Help! Need advice from VP Veterans about a different kind of DIAD

Hello Everyone!

I have seen some great posts here about Diamond in a Day and how to use Video Poker to attain VIP tier status in Vegas.

Well I have a situation, and I will explain my goals first and then ask my questions. I'm hoping the video poker guru's could help me.

So I don't gamble in Vegas. I live in CT which has the largest casinos in the world and the one I frequent most is Mohegan Sun Casino.

They have really amazing rewards if you are the highest level tier, which is known as "Soar." However its extremely difficult to get there and I am not even a level 1 VIP yet.

So what I am trying to do is gain as high a level as possible without losing a ton of money in the process. Ideally I would be even or maybe down less than $1000 at the end of any lengthy sessions.

VPFree2 states that $390-$550 coin in=1 status point at this place. Once a month they have triple status point days. I am going to play at the next triple status points day next month. I am looking to earn 400 status points that day, maybe more if things go well.

So let's say $500=1 status point. I was thinking of playing JOB 99.54%--a $5 machine ($25 total coin in per deal) for 3 hours. I will be playing perfect strategy using a card from the book I bought called "The video poker edge."

1. For those that have played like this, what can I expect in a 3 hour session at a $5 machine? My biggest fear is that if I'm unlucky I will end up down some insane amount ($2000 or more) at the end of the 3 hours. Is that kind of a swing possible and/or likely? If so, will I be stuck there for hours if I tried to continue playing until it swung back up, closer to even?

2. What kind of a bankroll should I back myself up with to have enough money to wait for an upswing if I'm too far down after 3 hours?

3. I see a lot of posts about how much you can expect to be down after playing so many hours. Is that what happens a lot when you play video poker? Or are there just as many times when you are actually up after a few hours?

4. Does it matter how long you stay on one machine, as far as status points go? Like if I play on one machine for an hour and then take my card out to go the bathroom and come back to it afterwards, will that affect my status points in a bad way?

5. Would it be better if I played a $10 machine ($50 total coin in) for less time?

I have a bankroll of $20,000 if need be, but only to survive if a terrible downswing occurred. I don't want to actually spend that money if I didn't have to.

Thanks in advance for your time.

You dont even post here and now want to use these people.

I'll typically bring $5k if I'm playing 2 hours on $5 9/6 JOB.

Upswings are hard in JOB, since 4oaks pay so little. Then again, downswings aren't that bad, either.

Most of the time you lose, sometimes you win (small), and rarely do you win big (ie: hit a RF).


If you play 3 hours (3000 hands), I'd expect to normally lose about $2k.

Losing $2000 or more would be damn near routine at those stakes. I've lost $500 in a session playing .25 denomination games. Can't give you the exact numbers, but if losing a couple or three grand would bother you, you shouldn't be playing $5 denoms.

1. Assuming you play a modest 400 hands/hour, you'll be playing $30,000 over three hours. Your expected loss, assuming you play perfectly, is a little less than $150. And yes, being down $2000 or more is VERY possible, and you would NOT make the situation any better by continuing to play "until you got even."

2. As above, that upswing (presumably to recover from a loss), won't necessarily ever happen. You'll be losing $50 an hour, for however long you choose to play. (This is partly compensated for by points earned.)

3. Expect about 60% of your sessions to be losing ones.

4. It shouldn't matter if you switch machines.

The larger question I would ask is, is whatever tier status you would gain worth the money you would have to spend to get it? It looks like one status point will cost you about $2.50 in negative expectation (assuming you play 9/6 JOB and play it perfectly). Is 100 status points worth $250 to you? If Mohegan Sun is like most other casinos I know, whatever you get in goodies is about 20% of your expected (theoretical) loss. So, playing to get to a certain status level probably isn't worth it.

Also, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, catering to a huge nearby urban area, have a captive audience and no real competition. I wouldn't expect good deals under those circumstances.

Playing VP at $25 a hand is not for the faint of heart. You can easily drop $5,000 in a few hours, and losing $10,000 would not be out of the question. Do you have ten grand you can lose without blinking an eye?
More than likely, you won't lose anything like that, but be prepared to.

Geez what's the point in playing a game that supposedly gives so little edge to the casino then?? You play a 99.54% game using perfect strategy and the best you can hope for is to lose $2000 after a couple hours?? Might as well play $5 slots then if that's the case! What's the upside to this game? Can't gain status points without losing too much, you lose almost every session you play and to get a royal flush is nearly impossible....

I'll give you the best piece of advice- Forget about doing anything on vp at Mohegan- any of the good paytable vp do not award momentum dollars and the theo on them is awful- you will get next to nothing-
If you need anything more specific pm me