What to do with free play...

I'll be at a casino with $140 of free play that I can only use on slots - no VP.

What's the best bet? Do I play .25 and sit forever hoping for small jackpots, or play $5 and sit there a minute and hope for bigger jackpots?

My gut says the smaller provides a greater chance for the wins - but my head tells me each spin is a chance for the jackpot. (although in theory, they are infrequent.)

And in practice, too.

Quote: ukaserex

I'll be at a casino with $140 of free play that I can only use on slots - no VP.

What's the best bet? Do I play .25 and sit forever hoping for small jackpots, or play $5 and sit there a minute and hope for bigger jackpots?

My gut says the smaller provides a greater chance for the wins - but my head tells me each spin is a chance for the jackpot. (although in theory, they are infrequent.)

And in practice, too.

What's your goal? Do you want to get as close to the $140 as possible and run? Do you want a big score? Do you want to be entertained for a while?

Try keno.

The goal is to use up the free play - and if I win huge - tuck most of it away and play with the rest. And if I just win a bit, tuck it all away and wait for the weekend when I have more time.

I keep getting a lot of these decent offers that make it just barely worth the trip. Today, it was 140 in Free play - but only slots. I split the difference between .25 Double Diamond and $1 Double Diamond. I did look for the must hit jackpots - but none were even close. I ended up with a net of $57 with the first $40 in Free play on the .25 and used the remaining $100 for $59 from the $1. Next time - I think I'll do the same. Not a great return, but for slots, better than I can really expect. Next time, I'll split the number of spins more evenly, instead of the amount of money. The $1 machine may have needed a few more tries for something better than 3 bars.

Tomorrow - off to Harrahs' for a minimum of $40 plus my weekly offer of $95.

Two weeks ago at Harrah's, the minimum (A scratch off game) was 80, went home with $835. Last week it was $40. Went home with $335

Looking forward to tomorrow - I'll be thrilled if I just hit 95% of whatever the total free play is. Some might think it silly to just hit 'em for the free play and run - but I won't have any real time to devote to gaming until the weekend. The way I see it - serves 'em right for not letting me use the free play on the weekends when it's more convenient for me. I could understand it if the casinos down south here were raking in the crowds, but none of them really do. Always plenty of room to park.

This weekend, The Palace Casino is having a cocktail party for the top and 2nd tier card holders - more chances for cash and free play. I aim to work on my black jack game while I wait for the winners to be announced.

Quote: teddys

Try keno.

I tried Keno in Vegas just to talk to a gorgeous cocktail waitress. Lucia was her name and she was breathtakingly beautiful. I'll never forget her. She was +EV, just because being near her smile was great value.

Last I heard from her, she went to San Francisco and became a stripper. After 6 months she quit and went to school. Guess she made enough to cover tuition.

Oh -

You can have the Keno. If I fall asleep, I want to be in bed.

High limit slots. Give yourself a decent shot at winning $1000... a simple $5 machine.

Edit: This is not necessarily the "best" play - but it's super fun when you hit.

Be careful just playing off freeplay with no additional action. If you do that too much some casinos will take you off the mailing list.

With VP - I'll always do that if I can get in 6-8 free hands at the $5. Always. But with only $100...I might get lucky and score - but odds are, I just end up with something less than 95% because the wager is relatively large to the free play bankroll. But you're right - it was a hoot when I nailed a quad with the $175 a couple of weeks ago, and the full house this week.

For slots - it's so hit or miss. May as well go for the gusto.

Quote: jopke

Be careful just playing off freeplay with no additional action. If you do that too much some casinos will take you off the mailing list.

I thank you for this advice.
Fortunately, I've learned this already. I really don't mind dropping off Harrah's list. The casino is ...for me, it's just gross - maybe if I went in through the hotel instead of the parking garage, I'd feel different. The smoke, the humidity in the casino - literally - the only reason I went in the very first time was because I hadn't been and wanted to see if their high limit VP was worth playing.

