Thanks for the information on this board. Here are a few reflections
on Laughlin.

In the past I have played 10/7 DB video poker around Vegas in order to
establish free room offers. However, the volatility of the 10/7 DB
game I have learned makes it difficult for me to be confident that my
bankroll will support a long string of free rooms through a losing streak.

Also, my first love in gambling has become live poker..It is more
complex. I do not have to play against the casino house edge. And as
my game improves I expect that it will generate more wins.
It has been frustrating that just as I have established my VP play in
places like the Orleans and the El Cortez, they have downgraded their
games and their comps. I fear that the Four Queens is also going that
route. Luckily at my last stay the Orleans I enjoyed a long string of
free rooms during the last month they had full pay DB, but at the El
Cortez I had lost a good bit of money when the good free room mailings
stopped. So I lost my invested play.

This trip I discovered that Laughlin still has full pay VP and a
really fine 2-6 spread limit live poker game that at the River Palms
will earn me free rooms, one room for every quad hand and for every 6
hours of play. That is unique in the country as far as I can tell.

At the same time I did want to seed a couple places in Laughlin with
VP play for future trip offers. I was going to try it at the Colorado
Belle, but just before I left they downgraded their comps on full pay
machines. Some posters thought that I might still generate room
offers, but I did not trust that. Besides why reward the ba****ta**ds!

So I just played DB at Aquarius and at the River Palms, although I
realize that the River Palms is probably not a good investment after
this trip because I will be there many days on live poker comps or
because the rooms are cheap there anyway, and will not have the VP
bankroll to keep up my daily VP average over a week. So I might
better invest in a casino where I can catch a couple free days and
still withstand the variance and not lower my daily average.

I did fine in my play in both places, breaking about even on the VP.
At the Aquarius a fine straight flush bailed me out of the worst
downward streak. I had two SF there. Odd run of luck. Still I was
drained by a poor showing of flushes and full houses.
At River Palms I went back in to play more in order to get 7 points
for their Frenzy promotion, lost almost a hundred trying to quit even,
and then again was booted back to even with a quad. I swiped the
Frenzy and just got $10, missing other chances of up to $200 just by a
wrong icon pick. That promo was a great addition to the EV of 10/7.
I hope I see it again.

My VP play in Vegas was not as good. I dropped $300 one day at Main
Street Station when nothing much came. Before that I was about even
with quads coming fine, but flushes leaving me altogether and other
lower pays draining the quad winnings, even Aces. Two days at
California based on my MSS play were the only two days this trip based
on prior play and I certainly paid for those rooms.

I did not play VP at the El Cortez other than one time when I dropped
$20 in an 8/5 Bonus in order to get a free bass ale and after a bit of
slow play hit quad 3's and cashed out with a nice $40 profit. I won't
play that damn low pay 8/5 Bonus unless the EV also includes a free
beer that cannot be otherwise ordered. It is fast becoming the game
of choice in Vegas and I see other players are fine about switching
down to play it.

I did practice 10/7 before going West. I played on Dancer's video
tutor. I also brought Tomski's Strategy sheets along as always and
Dancer's Double Bonus book with me. These are good resources but
complicated to read. If you are just starting out in VP or have been
overwhelmed by books and sheets, try the book and strategy cards (in
the book ) by Linda Boyd called "The Video Poker Edge" This simplifies
strategy, leaving out the obscure penalty plays. It also lists "taboo"
plays. Sometimes knowing what not to do is as important in gaining
some edge as knowing what to do. There is a rare discussion too on
Class II and ClassIII games which are here in New York and in Tampa
where I winter. These are insidious liars, lottery slots pretending to
be VP machines. Luckily they do not exist in Vegas.

Dancer's book is really a gem but I have been reading it for ten years
now and still have to read it over again and I get confused. Linda
Boyd's book won't tell you when to hold all three of A-K-Q offsuit
(when 9 is penalty) but it will give a simple strategy to begin with
as well as a card that can be checked without taking time to drink a
beer while trying to balance penalty situations.

Linda Boyd's expertise can also be enjoyed at:
http://www.midwestgamingandtravel.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=2

My play otherwise was fine. No big wins. I loved the 2-6 spread live
game in Laughlin. At Colorado Belle they had a kill, but it was not a
crazy group so the kill did not influence my play except to tighten it
to play only super premium hands after I had won one pot so as not to
lose six dollars of some low paying second pot to a third.

The River Palms did not have a kill. They also had one other
interesting form of poker. Anyone at a 2-4 or 2-6 limit game who
wanted to play no limit could request an "over" button. Then in any
round where all the limit players were eliminated, leaving only the
'over" buttons, the game morphed into no limit. In one 2-4 I held my
limit status, but whenever I folded all other players were playing no
limit so I had some good games to watch. I also had the advantage of
seeing my opponents and watching them play a while. I could request an
"over" button at any time, so had I detected play I thought I might
beat, I would have joined in. Finally, the 2-4 game was much less
loose because players did not want to just throw money at any cards if
they thought in the last round it might be a no limit game. I liked
all of that.

Free rooms earned by live poker play rooms are a great benefit as they
can be used on the weekends too except when there is some special
event and patched in with other offers as well. They will work to make
the River Palms my main casino.