Which VP games???

[youbetcha]

I know you will probably chase me away, but I really need some help. I have recently switched from slots to VP. Hated just hitting a button with no thought involved. However, I am finding out I am not the best VP player. Or maybe just unlucky?    Can someone steer me in right direction of best games to be playing??? Eternal thanks.

[Voice of Reason]

Two good games to start with a Full Pay Deuces Wild and 9/6 Jacks or Better.  These are specific types of Deuces Wild and Jacks or Better games, not just any machine that says "Deuces Wild" or "Draw Poker" are the "best games to be playing".

WinPoker can help you learn how to play the game(s) you choose in order to minimize your losses or maximize your profit.  You can get the software at http://www.zamzone.com/, it is a small investment for a player. 

Please consider that in order to make VP a better game than slots takes discipline.  Without discipline, one will not do any better with VP than slots, but one can make decisions along the way.

[youbetcha]

Thanks Jerry, I appreciate your help and I will take your advice. You'll be the first one I contact when I hit a royal.   

[lvfritz]

I have always advised three things for vp newbies.....
1- buy the American Casino Guide.  It gives a good overview of all casino games, not just vp, but it will help steer you to your game of choice.  And the coupons in the back of the book will more than pay for the @ $15 purchase price.  Once you ID your game of choice, you need to learn how to play it.
2- to learn how to play the game you will need a software package.  There are many out there but for under $50 VP for Winners is a good one.  As I've said, there are many others out there, even some on line freebies.
3- You've learned which game you want to focus on.  You're on your way to learning how to play it.  I would invest about another $15 to buy Bob Dancer's complete report for that game.  For me, learning why certain decisions are made, helped me to learn the game I playing faster.

Which game to choose?  My advice would be 9/6 Jacks or Better.  This is my game of choice, but that is not why I'd recommend it.  From JoB you can branch off easily into a whole bunch of similar strategy games.......8/5 Bonus, 9/6 Bonus Deluxe, 10/7 DBL Bonus,10/6 DBL DBL Bonus and others.  Having a few games available to play is important in finding a game at particular place.  For example, it doesn't do you much good to be a very solid 9/6 JoB player if you are going to be staying at a Stations casino.  They do not offer the game.  So with a slight tweak or two, you can switch over to another game that this place does offer.

Full Pay Dueces Wild?  A great game to be sure.  And another favorite of mine.  Unfortunately, it is becoming less and less available even in Vegas.  Yes, if you know the game you can move over to another version (Loose Dueces, NSUD etc) but for ME, I found that to be more difficult than switching off JoB.  Your mileage might vary here.  The last 5 casinos we stayed with (South Point, Hilton, Paris, Sam's Town and Silverton) only one has FPDW, and you play it for reduced points (Sam's Town).

I would suggest that you start with Jacks and save the Wild Card games for later, but going either way is not going to hurt you.  Personal opinion........if you are new to vp, trying to cope with JoB and FPDW at the same time will be difficult.

Best of luck, I think that you are making a wise gaming choice by leaving the slot machines behind.

[knagl]

Welcome to the site!

Like the others, I highly suggest starting with 9/6 Jacks or Better.  It has a nice low volatility, so you typically won't have any huge losses when you play.  As lvfritz said, from there you can branch out to other games once you're familiar with correct strategy for Jacks or Better ("JoB").

You always want to play full coin (that is, five coins per play) to get the bonus payout on a Royal Flush.  If playing $1.25 a pull (5 x $0.25) is too much for you starting out, consider finding a $0.10 or $0.05 denomination machine where you would only have to wager $0.50 or $0.25 a pull, respectively.

If the paytable is the same, you'd be better off playing a $0.05 machine at 5-coins per hand than a $0.25 machine at 1 coin per hand, as you'll get paid more for the Royal Flush when you get one.


Before you shell out hard earned money for software (and there are many good products out there), may I suggest a free option?  There's a software program called "Frugal Video Poker" which used to be the video poker training program to use.  It's not as flashy or pretty as some of the newer products, but the math is still solid, and it offers a good trainer program plus the ability to print out strategy charts that you can bring to the casino with you.  It's free so you've got nothing to lose.  You can download it at:
http://www.wolfvideopoker.com/FVP.htm

[tonystewartrules]

I know you will probably chase me away, but I really need some help. I have recently switched from slots to VP. Hated just hitting a button with no thought involved. However, I am finding out I am not the best VP player. Or maybe just unlucky?    Can someone steer me in right direction of best games to be playing??? Eternal thanks.

I also was not big on the button hitting. Knowledgeable play is important. But do not under estimate unlucky play. I play 99% VP and have for years but have had those WTF stretches but also the really good ones. So keep the faith.

Terry

[knagl]

I guess part of it is finding out what games youbetcha was playing.  If it was Triple Double Bonus Deluxe with Cheese, it would be expected that there would be some big losses as it would be a much more volatile game than JoB.

[KarenTN]

I guess part of it is finding out what games youbetcha was playing.  If it was Triple Double Bonus Deluxe with Cheese, it would be expected that there would be some big losses as it would be a much more volatile game than JoB.

since he sais in the OP he had just recently switched from slots to VP,   I am going to take a wild guess and say that the games he was probably playing were slot machines.   

[knagl]

since he sais in the OP he had just recently switched from slots to VP,   I am going to take a wild guess and say that the games he was probably playing were slot machines.

I'm not so sure about that, Karen.  Did you see this part?

However, I am finding out I am not the best VP player. Or maybe just unlucky? 

[youbetcha]

Thanks to everyone for their advice. I haven't hit a royal yet, but I just know there is one in my future. I've been playing Jacks or Better and find it much easier than the game I was playing at first, which was Double Double Bonus Poker. I won a little over $100 this last weekend. I know that is peanuts to some of you but I was elated. Goodbye slots... forever!
Mucho hugs, Lori

[knagl]

A win is a win!  Congrats!

Jacks or Better has a much lower volitility than Double Double Bonus.  You typically won't have huge wins, but you typically won't have huge losses either.  As such, you will typically get a lot more play (length of time) for your money with Jacks or Better compared to DDB.

[Voice of Reason]

Where is it you play?

[lvfritz]

And I'd additionally ask what paytable is on your JoB game?  Are you playing 9/6, 8/5, 7/5, 6/5?  Paytable is very important too.

[youbetcha]

To Jerry.....I have played in LV a few times but am from Chgo. area. I used to play a lot at Harrahs but I've been going to Blue Chip in Indiana. Blue Chip is where I won.

To LVFritz....Now I am in trouble I think. I am still new at this. I know some machines pay better than others but I didn't, and still don't catch exactly why, how or what I should look for. Someone was trying to explain it ( paytables)to me once but I could not concentrate.  A poor excuse, but you had to be there to appreciate it.  I am open to all advice. I plan to ace this vp demon.

[knagl]

I know some machines pay better than others but I didn't, and still don't catch exactly why, how or what I should look for. Someone was trying to explain it ( paytables)to me once but I could not concentrate.

Look at these two machines, both of which are "Jacks or Better" machines:





Which one pays better?

(Hint: ignore the cards that were dealt, and look at how much each of the qualifying hands pays.)