I had a disastrous visit. Literally $400 worth of hands went by in less than 2 minutes. I took the risk - and a high risk at that - but it really soured me on the casino. So, before I give them any more action - I want to get more from them than what they got from me. Thus far - that plan is working like a charm. When the free play runs out - I'll be quite okay with never going there again. (and a resort fee? In Biloxi? Are they joking? I would never, ever, ever pay a resort fee anywhere. I'd sooner sleep in my car! It ain't the money, but the principle.)

When it's all said in done, my main two casinos will be IP - they have the 6/9 JoB for all denominations from 25cents to $2.(in the non-smoking section!) For high limit VP, I'll go to Hard Rock, and for anything else, I'll stick with the Palace. When I started, I wanted to try them all and see how their players clubs treated me. Unfortunately, my enjoyment seems to be impacted in smoking environments.

The good news is that the New Year is off to a healthy start. Up $1311 so far without risking a dime of my cash. And I slapped $1k of that into my IRA to take advantage of the lousy market. Dollar Cost Averaging and all that jazz.

Hmmmm,I will try to understand this post latter, i'm in ketchup mode

Quote: jopke

Be careful just playing off freeplay with no additional action. If you do that too much some casinos will take you off the mailing list.

Tonight was ...interesting. I went in today for a quick trip.

I had $135 in free play at Harrah's
and $140 at The Palace Casino.

I went first to the Palace Casino and left with $165 - using only $1 of mine to prime the pump, so to speak.

Then I went to Harrah's. My vouchers didn't work and my pin was disabled. I went to player's services, and the gal referred me to the slot host.

I went to the slot host and she "was new" and had no idea. Another host stepped in and explained that if a player comes in and used nothing but free play, when they have their audit, you can get flagged and your free play is no longer valid.

While I recognize that they can rescind these offers whenever they want, I felt it bad business to make these offers and then rescind them without telling me before I make the trip. It's not like they haven't been sending me these mailer for weeks.

Although it's only an hour drive (one way) it rather bugged me that they can just shrug their shoulders and say it's out of their hands. So, I asked to speak with the big boss. Big boss was in a meeting. So, I went back to players services - complained about the audit and that my free play vouchers wouldn't work - and the gal had her boss sign off, and they gave me some new vouchers to use. I told the supervisor what had happened - didn't want anyone making any decisions on my behalf without all the facts. But - I added, if they don't want me to use free play the way I want to use it - don't send it to me. So, they took me off the list.

I will miss that free play - it's helped me recoup a lot of losses. Enough to where I'm up, no longer negative at that casino. So, I don't mind not going back.

I share this with you to let those who are inclined to just use free play that after 3 times, they'll flag you. So, unless you're fairly close by, I would take these details and use them to your best advantage.

For those that may be in the business - it makes little sense to me that you send free play in the mail and don't consider the idea that some will just play the free play. If you can't afford that loss, don't give out the free play vouchers. Just my two cents, yours for free.

I think you were warned that this would happen. It stinks when it happens but really it is good business by the casino. You are not the player they want even though you initally played to get the vouchers.

Quote: GWAE

I think you were warned that this would happen. It stinks when it happens but really it is good business by the casino. You are not the player they want even though you initally played to get the vouchers.

In another thread HotBlonde won $10,000 in free-play. So, if she plays all of that (she won $9k+) and felt satisfied and went home, then the casino should inform her she's been flagged next trip, lol.

Yeah, that'd be good for business.

winning in a contest and mailers are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SCENARIOS

It seems that CET is the biggest offender of this.

Quote: darkoz

In another thread HotBlonde won $10,000 in free-play. So, if she plays all of that (she won $9k+) and felt satisfied and went home, then the casino should inform her she's been flagged next trip, lol.

Yeah, that'd be good for business.

Like WoN said it is different. Now if she did it a few times in a row CET would just make sure she didn't win anymore.

