JOB 99.55%
In the longrun, you would be better off playing the following two games, but as you may know, they have disadvantages that I've listed.
Dueces 100.72%------------99% of machines in quarter denomination.
Double Bonus 100.17%------very hard to master
There are only a handful of people that play Double Bonus to perfection, but if one can master it, there are numerous machines in higher denominations throughout the state of Nevada. The sad thing is, many of the multi-line variety of this game are gone. Double Bonus was my preferred game of choice when I played VP on a regular basis in Vegas. The swings are not actually as bad as one would be led to believe, as you could muster up a ton of comps, cash back mailings, and similar extras.
FH
In the longrun, you would be better off playing the following two games, but as you may know, they have disadvantages that I've listed.
Dueces 100.72%------------99% of machines in quarter denomination.
Double Bonus 100.17%------very hard to master
There are only a handful of people that play Double Bonus to perfection, but if one can master it, there are numerous machines in higher denominations throughout the state of Nevada. The sad thing is, many of the multi-line variety of this game are gone. Double Bonus was my preferred game of choice when I played VP on a regular basis in Vegas. The swings are not actually as bad as one would be led to believe, as you could muster up a ton of comps, cash back mailings, and similar extras.
FH
Thanxs Mr Smith
Thanxs Fishhead
That DB is scarey. Tried it and figure if ya don't drop the 4 bullets you lose.
Still wondering about anyone who has recently been to Vegas and played.
They move the 9/6's in and out, and around all the time.
End of April trip.
Thanxs Fishhead
That DB is scarey. Tried it and figure if ya don't drop the 4 bullets you lose.
Still wondering about anyone who has recently been to Vegas and played.
They move the 9/6's in and out, and around all the time.
End of April trip.
Try the new M Resort on the south end of town. Here is a review: http://www.lvrj.com/neon/40836412.html
Coaster--you need to check VPfree as mentioned earlier in this thread by Mr. SmitH, as well as VPinsider.
After that, look for good promotions to add to your bottom line.
When in Vegas, I was in contact on a daily basis with the other VP professionals and this is the last stage in finding many of the absolute best plays in town on the video poker front.
Also, you would be best to set yourself up with as many casino hosts as you possibly can, as they will provide you many extras beyond the regular comps and extras you will be recieveing from your slot card.
Good luck,
FH
After that, look for good promotions to add to your bottom line.
When in Vegas, I was in contact on a daily basis with the other VP professionals and this is the last stage in finding many of the absolute best plays in town on the video poker front.
Also, you would be best to set yourself up with as many casino hosts as you possibly can, as they will provide you many extras beyond the regular comps and extras you will be recieveing from your slot card.
Good luck,
FH
Again, VPFREE lists every casino in Vegas and their best vp machines, cashback, mailings, etc., etc....it is a GREAT RESOURCE AND I HAVE CONTRIBUTED MANY TIMES THERE OVER THE YEARS AS A "SCOUT", for machines in Vegas, as well as MS. and FL.
Just click on the link that Mr. Smith posted.........but you need to go to their new site for the latest updated information(you should be able to find this through the site Mr. Smith listed).
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=560 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=left>GaMbling</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left> As promised, M has opened with some of the best video poker schedules in town (see “VPL&F” for a detailed report). And beyond the good schedules, the word is that M intends to be video poker friendly to all players, including those who are skilled, and will have loose comp policies. That’s easier said than done (see “Sweaty Ox”), but it’s refreshing to hear that a casino will at least experiment with this stance. The players club, iMagine Rewards, returns .3%.
Blackjack games are mostly 2 and 6 decks; rules vary depending on limits. The higher-limit games stand on soft 17 (preferable for players), while the lower limits hit. Double after split is allowed on all games and the 6-deckers also allow resplitting aces. The result is a skinny .19% casino edge against basic strategy on the high-limit double decks. The low-limit double decks have a .40% edge and the low-limit shoes ($5 and $10) are .56%. There are a couple of single-deck games paying 6-5 on naturals.
Craps deals 3/4/5X odds and pays triple in the field. There’s also mini-baccarat, pai gow, Let It Ride, and 3 Card Poker in the pit. There’s a 12-table poker room, but no live keno or bingo.
