My last blog entry, about our holiday trip to Harrah’s New Orleans, generated a lot of questions and some negative comments – as I knew it probably would. Some of you wrote to me privately and some left comments here. If you have not done so before, you might want to go back to that blog entry and click on “Comments” to read some of the discussions there.
I’m not going to answer every question specifically, but the following general information will give lots of answers – and, more importantly, give you possible options for improving your VP results, some you might not have thought about. Remember, my “mission” is not to provide you with a daily fish dinner, but to teach you how to fish so that you will be able to feed yourself.
1. Be aware that your bankroll will largely determine what games you will play and at what denomination. We have a much larger bankroll than many gamblers (primarily because of almost 26 years of extremely disciplined advantage-only gambling); therefore, we can play at higher denominations and thus achieve a higher casino tier status that will generate more comps.
2. Remember that being frugal doesn’t mean playing at low denominations – it means getting good value for your money. We stayed at single-line quarters for many years and then slowly went to 50-cent and then dollars. When multi-line was introduced, we progressed to $15 a hand ($1 Triple Play), then $75-$125 ($5 Triple\Five Play). Now we even occasionally play $250 a hand ($1 Fifty Play), but our personal frugal rule is just the same as when we started at quarters: We must have an advantage over the casino – and the bigger the better.
3. You find good plays by constant research. I almost never specifically answer questions about where and what we play. It is more helpful to give general information since people have different bankrolls, goals, game knowledge, and/or experience. A few of our plays come from tips given to us by other knowledgeable players, but most come by at least scanning ALL the posts on vpFREE and related forums and scouring the database at vpFREE2. You need to do the same to find plays that fit your requirements. We don’t limit ourselves to casinos in Las Vegas – we have found good plays in other cities or casino areas.
4. Be careful in judging and criticizing other players. You may not have all the facts. There have been many times when people assume we have “backslid” and are playing at a disadvantage when they see us playing what looks like a negative-expectation play. We often have extra benefits that don’t “show,” like an offer mailed only to specific players. Recently we were e-mailed a good offer that included double points, one that was only for customers of two particular hosts at that property who were having a “host party.” Out-of-town offers can be especially lucrative and a local wouldn’t know about them. – and visa versa!
The (HUGE) difference between the kind of plays you are doing now, and the ones from your “frugal days”, is that way back when, you knew EXACTLY what your theoretical return was, both from the inherent +EV of the game and the value of slot club bennies (which were much more quantifiable then than now). What you seem to have moved to (out of “necessity”?) is -EV high denomination plays, where you HOPE that the casino will compensate you after the fact. The games you play now, I hope, have EVs no worse than 9/6 JOB, or at least something like 8/5 Bonus or even (ecch) 9/6 DDB, but I know from recent experience that even games that good are hard to find, especially in high-denom multi-play. So I’ll assume for the sake of discussion that you’re playing at an average EV of 99%. 400 hands (an hour) of $1 Five-Play will therefore cost $100. Can you REALLY get comps/mailers/deep wet kisses that compensate for that kind of bleeding? And more importantly, can you COUNT on those perks? When you receive your goodies AFTER THE FACT, you are at the mercy of the casinos–nothing prevents them from cutting you off. And yes, you can switch casinos in indignation, but in the meantime the huge -EV of the last trip is down the drain.
It seems as if you’ve abandoned the “Frugal Philosophy” of only playing games with a demonstrated players’ advantage, in order to become a coddled VP whale. Nothing wrong with that–to each his/her own–but does this mean that the Frugal strategy is, in general, a thing of the past?
Playing time is not unlimited, especially as we age. Everyone needs to pick opportunities carefully so that your time is used as wisely as your money.
Jean, My only comments are, I’m sure you earned these comps through many hours of smart play and taking advantage of special offers. Bravo, however it seemed that perhaps you could have shared some of your good fortune with those less fortunate. It would have been nice to read this, considering the city you were in.