Suckered By My Own Naivety

[vinylweatherman]

I used to play Microgaming Jacks or Better alot when Casino Action were around and did those 24 hour wager challenges on that game. Some days, I played tens of thousands in wagers, all funded from an initial 3 figure deposit, and ended the day ahead in the casino, and placed first in the tournament. It seems that slight changes in the amount of big paying hands can make a huge difference between playing "forever" on one deposit and even winning, or busting out quickly on several deposits. The house edge of this game is around half a percent, and the variance modest (for Video Poker).

The system may have appeared to work because you managed to hit those 4OK hands shortly after increasing the stake because the cards looked "hot". Whilst it may appear you caught on to a pattern, you were just lucky in that you made those hands connect at the right time. When you switched to real money, you had to modify your system because the parameters were different. This threw you, and then you had some of the bad luck in that the hands did not connect often enough when you lifted your stake.

Even though you had problems loading the game, this "system" should be the same for any other video poker game (i.e, it won't work on any of them, it's just a bit of fun).

Trying to find a method of play to beat the house is all part of the fun of taking on the casino. Had you caught a Royal during real play, you would have convinced yourself the system did indeed work, and you would have rushed to find other casinos with this game, and probably lost it all back before the weekend was over.

Those who tell tales of having big wins that enable them to pay for some luxury, or work on the house, are probably just being sensible with a big PAYOUT which returns some years worth of lost gambling money. By spending it this way, they ensure the casino has to wait several more years to win it back, whereas having a big win just sitting around creates a temptation to increase levels of play to the extent that all is quickly lost back.

I have lost some, even all, of some pretty big wins in the past, especially when I first started out, because I developed a false sense of confidence in the game that lead me to believe I would hit again. I also had the win just lying around in my Neteller account, making it very available to lose back.

I now withdraw the excess of a big PAYOUT from my Neteller account to leave only my "normal" level of float easily available. This makes it hard to be tempted to throw it all back.

My recent payout of some 10K will hit my card (£2000), and Neteller (£8000), this week. I will immediately remove £3000 of it from Neteller to bring my float there back down to a more usual £5000. Even this is slightly more than the norm.

Having to wait for payment sometimes has it's advantages too, as it gives time for the player to come down from the high of a big payout, and approach the next session in a better frame of mind. Oddly enough, the casino mistakenly believes that making me wait is always to THEIR advantage

[5centmclue]

Thanks for your replies. I took a brief hiatus to mull over your comments and to decide if I really want to be a "gambler". I'm still not sure I'm cut out for it. But my Charlie side wants more. (Until my limited gambling fund runs out that is.)

I checked out some sites suggested and ended up going with 32Red (since I need to use Canadian funds) but only after I grilled a CS person about the amounts I could bet in Video Poker (Jacks or Better). He assured me that what I saw on the free play game was what I would get on the "Real Money" game - and he was as good as his word. -A pleasant surprise.

After a glass of cheap Zinfandel, I made my second ever online casino deposit. It was my birthday, and I was feeling lucky!!'

To make my money last longer and to get a bit of exercise, I turned up my stereo and danced for a few minutes to Coldplay between bets.

FYI. Dancing does not improve your odds. (Neither does Coldplay!)

I lost my 32RED deposit! LOL

But I feel like I got a bit of a workout.

Diamond Geezer, I am comforted by your lament: "£200 gone an about five minutes playing BJ."

Maybe luck will catch up on the next deposit?

[ksech]

Maybe you need to dance a more seductive dance to entice the cards

[Markus]

There is no strategy that's going to beat the house long term.

Usually not, but if comp points are credited for doubling up there can be a strategy that's going to beat the house long term. If I want to play VP I always select a casino that credits comps for the double up feature. Then I play the VP game with the lowest house edge and follow perfect play while I use the double up feature excessively, i.e. trying to double multiple times in a row. This can easily result in a player edge of around 0,5% (referring to the starting bet).

[Przecinek]

My first casino experience was Betfair
I played hi-lo, then moved to blackjack, then discovered that when you press help, betfair will give you whole perfect strategy chart...

I couldn't believe why on earth Betfair would give out such "important" and "viable" information on their website for free
Rest is history.

[5centmclue]

Maybe you need to dance a more seductive dance to entice the cards

Are you saying that dancing like a tipsy spastic chicken in thick flannel PJs is not enticing enough? :-)

I must rethink my strategy.

In hindsight, I guess choosing a band whose name includes "cold" + "play" is also not a good choice in the enticement department.

0centsnoclue