M’s affiliation with Cantor Gaming adds interesting twists in the sports book and in the area of high-tech gambling. Cantor has a background with online sports books, which means it should bring some fresh ideas and competitiveness to this new independent book. They’ve already introduced “in-running wagering,” which allows you to bet while a game is in pro-gress, and we’ve heard that the lines on futures are more liberal. Cantor is also a pioneer in mobile gaming and hand-held systems are already in place for some of the games (though the system was described to us by one user as a “bad version of an online casino”). We’ll report further on this in the future. </TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>Opening Day</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left> Anyone who’s been around the Las Vegas gambling scene for a while knows that the pros usually show up for the opening bell at a new casino. Actually, lots of gamblers do, many because they think new casinos are lucky (they aren’t) or that they set their machines to pay out more (they don’t). The pros show up to gauge opportunities and, possibly, to take advantage of mistakes.
A perfect example of the latter took place on opening night at M, where a 25¢ progressive apparently began at $10,000 instead of $1,000 (yes, it happens). Someone popped it and M paid it off. [Note: Jean Scott wrote about this in her “Frugal Fridays” blog at LasVegasAdvisor.com, but she learned of it from a good web-based gambling source, thebeargrowls.com.]
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>Sweaty Ox</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left> Here’s a strong video poker play with an unfortunate, but necessary, proviso attached. Las Vegas’ Blue Ox West bar (on Valley View north of Spring Mountain) deals a progressive game with a constant positive return for perfect play. The base game is 7/5 Bonus Poker Deluxe, a schedule that typically pays $100 (on quarter machines) for any 4-of-a-kind. However, the Ox games pay $120. That ups the return at reset to 100.17% (same as 10/7 Double Bonus). And get this—the quads have a progressive meter attached. The gain in return for this progressive is rapid—about 1% per extra $5 in the quad meter—so a $125 meter returns 101.17%, a $130 meter is 102.17%, etc. (and it’s even a little better due to an added card-of-the-day bonus).
Not only is this a good game, but it’s relatively intuitive to play, as it reasonably approximates Jacks or Better or Bonus Poker, with two major differences: 1) Never hold a dealt full house (the 3-of-a-kind in the FH is stronger); and 2) hold a single high pair from two pair made up of one or two high pairs (hold the two pair if both are low). The meters are specific to each machine, so you could walk around and play the highest, then move once you hit, but you don’t want to do that (see below).
There’s even more to like at Blue Ox than the game, including a good kitchen, but here’s that proviso: You have to be careful that the owner doesn’t get mad at you. We’re serious. This is one of those strange situations where a bar puts in a good game, then resents it when someone plays with the goal of winning. Stories we’ve heard—and an explanation straight from the owner—indicate that they believe players are using programs on their cell phones to win (no doubt a misperception tied to the publicity surrounding the blackjack app for iPhones discussed last issue). It’s not true (the game’s just good), but if you get pegged as a “player,” you’ll be shown the door.
This is where the title of this piece comes from, by the way. When a casino (or bar) is constantly worried about who’s playing and how much they’re winning, it’s called “sweating the money,” or just plain “sweating.” </TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>Brewery Play</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left> Here’s another good play at a bar called the Brewery, located on E. Tropicana (east of Eastern). On Fridays, the Brewery awards $25 for a spade flush. That very strong bonus takes the return on a lousy 6/5 Bonus Poker base game north of 105%. But don’t get too excited; there’s a proviso here, too. The bonus is paid in Gambler’s Bonus club points that are added to your account. In the Gambler’s Bonus system, you can cash out only $25 per day (unless you play a lot to reach higher club levels). What’s more, the Gambler’s Bonus rules were recently altered, so you can cash out only in the location at which you earn the points. Think about it and you’ll see that this is very limiting, even for a local (and a killing flaw for a visitor). The best play for most will be to hit one spade flush, then retrieve the bonus and scale your play back a bit. The Brewery’s a good locals bar run by a former industry exec, so hanging out and just drinking are okay, too.
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>Gambling Notes </TD></TR><TR><TD align=left> Gold Spike—Downtown’s Gold Spike has added two live blackjack tables dealing 4 decks, with dealer hits soft 17 and double down allowed after splits. The minimum bet is $3.
