“Gamblers can’t still do what you and Brad started doing almost 30 years ago and what you wrote about in your first Frugal book!” This is the gist of many e-mails I have been receiving the last few years and some of the comments that have been posted here.
It is true that the gambling world is a much different place these days. But I started thinking about this subject and wondering if someone who wanted to be an advantage video poker player could start out today like we did. Although we started coming to Las Vegas in 1984, we spent the first years card-counting at blackjack. We never made much profit, but the comps were great, with private casino jets, overseas trips, and a very glamorous lifestyle. However table comps were decreasing while machine comps were the new emphasis in casinos, so in 1991 we switched from BJ to video poker.
Although it is still possible to play BJ with an advantage, this discussion will be about starting to play advantage video poker since that has been our concentration for about 22 years. First I want to say that starting – or continuing – on this path is not for everyone. I’ve talked a lot in the past about the various goals gamblers have. Not everyone has the desire, the time, the conditions, or even the temperament to be an advantage player – and no one has the right to judge someone else negatively if their goals are different from your own.
But for those who may be thinking about becoming an advantage video poker player, I want to share our experiences when we embarked on this journey and how much has not changed.
DESIRE
First, let’s talk about “desire.” After our first trip to Las Vegas, we both decided we wanted to go back many more times. We had fallen in love with casino life. However, we looked at our financial situation and knew we couldn’t afford frequent trips like this first one. But our desire was so strong that we made this our first priority: We had to find more money and/or discover a way not to have this life cost us so much. And this meant dropping some of our other entertainment choices and life interests. We zeroed in on this desire with all our attention.
GOALS
Desire led us to setting our goal, which you might be surprised to learn was NOT to make money gambling. I have never encouraged anyone to take up any form of gambling to expect a profit. Our goal from the very beginning was just to break even moneywise and enjoy an abundance of comps as “gravy.” If you have a copy of The Frugal Gambler, you will notice that the last chapter is titled “Breaking Even is a Terrific Thing.” Here is an excerpt from that chapter:
If someone told you that you could take the kind of vacations that I’ve described in this book and you could do it all for free, would you also insist that you had to make some money while you were at it? Take home a profit from a free trip to paradise? Maybe, but that sounds a little greedy to us.
Yes – and much to our surprise I must say – eventually we did make money – actually gobs of it – but it was not our original goal. And, in fact, it is STILL not our goal – and if VP conditions continue to deteriorate, we will be quite happy to merely break even and continue to enjoy whatever comps the casinos choose to give us.
BANKROLL
Now comes the sticky issue for most gamblers who want to be advantage players. You need to have “starter money.” I will talk more about specific dollar amounts in a later blog when I discuss how game choice and denomination determine bankroll needs. But now I want to emphasize that this gambling bankroll should be money on top of your assets and/or income that provide living expenses. We have never “needed” to make money gambling to cover the necessities. Therefore it has always been a relaxing stress-free activity for us.
There are those who have taken the big risk to earn their living by gambling, and a few hard-working persons have been successful. I admire them – they work SO hard. Most, however, have found this path just too rocky and been forced to choose another. Even the most successful would say that it is not a relaxing and stress-free career.
Therefore, I would advise anyone who wants to become an advantage video poker player to – at least at first – look at it as a fun hobby, one that will need some start-up capital but might turn into a no-cost adventure that brings much enjoyment.
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Stay tuned and in a few days I will continue on this subject.
I have attempted to quantify just how difficult it is to achieve +EV today vs. 5 years ago, 10 years ago, etc. However, there’s a shortcut! Just compare entries in Scot Krause’s “Vegas Values” (on the ACG website) to those from several years ago. The number of entries for a given week is now down to half a dozen (mostly pathetic) deals; there used to be more promotions in Vegas than he could include in a single column. And of course, anybody who has been playing in Vegas at all would have noticed the drastic destruction of good VP, the severe tightening of slot clubs, etc. The bottom line is that IF, IF, IF, you are VERY selective, which means playing ONLY the best games and ONLY at those places that still give you something decent for your play, you can still get SOME reasonable percentage of the benefits that USED to be easily available. As far as advantage play goes, you can pretty much forget trying to generate any decent income, unless you are able to play at Danceresque stakes (which makes edges like 0.015% meaningful in terms of net profit). Even then, you have to play cat-and-mouse with the casinos to avoid being barred/no-mailed/hit with a big rock. Readers of Jean’s and Dancer’s columns should know that those individuals have received special dispensations to continue playing high-stakes +EV games that ordinary people can’t count on receiving: if you’re the average Joe, play $25/hand games with +EV at most casinos and you just might find that your slot card doesn’t work any more or that nothing arrives in the mail (which would, more often than not, kill the +EV-ness of such a play).
We have all your books, and because of all your tips and advice, we have found something that we both love to do together and will continue to enjoy through our retirement (video poker). We’ve been going to Vegas since the 80’s, and now try to go at least 3 times a year. Thanks to your insight, we’ve steadily been moving up to nicer facilities. It’s true that the comps have diminished over the years, but we still manage to get free rooms and most of our food comped with a moderate budget. We’re both happy with that, and anything else is gravy.
THe comps are not a lucrative now as they were even in the early 2000’s, but players can still get free rooms, decent free play and comped shows and meals these days. Looking forward to our trip Thanksgiving Week and appreciate all the great info Jean. Hope you and Brad are doing well.
Hi Jean,
Thank you for returning to a topic that is near and dear to many of us. My wife and I are planning a trip to the Tuscany to play full pay VP and take breaks to tour the strip. In the past I had no clue there was an approach to VP that could make it a breakeven entertainment. We appreciate your sharing your wisdom and experience to help us make our VP experiences positive regardless of the short term win or loss.
Ed
Hi Jean,
This brings up a subject I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while now. After so many years of playing VP has the “thrill” gone or at least diminished for you and Brad when you hit a royal or other large win? Do you still get that rush of adrenalin that those of us who don’t play often get when the so infrequent “big win” happens? I would never want to play if this was missing, even if I could break even or even make a little money. We visit LV 2-4 a year for the last 10 years and only hit 9 royals total so it’s still a big deal for the wife and me. Just curious in Post Falls, Id, Terry Haile
If your primary goal is to have fun, enjoy casino comps, and break even,yes,it can still be done, providing you are willing to spend some time researching the subject thru the many available web sites, books,and video poker programs that are currently available online and in bookstores. Jean’s web site is a good place to start.
I speak from the experience of a retiree who started on this road 5 yrs ago and am happy to say that my video poker start up money, if I my call it that, is still intact.
Granted I am not a professional like Jean and play at significantly lower levels than Jean I’m sure but I am having fun. Fun with an inexpensive retirement hobby was my primary goal.
George
Looking forward to future posts on this subject! We’ve been following you and playing VP for many many years since we saw you on a Travel Channel episode. 🙂 September’s trip to Vegas was the worst we’ve ever experience gambling-wise, but we can’t wait to get back and take our revenge! Thanks for all your inspiration and info!!