Time to answer some of your questions or comment on your comments!
I’m just wondering what you think about casinos that require, or rather want, your SS# when you sign up for their players card?
Some do ask for your SS#; some don’t. In most cases, you can say that you prefer not to give your number and they won’t insist.. You never have to give the number orally; just write it down and give it to them. Of course, if you hit a W-2G jackpot you must give the number.
Jean, by your statement ”do the math” do you mean using the return percentage and adding the percentage pay back from the players card club? What else?
To the basic EV of the game you can add gift cards, cashback, free play, bounce-back benefits, and/or promotional bonuses you will get. Although you may have to estimate, you can add the value of drawings. Some players add the value of comps. There is a whole section in the Frugal Video Poker book called “Finding Added Value for Your VP Game.” If you are concerned about losing less, these 3 chapters will provide you with umpteen ways to pump up the EV of your VP plays.
Perhaps you should return to your .25 denom always +EV roots for a while, and tell us how we can survive on $5,000 coin-in per day, and maybe even make a profit.
See the previous answer. Most of the information in my 4 books is just as relevant today as it was when I wrote it. You will just have to be more flexible and work harder. This may mean more intense scouting, widening your choice of games and/or casinos, and improving your accuracy. And read the Comments – my readers are giving some excellent ideas for the low roller!
And for the record, I have never left my +EV roots. The only thing that has changed now – for serious players at any level – is that the base game EV is usually under 100% and one has to work harder to get extras to push it into positive territory.
The previous comment asked if you need skilled play to succeed at VP. I would say “yes” and that the example she gives isn’t very pertinant to successful long term VP play. First of all, the person that moved over one seat would not have gotten the same cards that gave the lady the Royal, because the press of the Deal button to stop the Random Number Generator would have been at a different time. Steve Bourie of AmericanCasinsoGuide.com explains this in a nice video about the randomness of slot machines at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wkubf1PrWg
But most importantly, if the unskilled player sits there for a couple of hours/days/weeks/months trying to keep winning, the casino will get its money back. You need lots of skills to be a long term winner as described in Jean’s books. Knowing perfect play for numerous games is just one of them.
I wonder if it really matters with perfect play. A lady the other day next to a friend who just sat down, hit a royal on a .25 at MGM in Detroit. My friend was going to sit at that machine, but decided to move over one! hmmmm I guess it still get down to when the computer chip decides to hit.