Binion’s Comps—Binion’s has a new players club points system that awards .3125% cashback and .625% comps for video poker. The percentages for slots are .5% and 1%, respectively.
Automated Poker—The Poker Pro automated poker-table-system currently in use at Excalibur has been approved for wider distribution in Nevada.
Room Closes—Rampart has closed its poker room.
Heads-Up—Huck Seed took down this year’s NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship and its $750,000 first prize. Vanessa Rousso’s second place was the highest finish ever for a woman; she won $250,000. Also finishing in the top four was Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, who’s contributing to the next edition of our poker-tournament book Kill Everyone.
Net Betting—According to a report from Global Betting & Gaming Consultants, the pace of online wagering continues to increase. Online gambling had $20 billion in gross gambling yield in 2008 (the meaning of “yield” here is unclear, but we assume it means combined gross winnings, including poker rake).
Sports Betting—A New Jersey state senator has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department that seeks to overturn a national ban on sports betting. The suit claims sports betting could become a $10 billion-per-year industry in New Jersey alone by 2011, which is interesting, given that Nevada’s sports books take in only about $2.5 billion per year in wagers. Delaware is also again considering a sports betting lottery.
NCAA Brackets—ESPN reports that despite five million entries into its NCAA Basketball Championship contest, none had a perfect bracket after the second round.
PT’s Bonus—We’ve been ragging on PT’s Pubs for tight video poker policies of late, but here’s some good news. They’ve increased the bonuses paid to active players when someone in the bar hits a jackpot. You can now win up to $50 in free-play simply by having your card activated when someone hits.
Dancer Classes—Bob Dancer’s free video poker classes at South Point conclude with one class, “Secrets of a Video Poker Winner,” on April 7 at 1 pm. These classes may resume in June, but no schedule has been released. </TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>Video Poker Lost and Found</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left> BINION’S adds four quarter machines with 9/6 Jacks or Bettter (99.54%), Full Pay Deuces Wild (100.74%), 20/7 Kings or Better Joker Wild (100.65%), 10/7 Double Bonus (100.17%), and 10/6 Double Double Bonus (100.07%). It takes $20 coin-in to earn a point on these machines.
BOULDER STATION adds a bank of machines near bingo with FPDW, 20/7 KoB JW, and 15/8 Loose Deuces (100.15%) at nickels through quarters, plus 10/7 Double Bonus (100.17%) and 10/6 Double Double Bonus (100.07%) in nickels through dollars. The full-pay machines at Boulder have signs indicating you earn no bounce-back free-play on them.
ENCORE shorts the 9/6 Jacks on its $2/$5 Multi Strike and Five Play Multi Strike.
ORLEANS adds more machines with quarter NSU Deuces Wild (99.73%), Double Bonus Deuces Wild (99.81%), 9/6 Bonus Deluxe (99.6%), and 9/4/4 Bonus Deuces (99.45%), bringing the total to 35-40 machines with these games.
RAMPART continues to add more Ten Play with nickel and dime NSU Deuces and 8/5 Super Aces (99.98%) and nickel through dollar 9/6 Jacks. The newest bank (the fourth) has slant-tops.
RED ROCK adds the $5 denomination to all of its Quick Quads, with 9/6 Double Double Bonus (99.65%) and 8/5 Bonus (99.55%).
M RESORT opens with lots of NSU Deuces from 25¢ through $25. Two banks of machines have FPDW, 20/7 KoB JW, 10/7 DB, and 10/6 DDB in quarters. There’s $25 and $50 Bonus Deluxe for high rollers, and a variation of DW (that I call “Super NSU”), with a paytable of 15/11/4/4/3 returning 99.96%, has been reported in quarters, halves, and dollars. Also reported in those denominations is a more unusual variation that’s basically FPDW with the 5-coin payout for a wild royal reduced to 100 coins (99.89%).
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Blackjack games are mostly 2 and 6 decks; rules vary depending on limits. The higher-limit games stand on soft 17 (preferable for players), while the lower limits hit. Double after split is allowed on all games and the 6-deckers also allow resplitting aces. The result is a skinny .19% casino edge against basic strategy on the high-limit double decks. The low-limit double decks have a .40% edge and the low-limit shoes ($5 and $10) are .56%. There are a couple of single-deck games paying 6-5 on naturals.
