When Casinos Cut VP Benefits – Part 2

It has been coming for years – the rain on our parade of good video poker plays.  First a few sprinkles but we could dodge them by scampering to numerous available dryer places.  Then the sprinkles turned to showers that required that we run to stable shelters – but these were becoming harder to find.  And then came the storms and floods that threaten to permanently end the happy parades anywhere.

Players are asking me what we should do.

As I stressed in Part 1, there is no one answer to this question.  There are so many different kinds of video poker players, with such a wide range of budgets, goals, personalities, locales, and personal preferences.  So I can’t give any you-should-do-this advice.  The best I can do is to talk about what Brad and I and many others are doing to cope with this rapidly changing video poker environment.  Perhaps this will give others some new ways to make adjustments.

Advantage Play 

First, I will talk about the category of “advantage” players.  This is where Brad and I have been for 30+ years.  And if you have been reading what I have been writing about for the last 17 or so years, you know that this means you only gamble when you have a mathematical advantage over the casino.  No advantage – no play!

Players in this category are having the hardest time these days.  What are some of the things they might be doing?

1. When one of their positive plays disappears, they quit playing at that casino. And sometimes after a waiting period, they might be surprised to get a good we-miss-you offer and then they go back.
2. When a “good” play becomes a “not-as-good” play, they may continue at that casino, but reducing the amount of their coin-in. For example, if the bounce-back offer is cut in half, they play just half as much as they did before and the good EV stays the same.
3. They are scouting more, hunting for casino mistakes and hidden paytable jewels.
4. They scour the Internet gambling forums for new information that hasn’t been advertised or isn’t widely known.
5. They talk to other advantage players, perhaps starting or joining small groups that share information.
6. They practice on VP software to be sure they are still very accurate on the old games they have played for years and to learn new games which might broaden their game choices.
7. They consider a broader range of denominations, but careful that their bankroll will support higher levels.  They often have to fight boredom if they have to go down in denomination; some just can not “stand it.”
8. They are extremely flexible as to where they will play and when they will play. Some may be able to travel often and/or long distances to find good plays.
9. Many will lower their standards of what they consider a “good” play. Perhaps they used to never play anything that didn’t give them a 1% advantage. Now they will drop down and play something that gives only a ½% edge, but being VERY careful that they have a big enough bankroll to support this move. They know that playing anything with an edge less than ½% is VERY risky and requires a humongous bankroll – and nerves of steel!
10. Some may pick up other games where they find an advantage to supplement their VP play, i.e., blackjack or poker.
11. Many will simply cut down on their play if they can’t find as many good opportunities as they had in the past.
12. Some will actually stop playing altogether.

There is one other avenue that some advantage players are taking.  They are switching to a category that I am labeling “Skillful Gambling.”   Although they play advantage games whenever they can find them, there aren’t enough to allow them to enjoy the perks and entertainment of casino life that they have learned to love.  So they are carefully adding in some not-quite-positive plays.

In  Part 3 – I will discuss this category and some of the techniques to reduce its cost and some of the dangers that are inherent in it.