Interested in Video Poker Advantage Play - What type of bankroll do you need and where do I start?

I always heard talk of Advantage Play on Video Poker, Jacks or Better, Double Bonus Poker, etc. I started reading some threads on AP VP, (I have a lot more reading to do). For somebody who wanted to get into Advantage Play on Video Poker, where would I start, as far as learning, researching, scouting out good machines? What are the best machines? What type of bankroll would I need? Where would I find a guide to the proper plays to make at the machines?

Thanks VP APer's.

Quote: stabworld

I always heard talk of Advantage Play on Video Poker, Jacks or Better, Double Bonus Poker, etc. I started reading some threads on AP VP, (I have a lot more reading to do). For somebody who wanted to get into Advantage Play on Video Poker, where would I start, as far as learning, researching, scouting out good machines? What are the best machines? What type of bankroll would I need? Where would I find a guide to the proper plays to make at the machines?

Thanks VP APer's.

There are a ton of variables here and a lot of it will come down to you scouting out games on your own anyway. Depending on your bankroll, if you only have a few thousand dollars you could do worse than to play 25 cent full pay deuces wild and earn about $7 an hour with zero comps.

Quote: stabworld

I always heard talk of Advantage Play on Video Poker, Jacks or Better, Double Bonus Poker, etc. I started reading some threads on AP VP, (I have a lot more reading to do). For somebody who wanted to get into Advantage Play on Video Poker, where would I start, as far as learning, researching, scouting out good machines? What are the best machines? What type of bankroll would I need? Where would I find a guide to the proper plays to make at the machines?

Thanks VP APer's.

It really depends on your goal. Are you looking to make a sizable income, or just play and make a few bucks?

I wouldn't ask, "how much do I need." I would figure out how much I had and go from there. It's not so different from BJ,the more you have the bigger you can bet, the more you make. But not always, sometimes you find LOW/NO risk plays that earn $100 an Hr +
Not to mention VP limits get capped out. There's not many higher denomination plays like on $25 $100 denoms . But you can run through 20k on dollars.. I know many people who have done it playing just a few promotions.

To be serious about it. You need minimum of tens of thousands. It's hard to really know because it really depends on how you go about it and what you play.
3k could work if done right.

TBH there's no book or website that will teach you enough. It's nothing like BJ in that regard, There's a 1000x more information on BJ.

The basics are easy to learn. IE Book information
9/6 JOB strategy (check)
99.54.
Players card = .2
casino promotion= 10x points on memorial day. card now = 2%(good luck ever finding this). Best game in house is 9/6. With 10x points. 99.54 +2% =101.54
$1 denomination x800 hands per hr =4000 coin in = $61.60 an hr. Seems like the best play, but in reality in may not be.



Books won't teach you enough to be really successful.

Good VP nowadays is all about the promotions and mail nowadays (Progressives are nothing like they used to be.) If its published, it's probably no good anymore.
There's no simple formula regarding promotions, you really have to have a good feel/sense for it, that's something no book can teach.
You can't stop at VP, you need to include slots, keno and everything that's available.

It's extremely hard APing solo, unless you're happy with $12 an hr. Sure some guys do it, but they really know what they are doing, and 99% of them have some type of network and a significant BR. But, if you think you just get a BR, learn the numbers, learn how to play all the games, then plop down and start playing, forget about it. Unless you're happy making $7-$12 an Hr.

Ask Djatc how many miles driving he put in in the last 6 months. And flying.

People think slot/VP/keno/sports AP is boring. It's really not, sometimes it can be, if you're stuck on a super long play.

It's more like a educated treasure hunt, but you only have half the map(and the food and perks are super good).

Quote: stabworld

For somebody who wanted to get into Advantage Play on Video Poker, where would I start, as far as learning, researching, scouting out good machines?

A lot of the machines say "Over 100% Payback" or something like that (then in small letters it adds something like "with optimal play.") Those ones are very easy to find

Quote: stabworld

What are the best machines?

The ones where you will earn the most money, given enough hands

Quote: stabworld

What type of bankroll would I need?

To start on a quarter machine, about $5,000 to get close enough to a 0% chance of losing everything (assuming it is one of the better paying VP machines, like the so-called Full Pay Deuces Wild). You could start with a nickle machine with only $1,000. But with that it might be better to work at McDonald's until you have enough resources to earn more than $1.50 per hour at casino games.

Quote: stabworld

Where would I find a guide to the proper plays to make at the machines?

www.wizardofodds.com is as good as any

+1000 what Axel said.

Lots of experimenting, scouting, figuring out what promotions are good and which aren't. Two casinos may have the same promotion, but it may come down to which machine is best to play.

You might get good mail playing the 9/6 JOB machine, but chances are -- you won't. You may be better off playing something like 7/5 Bonus Poker, because playing a poor return machine might give you 10x the mail/free-play. But this isn't always true.



Ultimately, it comes down to which casinos are in your area, what kind of promotions and what kind of mail they give out. From there, figure out if you want to play for mail (free-play) or if you want to play the promotions. Or possibly both. Then figure out which is going to be best for your goal. For doing big coin in amounts (playing for free play / mail), you want a low volatile machine where you can grind it out. If you're playing on a promotional day, it really depends on what the promotion is and where you're getting your edge -- that will decide which machine is best.


IMO, you should learn 9/6 JOB strategy first, since that's a good base for most VP variants. Get Video Poker for Winners.



edit: do you live in LV?

I agree with RS here. What I did was learn JOB by playing the practice game on WOO for 2 to 4 hours a day, every day. I eventually went hours and hours with no mistakes (his game flags mistakes). Then I felt comfortable risking my own money in casinos.

It also made it easier to learn other games. And my experience is the same. VP doesn't really earn much in the way of comps. I think I earn far more green chipping BJ. I'm fortunate enough to have a wife who loves penny slots. She may lose 1K max over four days but we get a suite comped and a limo to and from the airport. Also get quite a bit of free play from her slot play.

We work real well as a team that way. I try and win real money and she takes care of the hotel, meals, and generates a fair amount of free play. And she's ecstatic with this situation.

Quote: RS

Get Video Poker for Winners.

Strike one.

Don't go to a higher denomination while chasing losses!!

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Don't go to a higher denomination while chasing losses!!

What if you're due (-;

I hear that The Undeniable Truth About Video Poker is an excellent book.