Cheap Video Poker Update

[FloridaPhil]

For those of you who follow my posts, I recently updated the Cheap Video Poker strategy page to cover Streaks and High Denomination pot shots.  Good luck!   www.cheapvideopoker.com/cheap-video-poker-system.html

[alpax]

Thanks Phil for the update, the site content is a great thing to read. I was going to ask one of these days if you were going to describe the potshots and streaks, but you already have it covered. Good work!

[djc32]

Just read the update Phil, nice work!
I was just wondering if you have ever checked to see if there are any strategy adjustments when playing 1 coin vs 5?

It's probably minimal, (vman would know better than I)but when playing 1 coin and you are dealt 0 deuces could there be a slight strategy adjustment since the natural royal now isn't as valuable at 1 coin vs 5?

Again, probably minimal, but I was just curious?

[FloridaPhil]

The major single coin/max coin strategy changes in deuces wild have to do with the royal flush draw and these are mostly in games with a 100 coin wild royal.  For example, suppose you are dealt 3 cards to a royal plus one other card of the same suit. With only 100 coins for a wild royal,  it's worth a few cents more if you keep all four suited cards and go for the flush.  I try not to play these games, but if it that's all I can find I'll play quarters and go for the flushes.  When you have a 125 coin wild royal, you keep the three to a royal and throw away the extra suited card.  There are a few other minor changes, none that earth shaking.  The changes in non wild card games are much more extensive.All of this is in Dancer's Video Poker for Winners software which I highly recommend.  It costs $50, but you will get your money back in no time.  It's also the only video poker software that I've seen that allows you to simulate real money as you play.   The Cheap Strategy relies more on the increased number of hands played and the timing of the jackpots than perfect strategy.  Perfect strategy is desirable because it allows you to play more hands overall, but in deuces wild you are just treading water until a quad deuce or royal happens anyway.  Playing single coin cuts your cost to play dramatically, so when you hit a max coin jackpot it's a real windfall.

[WVRadar]

Read your Cheap Video Strategy with interest. I've played single coin quarters for quite a while but only last year came up with a plan to make me a winner more often. I found as you have that playing single coin takes a long time to build up to a point where you can cash out. I devised a simple plan that when I was ahead I would increase my bet to two coins, further ahead three coins, etc. until reaching max coins. It did help but I still lost much of the time, but I'm strictly there for the entertainment so I didn't worry about it too much.

Anyway, I like the ideas you presented (I never thought about moving up to a dollar machine) and intend to try it out this weekend. Don't really care for Deuces Wild that much, so I'll give it a try on JorB or Bonus Poker.

[WVRadar]

Gave your strategy a test while at the Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in Anderson, Indiana. The pay tables there are much better than my home casino (The Meadows in Washington, PA). Jacks or Better was 8/6 for quarters and 9/5 for dollars. At the Meadows I don't think any 8/5 machines are left, all are now 7/5 or worse. Bonus Poker was 6/5 for quarters but with a payout of 35 for all 4 of a kind. The 4 of a Kind payouts for dollars was the normal 80/40/25, 7/5. These paytables were all on a Multi-Denomination Game King. I didn't have much time so that's the only machine I tried.

Getting back to the Cheap Video Poker strategy, it worked well in my limited time trying it. Played Jacks or Better for close to 45 minutes, having several attempts at max coin on dollars. No big hits but I cashed out with my original $20 coin in after tiring and deciding to try a different game.

Next game was Deuces Wild. Paytable for quarters was 25/16/13/4/3/2/2/1 and dollars was 20/12/9/4/4/3/2/1. Played about 50 minutes with a modest $5 profit.

That's all I had time for, but I did come out ahead and was able to play at a much higher level than ever before. Your system shows promise Florida Phil.

[FloridaPhil]

I developed the Cheap Strategy to solve a specific problem not a best overall system of play.  When playing negative expectation games, losing long term is inevitable.  Whether we like it or not, negative expectation games are the norm for most of us.  We can chose the Dancer option and not play at all, or we can address the problem in other ways.  One way to reduce your losses is to play as cheaply as possible, but playing single coin quarters all day takes the fun out of the game. The Cheap Strategy works best in a single line traditional deuces wild game.  Deuces is a great game because you never know when the deuces are going to show themselves and make things interesting.  With the Cheap Strategy, every time you switch to max coins after a 4 coin win the excitement level jumps even higher. Some think it makes the game even more fun than playing max coins all the time.    Also, you can play so much longer with the same bankroll that you have many more chances at a  max coin jackpot.  You often go home with more money in your pocket, not because you won more but because you lost less.  I don't use the Cheap Strategy all the time.  I use it when I want to play all day or when we're on vacation for days at a time and I need to stretch my bankroll.  The longer you play these games, the more you are going to lose.  That's a fact that no strategy can reverse.  I had a great year last year and so far it's continuing into 2015. I don't expect to be a long term winner, but I do expect to lose less than if I play max coins forever.   

[VP_vp]

Not sure what places you play at (ie if nickels are even available), but wouldn't it be better to drop down to full-coin nickels (assuming same pay table), than 1 coin quarter?

[Vman96]

Not sure what places you play at (ie if nickels are even available), but wouldn't it be better to drop down to full-coin nickels (assuming same pay table), than 1 coin quarter?

If those options are available, yes, 5 nickels are better than 1 quarter. Phil has commented that nickels aren't readily available in Florida.

[FloridaPhil]

Compare the odds at max coin nickels vs. single coin quarters before you make this decision.  Often the odds of playing single coin at a higher denomination are better than playing max coin at the small denomination.  The big problem most players have with playing single coin is the royal flush.  I totally get this and understand why someone would hate to get a royal for $62.50.  After all these years, most royals are not that big of a deal for me.  I would rather play as cheaply as possible and use my cost control to take an occasional pot shot on a big machine.  There is no perfect strategy that fits everyone.  I'm just explaining how I like to play.  Fortunately, it also works for me financially.