Slow or Fast

[details]

I am a causal VP player. Just an observation playing on negative games even 9/6 JB. Is there any advantage playing fast besides giving your money faster to the house?

[Jstark]

Only if using a players card gives you back more than the expected loss of the game.

[OTABILL]

The faster one plays, the more prone one is to make mistakes. My experience.

[olds442jetaway]

Ditto. Especially when losing and playing catch up.

[BobDancer]

Only if using a players card gives you back more than the expected loss of the game.

Generally I agree with this --- but this is part of every game I play, at whatever speed.

There are factors such as: you need to play $10,000 coin-in in order to earn a particular something. playing at $3,000 coin-in per hour takes you more than three hours to complete this task. Playing at $5,000 coin-in per hour completes this task 80 minutes faster than doing it at the slower speed.

So what will you do with those 80 minutes?

I strongly agree with those who mention that fast play is more error-prone than slow, thoughtful play. Finishing 80 minutes earlier but making an additional three mistakes might well be a negative trade-off. It's the rare player who can play perfectly at lightning speed.

More than simple mistakes, such as only holding the kings from 4KK34 because you didn't see there were two pair in the hand, playing fast can mean you don't fully think about various things. In a hand such as AJ "QT8", in some games you hold the 4-card straight and in others you hold the 3-card straight flush. Playing fast there's the tendency to just pick one of those randomly to get it over with, rather than contemplating on which game you're playing this time and what the proper play is. A slow, thoughtful player is going to be making a higher percentage of correct decisions.

Olds mentioned you make more mistakes playing "catch up. This is probably true (at least for some players) and is due to psychology. Negative thoughts, (perhaps "Damn, here I go again! Lose, lose, lose." or maybe, "How am I ever going to explain this to the wife?") can cause your concentration to waver. The correct thing to be thinking about is, "What's the best way to play this hand." Thoughts on other topics keep you from concentrating on this.

Olds didn't say this affects him, but some players when behind are likely to take chances at a big score in order to catch up. Such as holding the "JT" from "JT" '345' even when you know the straight flush draw is superior in EV. The "JT" might give you a royal with will "solve your problems." This mindset can be very expensive because making these incorrect plays usually digs you deeper in the hole rather than letting you escape.

[Jstark]

Good points. Me personally, unless absolutely necessary, I prefer the middle speed setting on VP whether it's an advantage play or not.

Now on slots where I have an edge, speed is almost a necessity to finish fast and move on to the next play.

[calwatch]

The turtle speed is not enjoyable. I don’t mind spending an extra second or two to think about the hand and/or check the strategy card but I do mind the extra milliseconds it takes to draw. Turbo goes way too fast but I sometimes use it on 10 play if I am looking for a low volatility way to hit my goal quickly, assuming equal pay tables. I play slow when it is my turn but want the machine to do its thing fast when it’s their turn.