Video Poker Forum

Many people say always play 5 coin. But, many of the people who play multi-hand nickels at our favorite casino play 50 x 1 or 100 x 1 coin. Many are very successful in that they seem to stay in the game a long time playing for the "big hit". Having watched this strategy be very successful, I thought I would do some research. Dancer: Aug. 17, 2010 http://www.casinogaming.com/columnists/ ... /0817.html

Dancer: "The gist of my article is that if you're playing a game sufficiently less than 100 percent (including 9/6 Jacks or Better with no slot club), you will lose less money per hour betting one coin at a time than five coins at a time. In terms of dollars and cents, the math is irrefutable and today this concept is widely accepted among competent player...

Not so long ago on vpFREE this subject reared up again, as it has many times in the past. When the original poster wrote that completing the 1-coin royal was the WORST thing that could happen, someone I respect responded that getting the royal at that point was actually the BEST think that could happen. When I read this response I nodded to myself. This coincided with my way of thinking about this subject. "

Tried this strategy last night and I was able to play a long time on a limited amount of money. Only on a RF, do you get hurt mathematically on most games. But, a RF is long odds.

It will be interesting to test this strategy for a while.

Another Dancer's article, Risk of Ruin - Nov. 2006 http://www.casinogaming.com/columnists/ ... /1107.html

LL

. Only on a RF, do you get hurt mathematically on most games. But, a RF is long odds. 

 
Quite true, but if you play a lot, there will, almost inevitably, be royal flushes, and getting 250 for 1 rather than 800 for 1 is a significant difference.  (My wife and I have combined for 23 royal flushes so far this year).

Losing slowly just isn't for me. I play to win.
 
Positive machines, positive returns make me happy. So with that in mind, there is never a reason for me to bet 1 coin.

If you can find positive games then you don't have to worry about playing short coin. In addition, when I see people playing short coin many of them are playing 2-4 coins. In several cases that is worse than full coin on negative machines.

Positive games are great!   However; most casinos outside of LV don't offer positive games even when you add the comps. I've heard some Gulf Coast states are limited by law to not offer positive VP games. Even 99% return are worth full coin-but this is only available at $VP in Lake Charles*. The two LC casinos closest to Houston offer 96-97% return on most of their 25¢ games. For example:8/5 JOB; 6/5 Bonus; 20/12/9 DW; 8/5 DDB; & BDLX 8/5. 5¢/10¢ games generally return 95-96%.   

*There are two 9/6 JOB 25¢ machines which haven't been changed but you'll have to PM me to tell you where they are.

Why do the casinos have such poor returns? Simple supply and demand-because they can. Most people don't play in LV and the casinos know they have VP players in a box. Neither LC casino allows VP to earn Bonus Points on 2X or 3X point days and both give only .5 pts compared to slots.

So why play there? Because it is all they offer. VP @ 97% vs slots/keno! You play the best games you can find at the denomination you can play.
**As of this past weekend, L'Auberge has changed their 12 VP game offering to six standard games: JOB, DW, Bonus, DB, DDB, and one other so even the choices are being removed.

LL

Losing slowly just isn't for me. I play to win.
 
 
lol what he said.

Post unable to migrate

I've been down this road a number of times. I'm far from an expert, but I have observed that for me playing one coin is the way to go in two situations. #1 - The pay schedule by playing one coin at a higher denomination is significantly better than playing max coins at a lower denomination.  For example, you can often find 9/6 $1 JB right next to 7/5 .25 Jacks.  #2 - I am losing my tail all day and nothing is working.  It’s much better for me to play at one coin until my luck improves to than to try something crazy just to catch up. 

 It’s much better for me to play at one coin until my luck improves to than to try something crazy just to catch up. 

The difficulty I've always had with this approach is the problem of determining when your luck has improved (or, more importantly, is about to).
 
It seems to me that if you wait for a few big hits to show things are improving, you may have missed the boat.

<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" =Msonormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; mso-ansi-: EN" lang=EN>I've been down this road a number of times. I'm far from an expert, but I have observed that for me playing one coin is the way to go in two situations. #1 - The pay schedule by playing one coin at a higher denomination is significantly better than playing max coins at a lower denomination.  For example, you can often find 9/6 $1 JB right next to 7/5 .25 Jacks.  #2 - I am losing my tail all day and nothing is working.  It’s much better for me to play at one coin until my luck improves to than to try something crazy just to catch up.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN></SPAN>

Phil,
I concur with both of your reasons. At one of the casinos in Lake Charles all $VP pay tables are roughly 99% return-9/6 JOB, 16/10 NSUD, 9/6 DDB, etc. #1) With limited funds I have played single coin at the higher return and been fairly happy. First, the RF odd of 1:40K make it a less likely hit. Second, I probably would have depleted my bankroll playing $5/hand. Several times I hit big hands to give me enough to begin to play more coin or move to 5 coin. #2) When the timing is off for whatever reason, playing tired, not concentrating, etc. I can usually stretch out my bankroll. Several players I know generally play 100x1-they take those big hits when they're dealt and for some they play that way to reduce their G-2 possibilities. Unfortunately, a RF does come occasionally and you only get 250 but the majority of hits pay out on the regular multiplier.

Of course the time it deals me a RF on 100 hands @ 100x1 I'll be But, as Shadowman says I wouldn''t probably hit the button at that nanosecond.

LL