behold the High Limit Slot Manager found out and now those machines are unplayable. The cost to AP VP players with real bankrolls is considerable, please PLEASE think before you speak. Hosts are NOT your friend.
okay, you are going to love this. I went to the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg today since they were giving to Executive Card Holders an additional $ 250 for any jackpot. I thought about playing the $5 9-6 DDB but opted to play $2 10-6 DDB instead. Started out ahead but then fell behind moving to several machines. I then decided to play one machine and use my remaining bankroll. Again, up and down until I hit 4 aces. Usually, I will then switch to another machine after playing down to the next 100 level. However, I decided that I was going stay at machine. Before I knew it I was out of credits. I decided to reload and low and behold about another 15 minutes I hit 4 aces with a kicker. Now I am thinking about cashing out but decide to play on. In about 20 minutes I am dealt a spade royal flush. I told my wife that I had the Jean Scott gods following me. I thought you would appreciate information.
Jan
I have all kinds of readers, at all levels, from beginners to pros.
Changing machines will not help you win more unless you switch to a “better” one – the most it will do is perhaps help your mood. Coming up soon will be a blog entry about changing games/machines often being the cause of your losing more.
I might address your other questions in the future.
Because of spam problems, comments do not appear until I approve them. I usually take care of this once a day unless I am out of town and/or away from my computer.
I am trying to figure out why my comments aren’t showing up.
Jean
I would like to see article address more specifics questions such as: Do you play same machine during a session or do you play multiple machines? Do you switch machines for lack of quads or for hitting a royal? Do you have more winning sessions then losing sessions? Do you have win/loss goals for sessions and if so are the loss goals less or greater than win goals? Other specific actions that will help players win.
I believe that most of your readers fully understand full pay machines by now.
Is there an easily understandable definition for “positive-expectation machines?”