vpFREE2 Forums

penalty cards

#1

I agree with Jean and Harry that it is dangerous to the beginner to read
about more esoteric strategy. I guess I am in a minority of players who only
worry about maximum long term return. I play only when I have an advantage of
one sort or another ( cash back or comps plus EV) and always have enough
bankroll for my trips to play indefinately. ( I am a nickel quarter player). I
play slow enough to allow checking of strategy cards when there is any question
of what cards to keep. Obviously I play for the fun of breaking even and
getting a few comps along the way. Playing fast is not an objective.

In particular at 50 play ( say 9/6 JOB ) I would be very careful to play
best return and check my strategy card. Do any of you higher rollers think that
50 play is a different situation when it comes to penalty cards.

Bob from PA

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#2

BOBBJ@a... wrote:

I agree with Jean and Harry that it is dangerous
to the beginner to read about more esoteric strategy.

While it's true that information can be dangerous, I always assume that
in the big picture view, withholding information ends up more
dangerous. I make my living through "Information Technology," so it's
almost an article of faith that the free spread of information is
desireable, in spite of the problems it may cause in specific instances.

Years ago, I learned to play poker in casino card rooms. I told my
poker guru that I felt weird about the game, since my profits always
came from other people's losses. Often, it's other people's lack of
intelligence or disciple that results in my profits.

My poker guru said some people are foolish or impulsive enough to lose
too much at the poker table. But those qualities are certain to lead
them to loss one way or another. If they don't lose their money to me,
they'll lose it to someone else; if not at poker, then in some other
situation. They're going to lose one way or another, so the best I can
do is take their money in a way that's least painful and most
enlightening to them. (I know that this paragraph sounds like
rationalization, but I think there's some truth within it also.)

So... giving video poker information to people who are undisciplined,
or mathematically challenged, may cause them some problems in specific
cases. The root cause is their lack of discipline and understanding,
not the accurate information.

The beautiful thing about our universe is that it operates under laws
of cause and effect. People who make bad decisions get suffering, and
ultimately that result teaches us wisdom. As we all know from VP, this
cause and effect is wonderfully reliable, but ONLY over the long term,
and the long term can be much longer than we imagine. So it goes: if
the game (video poker, or life) resolved itself in the short term, it
wouldn't be any fun.

Stuart (RandomStu)
http://home.comcast.net/~sresnick2/mypage.htm

#3

Stuart wrote:

The beautiful thing about our universe is that it operates under
laws of cause and effect. People who make bad decisions get
suffering, and ultimately that result teaches us wisdom.

Ok, I'll grant you that, Stu. But take the example of a vp neophyte
who is anxious to educate themselves as strongly as possible.

I, and others, would maintain that they are best served if they stick
to the basics up front. But, frankly, someone relatively new to the
game has no way of discerning exactly what the "basics" are.

When there's considerable esoteric info out there, which isn't
qualified as being "out on the limbs" of the subject but instead
suggested as being relatively valid for all (by context, if not
specifically stated), then there's a very good chance that they're
going to latch on to it, misapply it, and potentially suffer ill effects.

I'm not talking about someone who wittingly "makes bad decisions", but
someone who blunders in good faith. No doubt, after getting kicked
around, they'll learn as you suggest. What they learn may not exactly
qualify as wisdom if they misinterpret the experience.

My point is that anyone taking the time to communicate something here,
in the interest of educating others might not do badly by allowing
that some knowledge may be misinterpreted short of a clear spelling
out of full context, and advice on who might best set it aside.

- Harry