Craps deals 3/4/5X odds and pays triple in the field. There’s also mini-baccarat, pai gow, Let It Ride, and 3 Card Poker in the pit. There’s a 12-table poker room, but no live keno or bingo.
M’s affiliation with Cantor Gaming adds interesting twists in the sports book and in the area of high-tech gambling. Cantor has a background with online sports books, which means it should bring some fresh ideas and competitiveness to this new independent book. They’ve already introduced “in-running wagering,” which allows you to bet while a game is in pro-gress, and we’ve heard that the lines on futures are more liberal. Cantor is also a pioneer in mobile gaming and hand-held systems are already in place for some of the games (though the system was described to us by one user as a “bad version of an online casino”). We’ll report further on this in the future. </TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>Opening Day</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left> Anyone who’s been around the Las Vegas gambling scene for a while knows that the pros usually show up for the opening bell at a new casino. Actually, lots of gamblers do, many because they think new casinos are lucky (they aren’t) or that they set their machines to pay out more (they don’t). The pros show up to gauge opportunities and, possibly, to take advantage of mistakes.
A perfect example of the latter took place on opening night at M, where a 25¢ progressive apparently began at $10,000 instead of $1,000 (yes, it happens). Someone popped it and M paid it off. [Note: Jean Scott wrote about this in her “Frugal Fridays” blog at LasVegasAdvisor.com, but she learned of it from a good web-based gambling source, thebeargrowls.com.]
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>Sweaty Ox</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left> Here’s a strong video poker play with an unfortunate, but necessary, proviso attached. Las Vegas’ Blue Ox West bar (on Valley View north of Spring Mountain) deals a progressive game with a constant positive return for perfect play. The base game is 7/5 Bonus Poker Deluxe, a schedule that typically pays $100 (on quarter machines) for any 4-of-a-kind. However, the Ox games pay $120. That ups the return at reset to 100.17% (same as 10/7 Double Bonus). And get this—the quads have a progressive meter attached. The gain in return for this progressive is rapid—about 1% per extra $5 in the quad meter—so a $125 meter returns 101.17%, a $130 meter is 102.17%, etc. (and it’s even a little better due to an added card-of-the-day bonus).
Not only is this a good game, but it’s relatively intuitive to play, as it reasonably approximates Jacks or Better or Bonus Poker, with two major differences: 1) Never hold a dealt full house (the 3-of-a-kind in the FH is stronger); and 2) hold a single high pair from two pair made up of one or two high pairs (hold the two pair if both are low). The meters are specific to each machine, so you could walk around and play the highest, then move once you hit, but you don’t want to do that (see below).
There’s even more to like at Blue Ox than the game, including a good kitchen, but here’s that proviso: You have to be careful that the owner doesn’t get mad at you. We’re serious. This is one of those strange situations where a bar puts in a good game, then resents it when someone plays with the goal of winning. Stories we’ve heard—and an explanation straight from the owner—indicate that they believe players are using programs on their cell phones to win (no doubt a misperception tied to the publicity surrounding the blackjack app for iPhones discussed last issue). It’s not true (the game’s just good), but if you get pegged as a “player,” you’ll be shown the door.
This is where the title of this piece comes from, by the way. When a casino (or bar) is constantly worried about who’s playing and how much they’re winning, it’s called “sweating the money,” or just plain “sweating.” </TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>Brewery Play</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left> Here’s another good play at a bar called the Brewery, located on E. Tropicana (east of Eastern). On Fridays, the Brewery awards $25 for a spade flush. That very strong bonus takes the return on a lousy 6/5 Bonus Poker base game north of 105%. But don’t get too excited; there’s a proviso here, too. The bonus is paid in Gambler’s Bonus club points that are added to your account. In the Gambler’s Bonus system, you can cash out only $25 per day (unless you play a lot to reach higher club levels). What’s more, the Gambler’s Bonus rules were recently altered, so you can cash out only in the location at which you earn the points. Think about it and you’ll see that this is very limiting, even for a local (and a killing flaw for a visitor). The best play for most will be to hit one spade flush, then retrieve the bonus and scale your play back a bit. The Brewery’s a good locals bar run by a former industry exec, so hanging out and just drinking are okay, too.