I recommend that after a player redeems vouchers three times that the casino look at the customers theo loss over that period. If the theo loss is less than the bounce back amount quit sending that player free play because it is not working.

Quote: GWAE

Like WoN said it is different. Now if she did it a few times in a row CET would just make sure she didn't win anymore.

You are not saying that the drawings are gaffed, are you? ;-) or the games HB played to convert the free play win into $$? Tell me you are not saying that...

Quote: DRich

I recommend that after a player redeems vouchers three times that the casino look at the customers theo loss over that period. If the theo loss is less than the bounce back amount quit sending that player free play because it is not working.

You do, do you?

http://simhq.com/forum/files/usergals/2014/04/full-3450-78413-1.jpg

☺

Quote: TwoFeathersATL

You are not saying that the drawings are gaffed, are you? ;-) or the games HB played to convert the free play win into $$? Tell me you are not saying that...

Nooooooooo, a casino would neeever do that.

Quote: GWAE

I think you were warned that this would happen. It stinks when it happens but really it is good business by the casino. You are not the player they want even though you initally played to get the vouchers.

I do seem to recall some folks here hinted that such a thing might happen. But, to me, I look at simply - if you don't want me to play free play, don't send me free play. Sure, there are times when I've got more time than sense; I'll play after I'm done exhausting my free play. But - the way I look at it, if I'm risking my money initially to the point where a casino marketer believes I'm worth sending X amount of free play, they shouldn't be surprised if I use it, nor should they void it after they've issued it.

It's really kind of silly, really.

My first trip was to Harrah's in New Orleans. I lost $400.

My next 4 trips were to Harrah's in Gulf Coast - I lost $400 four times. So, the way I see it, I'm down 2k at this Casino.

They sent me two months worth of Free Play vouchers, $95 per week, plus some incentive to get me there pretty much every day. Since I told myself I'd lost enough money there, and their buffet was garbage and the ventilation did little to suck up the excess smoke, I was going to only play the free play until they stopped sending it.

The win/loss only went in my favor a week ago, when I'd hit them for a quad on the $5 vp machine. Seems like the only way for me to win was to play with their money. It's anecdotal, of course, but it sure seems like my money went much faster than theirs did.

As to whether it was good business by the casino - I disagree.

Good business would have been to not send me so much free play, or any at all.

But, we can agree to disagree. I get why they did it - and have no problem with them doing it - but the way they did it was shoddy. They could have sent me an email to let me know, saved me a trip.

Quote: ukaserex

But, we can agree to disagree. I get why they did it - and have no problem with them doing it - but the way they did it was shoddy. They could have sent me an email to let me know, saved me a trip.

Then they wouldn't get you in the door. At least if you are there you might still play. And if you don't then they couldn't care less what you think.

Quote: DRich

I recommend that after a player redeems vouchers three times that the casino look at the customers theo loss over that period. If the theo loss is less than the bounce back amount quit sending that player free play because it is not working.

The problem with this is its a slippery slope. So, you get drunk and earn a high ADT. You lost $2K. Then you get mailers for say, $300 a day. You come in and take the free-play, but you're not gaming the system. Every day, you lose the money won and add $200 of your own money.

Your ADT is not anywhere near what earned the comps however, you are still a "paying" customer, losing money on a daily basis.

You are saying the casino should cut this guy off?

And how much play would be satisfactory? If $10,000 coin in got you a calendar and you only did $1,000 coin-in while taking the free-play would you say that person didn't live up to their expectations and cut them off.

The truth is the software is supposed to take an ADT and send out offers based on that. People change their play all the time. People usually ruin their own ADT unwittingly, but now, when the casino sees someone taking the offers that their own software says are proper, they want to renege. They should man up and let their system (based on ADT) do what it's supposed to.

Anything else is bad business.

Anyone brave enough to clink on the above links from a brand new member?

