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Since I moved to almost exclusively online gambling, I have spent far less and actually came out ahead in a couple of years. Hence, I compare my results from games that I KNOW pay 88% to the ones I BELIEVE pay ~95% and see a very clear distinction. It is my experience based on concrete facts.
CM forums have always been full of people swearing black and blue that the RTPs have been lowered. If they were all right, then we would be at about 10% now which is obviously laughable. So, what makes all of them wrong, and all the recent proponents of this theory right?
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Your clear distinction compared to land based and online casinos are being based on slot play and after several years of play should be respected by others. I'm also certain that my decade of what some might consider compulsive action while playing online was video poker and should also be respected. The problem is respect is one thing and actual facts are another. Although our opinions based on long term experiences that should be respected; it is still possible that luck was the deciding factor.
I certainly couldn't give an opinion about online slots being compared to land based casinos, nor could I give an opinion about online video poker compared to land based slots. When I visit land based casinos the only time I played video poker was to take a break from live table action and or poker. I very rarely played video poker at land based casinos, and still today couldn't make a fair comparison.
When I was first introduced to online casinos, of course I jumped into BJ, craps, baccarat, let it ride, 3 card poker, and immediately within a month or two felt the outcomes weren't even close to land based. I then gave video poker a go of it, and was very happy with the play time and for the most part the outcomes. I then went on to master the video poker games I enjoyed and the rest is history.
I have flawless records of all my gambling during this time, which includes land based, online, horses, and lottery gaming. I would never post these records for more reasons than one. I could only confirm that after 7 years of playing online video poker for the same amounts of money and time and being satisfied with the outcomes, did the next two years of doing the same confirm for me that something beyond normal expectations was in place. Based on the number of hands I played there was no doubt in my mind that things had changed online. From being use to hitting between 15 and 20 royal flushes a year for seven years, I suddenly was reduced to 3 to 5 for the next two years with the same action.
Those facts are hard to accept since video poker is not even supposed to be based on preset RTP settings. Regardless of some of the pay tables being reduced, each card still is suppose to have only 1 number assigned to it leaving the rest only up to the RNG.
This is what convinced me that video poker online software could be programmed in ways I'm not familiar with. Without having regulations being enforced controlling and confirming facts, I had no option but to take the stance of rigged.
Edit: On a side note I would like to add that for most of the first seven years playing online it was 98% being played at the original Golden Palace casino. Things didn't start to go sour till not long after the UIGEA was passed and I moved to RTG.