My Favorite is DDB

[clwn2]

Hell!  I am bored and want to write.  I hope you all know I am getting hooked on this forum.  I live in California and play at the quarter level.  It seems that graduation to the $1 level except when I go to Vegas is the smartest move.  Positive games are practically non existent at the quarter level here.  I like the stories that all of you tell here about finding and exploiting positive opportunites in Nevada and beyond.
 
I have chosen DDB because it is exciting and widely popular.  The negatives are that it has a high variance and the best schedules in my area are 9/6 which played perfectly nets a little under 99%  I end up being a net winner about one out of four every trips. Furthermore, I have never been a net winner during one calendar year.   Why do I play this game?  I have found that excitement plays a part in my gambling experience. (Getting dealt 3 Aces still wakes me up).  JoB is very dry and I find it boring. It would be different if it were a positive expectation game in an area with good cashback.   If I lived in a town where gambling was legal and I played more often I would definitely change to a positive expectation game and promotion shop.  
 
One more thing.  Am I the only one that has had a hard time learning strategy?.  It has taken me many months of study to come close to perfect with DDB strategy.  It pains me to know that DB is even harder to learn.
I'd like to hear some stories of other members learning curves. Bob Dancer and his programs have helped a lot.   I know the experts spit on DDB but this is my story darnit!! 
   
I feel like I have just gone to confession, ahh I feel better.
Enjoy...    

[shadowman]

I think most contributors here rate enjoyment as the #1 reason for gambling. So, I'd say you're going about it right.
 
As for learning strategies, I think that is something that gets easier over time. The first one is always the hardest. However, there are many similarities between games that can be used to make the next one easier. For example, I've been practicing the DD Aces and Faces game. I use my knowledge of DDB and JoB as a base and try to remember the differences between the games.
 
Although this is a negative game it is better than DDB and I found it at a casino with .5% CB and 1% BB (+comps). 

[bigsteve5273@yahoo.c]

I play for fun also. Mostly to improve my accuracy and speed. JOB only thus far. I practiced until I was playing 800+ hands/hr at 99% accuracy. During the Thanksgiving holidays I played far more than usual and began to lose efficiency and speed. So I took a break and played hold 'em instead. I have placed more faith in the math than it warrants and now believe that I'd rather be lucky. It would be so much easier. To work so hard just to consistently lose is becoming difficult to justify and is eating away at my optimism.   Whether playing a postive expectation game or not, losing more sessions than winning is difficult to long endure either mentally or financially. I prefer smaller variance and like to sit and grind it out over the long haul. It has taken me almost 4 years to reach what profficiency I've obtained in the simplest video poker game. Playing almost daily. So I must concur that learning strategy is not easy. Only one single line royal/JOB in that time. I too am planning on learning a positve expection game. One that is common in downtown Vegas. Any suggestions? Good luck all.

[shadowman]

By far the easiest game is FPDW. Not too difficult to find in quarters around LV. El Cortez has Downtown Deuces which is an even better payback.

[bigsteve5273@yahoo.c]

Thanks, Shadowman for the heads up. Especially good luck to you.

[clwn2]

Thanks for the feedback.  Royals are hard to get.  I am not sure how many hands I play a year but I make about 20 trips yearly to some kind of a casino and it has been only in the last few years that I have hit more than one royal in a year.  I play DDB single line quarters.  I know that I could play triple play JoB for not much more but I am a kicker lover.  Even though, if I could find full pay machines I would give up the excitement in favor of better long term results.  For now, stuck in Cally (the land of less than full pay) I will choose an exciting less than full pay game over a less volatile losing game like 9/6 JOB with poor cashback opportunites.   I will be in Vegas during New Years and if I have moderate success I will be even or above for the year(for the first time).  I am not going to hold my breath... 
 
No doubt that luck plays a part in it.  Playing perfectly only assures you that you are giving yourself the best chance to win.   Sometimes I go to the casino and suck out immediately and others I hit a jackpot immediately.  This is regardless of pay schedule.  I have learned over the years not to only count on the math but on my instincts and bankroll as well.  This is the real challenge for me.  I love to play and hate to lose and if I play with emotion I will make myself miserable.  The more discipline I have and the less I expect anything the happier I am.  
 
Thanks Shadowman for your reponse about strategy.  I am not math oriented nor do I have a photgraphic memory.  I am embarrased to say how long it took me to learn strategy on DDB.  I had to read the winners guides and study like I was in school.  Even thjough I love to play VP I find the information in these manuals dry and hard to focus on.  I guess like BD says, you have to have a lot of drive to be successfull.  I hope other strategies will be easier than the first to learn.   I can see how the information will cross over from one game to the other.  I can also see myself getting them confused between different games.
I aint going to stress over it for now...   

[shadowman]

What really sucks is when you have two games that seem like they should be similar but are extremely different. This can happen quite often.

[cddenver]

What really sucks is when you have two games that seem like they should be similar but are extremely different. This can happen quite often.
 
DB/DDB is one case I can point out, depending on how you define "extremely" different.  Quite a few different plays.