Quote: TwoFeathersATL

Anyone brave enough to clink on the above links from a brand new member?

I copied and pasted. They're funny cat videos. Note I'm not saying their funny, that's the name of the video.

Ignore!

So say one had a good amount of free "slot only" play to a place... like $30 every 3 days for a month with a few bonus days, etc. At that point the high limit pulls seem off as you only have $30. I also don't want to get flagged and stop receiving FP. I know in VP you can use the FP as a buffer to the natural negative EV for a while and play a lot longer. I'd like to do something similar for slots, but there doesn't seem to be a good way of finding out the machines House Edges...or is there?

How do I find a machine's house edge? Google the machine and hope it's listed?

Quote: GWAE

Then they wouldn't get you in the door. At least if you are there you might still play. And if you don't then they couldn't care less what you think.

I certainly believe that might be their thinking but... has anyone ever arrived at a casino who has been historically taking just the free-play, found all their comps redacted, not gotten upset and just sat down to play some more (with the foreknowledge now that almost certainly they have been no-mailed and will not receive future offers for their play?)

Seriously, I imagine the success rate of (well, at least we have them in the casino now, maybe they will play some more) must be close to nil.

Therefore, the real reason is the latter. They couldn't care less, they probably snicker at those people who drove all the way there to find they had nothing, it's more of a "gotcha" or "you should have seen the look on their faces" moment for them that they can laugh about in their marketing meeting at the end of the week.

Romes,
The only way I know is to look at the documentation inside the machine. Anything else would have to be anecdotal speculation.

Rules of thumb I play by: End cap machines (those that have no machine next to them - only they are placed at the end of two back to back rows - are machines to avoid. Like a grocer, I theorize they would have lower payback, because they preferred seating - no neighbors sitting next to you, generally taller and flashier than the other machines behind them. (like in my crude diagram)

X X X
E E
X X X

I try to play the ones in the middle; I may have read or heard something about this a dozen years ago and have no math to back this up. Just a hunch.

Another rule of thumb, the smaller the multiplier, the better the payback. (Double Diamond > Triple Double Diamond)


Also, in Mississippi:

Gaming devices which are considered to be slot machines and which have a difference in theoretical payback percentage which exceeds 4 percent for a single-coin play versus maximum-bet play, must have electronically stored digital meters of at least 6 digits which record the number of plays made in each category of wager for which the theoretical payback percentage is different from the single-coin bet category.(Source: Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-51)


This means that there are machines which have up to 4% more payback for not using max coins. Which ones, I have no idea. (at least, that's what I think it means)


If it's helpful, the last time I had $250 in free play that I could only use on slots, I took the opportunity to compare 15 spins with 25 cent (max coins@2)10 spins with $1(max coins@2) and $2(max coins @2) and $5 (max coins at 2) on the oldie but goodie Double Diamond, three reels, single line slot machine.

The 25 cent returned 29.50, the $1 returned 18, the $2 returned 40, the $5 returned 24. (4 different machines, each 15 spins)

Percentage wise, the 25 cent was by far the better return, but 15 spins is hardly a statistically significant return. But, from now on, I'll stick to quarters anyway, just because of this anecdotal, but mathematically unsupported experience. (I looked for a max-hit machine, but none were even close to $490. )

I saw a shooting star last night after the cold front moved thru and the clouds disappeared. The sky is very blue today, and I saw a white wild turkey this morning. I think today, today only, you should consider sitting at the end machine, the one in the bank that sits 45 degrees off a north/south orientation. I could be mistaken.

I'll do it! This weekend! I have $165 in free play waiting on me. Nothing to lose!

Quote: ukaserex

I'll do it! This weekend! I have $165 in free play waiting on me. Nothing to lose!

I want my cut, nuttin terrible..let's call it 10%. ;-)

Good question about free plays or spins. For me it depends on my mood if I want to play longer I place small bets with small wins. If feel lucky I play mid to max bet to win bigger.