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>Gambling Notes </TD></TR><TR><TD align=left> Gold Spike—Downtown’s Gold Spike has added two live blackjack tables dealing 4 decks, with dealer hits soft 17 and double down allowed after splits. The minimum bet is $3.
Binion’s Comps—Binion’s has a new players club points system that awards .3125% cashback and .625% comps for video poker. The percentages for slots are .5% and 1%, respectively.
Automated Poker—The Poker Pro automated poker-table-system currently in use at Excalibur has been approved for wider distribution in Nevada.
Room Closes—Rampart has closed its poker room.
Heads-Up—Huck Seed took down this year’s NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship and its $750,000 first prize. Vanessa Rousso’s second place was the highest finish ever for a woman; she won $250,000. Also finishing in the top four was Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, who’s contributing to the next edition of our poker-tournament book Kill Everyone.
Net Betting—According to a report from Global Betting & Gaming Consultants, the pace of online wagering continues to increase. Online gambling had $20 billion in gross gambling yield in 2008 (the meaning of “yield” here is unclear, but we assume it means combined gross winnings, including poker rake).
Sports Betting—A New Jersey state senator has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department that seeks to overturn a national ban on sports betting. The suit claims sports betting could become a $10 billion-per-year industry in New Jersey alone by 2011, which is interesting, given that Nevada’s sports books take in only about $2.5 billion per year in wagers. Delaware is also again considering a sports betting lottery.
NCAA Brackets—ESPN reports that despite five million entries into its NCAA Basketball Championship contest, none had a perfect bracket after the second round.
PT’s Bonus—We’ve been ragging on PT’s Pubs for tight video poker policies of late, but here’s some good news. They’ve increased the bonuses paid to active players when someone in the bar hits a jackpot. You can now win up to $50 in free-play simply by having your card activated when someone hits.
Dancer Classes—Bob Dancer’s free video poker classes at South Point conclude with one class, “Secrets of a Video Poker Winner,” on April 7 at 1 pm. These classes may resume in June, but no schedule has been released. </TD></TR><TR><TD align=left>Video Poker Lost and Found</TD></TR><TR><TD align=left> BINION’S adds four quarter machines with 9/6 Jacks or Bettter (99.54%), Full Pay Deuces Wild (100.74%), 20/7 Kings or Better Joker Wild (100.65%), 10/7 Double Bonus (100.17%), and 10/6 Double Double Bonus (100.07%). It takes $20 coin-in to earn a point on these machines.
BOULDER STATION adds a bank of machines near bingo with FPDW, 20/7 KoB JW, and 15/8 Loose Deuces (100.15%) at nickels through quarters, plus 10/7 Double Bonus (100.17%) and 10/6 Double Double Bonus (100.07%) in nickels through dollars. The full-pay machines at Boulder have signs indicating you earn no bounce-back free-play on them.
ENCORE shorts the 9/6 Jacks on its $2/$5 Multi Strike and Five Play Multi Strike.
ORLEANS adds more machines with quarter NSU Deuces Wild (99.73%), Double Bonus Deuces Wild (99.81%), 9/6 Bonus Deluxe (99.6%), and 9/4/4 Bonus Deuces (99.45%), bringing the total to 35-40 machines with these games.
RAMPART continues to add more Ten Play with nickel and dime NSU Deuces and 8/5 Super Aces (99.98%) and nickel through dollar 9/6 Jacks. The newest bank (the fourth) has slant-tops.
RED ROCK adds the $5 denomination to all of its Quick Quads, with 9/6 Double Double Bonus (99.65%) and 8/5 Bonus (99.55%).
M RESORT opens with lots of NSU Deuces from 25¢ through $25. Two banks of machines have FPDW, 20/7 KoB JW, 10/7 DB, and 10/6 DDB in quarters. There’s $25 and $50 Bonus Deluxe for high rollers, and a variation of DW (that I call “Super NSU”), with a paytable of 15/11/4/4/3 returning 99.96%, has been reported in quarters, halves, and dollars. Also reported in those denominations is a more unusual variation that’s basically FPDW with the 5-coin payout for a wild royal reduced to 100 coins (99.89%).
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
