Quarter Deuces

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=Waiting4RF]When you do this, you are preventing getting 3 other royals and many quad dueces combinations.[/quote]According to our VPW software, the penalty for making this change ranges from 1-4 cents a hand when playing max coin quarters.  Over the years, my wife has hit two non deuce royals and I have hit one putting us $3,000 ahead on this change alone.  This does not count numerous additional wild royals which happen with some frequency.   I agree the best long term financial strategy is to do what the software says.Our logic in making this change is simple.  If sacrificing 1-4 cents out of every $1.25 wagered can help more royals to appear, we think the cost is worth it.  Missing out on a dealt royal on the draw is a huge long shot when we already have two of the cards we need.   If we were playing non wild card games, we would be holding the same two cards.  I can see how making this change could reduce the chance of being dealt quad deuces. When playing deuces wild, there are only two big jackpots, a quad deuce and a royal.  More or less of these hands can turn a good year bad and vice versa.   I never considered this change until last year.  My wife does well with it, so I changed.  If I was a professional player wagering millions of dollars annually, I wouldn't consider doing this.  I would play exactly by the computer and I would pay attention to every tiny detail.   We play VP for fun and fun to us is hitting more royals even if they cost us a few cents more. 

[billryan]

My sister is visiting in March, my cousin and his oldest son is coming in April.
In both cases, they will be staying at a casino I can walk to.
My neighbor has a suite for the Super Bowl, in the same casino.
These offers have tremendous value, if one knows how to use them.

[Tedlark]

Phil are you saying that you wouldn't include a give away $125.00 Keurig coffee maker that you get from a casino when you calculate your comps? How about gas or gift cards? Would you include these?

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=Tedlark]Phil are you saying that you wouldn't include a give away $125.00 Keurig
coffee maker that you get from a casino when you calculate your comps?
How about gas or gift cards? Would you include these?[/quote]For the purposes of this tread, we will not include comps in our results. Otherwise forum members who don't earn or value comps wouldn't be able to compare their results with ours. There was a time when I didn't care about comps.  I would get some free play once in a while, but that's about it.  I have since learned their value and I take advantage of as many as possible.Comps are a big part of the game.   The main reason I abandoned CS was it eliminated them completely.   As I played bigger I started receiving more of them.  When they started giving us free hotel stays we started taking more frequent mini vacations.   This saves us huge amounts of money compared to other retirees who spend their leisure time in an expensive RV, flying around the world or on a cruise ship.    I think the best comp in the world is cash back.  In Bob Dancer's books he talks about casinos that give him a portion of his losses back in return for playing.  That changes everything.At the casinos where we play there is less benefit to playing bigger.   We can only use so many free hotel rooms and eat so much food.  Comp points can only be used for in house credit and they don't sell anything we want more of.  We have never won anything in a casino raffle.  If this changes, we may reconsider.I have never used a comped hotel room for a relative or a friend.  I don't know if I could?  Would I check in as myself and give them the key?

[pokerpokerpoker]

I don't know much about DW. Are there large strategy differences between the better paytables and the lesser one? Or are you going with a "one size fits all" approach? Wasn't the man going to reinstall the 98.8% machines?

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=pokerpokerpoker]Are there large strategy differences between the better paytables and
the lesser one? Or are you going with a "one size fits all" approach?
Wasn't the man going to reinstall the 98.8% machines?[/quote]There are strategy differences between different deuces pay schedules.  We adjust our strategy depending upon which game we play.    VPW software works great for this.  I have a copy on my laptop and take it everywhere we play.The 98.9% quarter games were in Hollywood.  When we were there over Christmas they still only had two of these machines. The replacement machines never materialized, so you need to get on those two machines early and camp on them.   All the quarter deuces wild games in Tampa are 97.58%.  Most of the quarter deuces wild games in Hollywood are now 96.77%Quarter VP odds have been dropping for some time.  From what we have seen, quarter VP odds in most states outside of Nevada are in the 96-97% range.  Black Hawk CO has 98.9% deuces everywhere.  NSU is available at the Monarch.  Reno and Vegas have NSU with a few full pay machines scattered about.  The Mohegan Sun in CT has a few no point quarter machines with decent odds.  I'm sure there are other low denomination opportunities we don't know about.Nickel VP games are starting to show up in Florida.  With even worse odds and reduced comps, we can't find any reason to play them.  At the moment, quarter games with decent comps are working for us.  We always keep our eyes open for better odds.  It is possible to beat a bad VP game, but it's a struggle because bad odds don't let you play as many hands with your bankroll.  Full disclosure, you can get beat up playing full pay machines too.  It's all in the cards. 

[billryan]

   As far as I recall, the biggest difference is what to do with two pair. At full pay or in NSU, you hold and hope for a Full House. Lesser schedules and you hold one pair and discard the other, if you play at all.

[Vman96]

    As far as I recall, the biggest difference is what to do with two pair. At full pay or in NSU, you hold and hope for a Full House. Lesser schedules and you hold one pair and discard the other, if you play at all.

In full pay, you break two pair because a full house is only 3 for 1. Full pay is above 100% because it's the only pay common schedule where quads are 5 for 1 and that's worth over 6% versus 4 for 1 quads.

You should hold two pair if full houses are 4 for 1.

You should also hold a 4 flush over a pair if the flush pays 3 for 1.

[olds442jetaway]

    Phil, the way Mohegan works the comp rooms is straight forward and easy. First of all, I would never sell one of my comp rooms and as far as I know, it is against policy anyway. At Mohegan, you do have to be there in person to check in. At that time, you can add any names you would like or even call in names at a later time. Anyone you have added is entitled to just go to the desk and get a room key card. I give away rooms to family and friends every so often, and even though it isn't required, I always play at the casino on the day I do so. I even gave a room a few times to my best friend's best friend's husband and wife. She unfortunately, has terminal cancer. They have little money and I wanted them to be able to enjoy themselves at the spa, pool, views etc. Neither are gamblers. One thing to keep in mind is any damage done in the rooms you give away is your responsibility. I never had any issues in that area. I'm not sure it other casino's have a similar policy, but I suspect they do. Hope that helps.
     











[quote=Tedlark]Phil are you saying that you wouldn't include a give away $125.00 Keurig
coffee maker that you get from a casino when you calculate your comps?
How about gas or gift cards? Would you include these?For the purposes of this tread, we will not include comps in our results. Otherwise forum members who don't earn or value comps wouldn't be able to compare their results with ours. There was a time when I didn't care about comps.  I would get some free play once in a while, but that's about it.  I have since learned their value and I take advantage of as many as possible.Comps are a big part of the game.   The main reason I abandoned CS was it eliminated them completely.   As I played bigger I started receiving more of them.  When they started giving us free hotel stays we started taking more frequent mini vacations.   This saves us huge amounts of money compared to other retirees who spend their leisure time in an expensive RV, flying around the world or on a cruise ship.    I think the best comp in the world is cash back.  In Bob Dancer's books he talks about casinos that give him a portion of his losses back in return for playing.  That changes everything.At the casinos where we play there is less benefit to playing bigger.   We can only use so many free hotel rooms and eat so much food.  Comp points can only be used for in house credit and they don't sell anything we want more of.  We have never won anything in a casino raffle.  If this changes, we may reconsider.I have never used a comped hotel room for a relative or a friend.  I don't know if I could?  Would I check in as myself and give them the key?











[/QUOTE]

[Waiting4RF]

Phil, Two cards held to a royal do turn into a royal on occasion. I had 2 royals holding 2 cards the last week of 2017 while playing BP. I was surprised on both of them.