I am still curious what other people have actually achieved as a sustainable play rate on a single-line machine playing one machine at a time. Those with claims of 3,000 hands per hour have not, to my observation (sorry if I missed it) responded to my question of whether that play was (1) sustainable over time (say an hour) and (2) on ONE single-line machine, as opposed to two (or more) machines or multi-line play. I am certainly willing to discount the delays that occur when a hand pay occurs, of course, since that's unavoidable. Those with claims of 1,000 - 1,200 hands per hour need not respond again, as I find that fully credible.
Incidentally, I will certainly concede to slow play rates being reasonable for those who find it physically uncomfortable (for any reason) to play fast, or who feel their accuracy is optimal at lower speeds, or who simply enjoy playing slowly (which I can sort of understand, even though that does not "fit" me at all).
Some have responded to my observation of a 1-2 hand per second machine limit by saying that some machines can respond at five hands per second with rapid tapping of the "deal" button; I have yet to see such a machine. I almost always play $1 single-line machines, so I don't know about machines at lower denominations being set for lower response rates. I don't think I want to tip off even my less-than-perfect non-professional skill level to a slot tech by requesting a machine to be reset for the fastest rate of play (and while this may be a simple setting for some slot techs, the ones I deal with seem to struggle to get the machine open to re-load or un-jam a roll of paper). While the machine response rate is certainly a factor in speed, the 1-2 hands per second response rate is good enough to keep up with my decision and hold rate; a faster machine would not likely add more than 10% to my own speed.
I have admitted to making about one error per hour that I catch (and I admit that I might be making some that I don't catch, an admission which I would think every honest person would need to make in casino play, because how can you honestly say that you never make a mistake that you are not aware of, except on computer practice where you can measure errors, but are not distracted by casino activities, sticky buttons, etc.?), and my usual sustainable play rate is 1000 hands an hour, a rate determined by calculation based on tier points earned, and sustained and replicated repeatedly in sessions of one to five hours. I suspect my burst rate is much higher for short periods of time, since I sometimes doze off at the machine (I seem to play VP mostly when I'm tired from live poker, admittedly a poor choice in terms of perfect play) for unknown periods of time, probably just a second or two, but who knows. Since I am often playing tired, I'm not sure
slowing down would avoid more than half my errors, and for me personally, that avoidance would be offset by losing my reasons for playing fast, below.
And while errors are most certainly costly in the long run, in the short run (i.e. on an actual individual hand) not every error results in a decreased pay on that hand; sometimes you defy the odds, get lucky, and hit something you might not have hit with the correct play. Again, I definitely understand that actual results do not reflect the theoretical cost of errors, that you can't reasonably expect luck to offset your errors in the long run, and I definitely understand that the theoretical cost is what matters, although some will argue that in short-run actual practice, what matters is how you do, not how you play, and certainly it is hard to discount the value of taking home more money, even if the player taking it home had little right to expect to do so.
As for the other topics re: why to play fast, most of those that have been cited as valid reasons apply to me: (1) increased speed is a good idea to increase hourly expected win amount when you have an edge, such as playing for a progressive royal, (2) increased speed helps you get in a desired amount of tier points in less time (and without moving up in denomination, which is accompanied by unacceptable variance and risk to a bankroll insufficient for higher-denom. play), and (3) personal preference -- I get bored playing slowly, and part of the reason I'm playing is for entertainment (which is reduced for me by slow play) and distraction from the rest of life (which comes back to mind if I'm playing too slowly).
I agree with those who point out that for quarter denominations, the dollar value per hour of increased speed is not that much; I also agree with those who point out that for quarters, getting a certain number of tier points in per day can be very burdensome if not near impossible at slower play rates; when I'm trying to get in 2500 tier points for the 5000 point bonus, my $1 1000-1200 hands per hour rate requires about 4-5 hours of play; at quarters, that would become a very long 16-20 hours, and at slower rates, 2500 points in a day would be impossible at the quarter level anyway. But even at quarters, lower tier goals for bonuses (such as 1000 tier points) would also be very time consuming, significantly so when comparing 1000 hands per hour to 300-500 hands per hour.
I'm the same way with driving -- if traffic is moving very slowly, I am not as alert as when moving along at a higher speed -- like VP, with an understanding of increased risk with high speed, that I'm willing to accept. And yes, I understand that with driving, it's not just me that gets the increased risk, so with that admission, let's not get off-topic criticizing that any further.
When I'm playing with my most frequent VP-playing "buddy" my goal becomes more social, and things change -- we often share our bankroll, move up to a multi-line machine, and take turns at the same machine, and this clearly leads to slower play -- but again, in that setting, my priorities in playing change, with "social" moving to the top. We pause to have conversation or to order and drink beverages, etc. When I'm not fully enjoying the "social" play mode, I try to convince my friend to share bankroll and play two single-line machines side-by-side, which moderates the social aspect a little but allows me to pick up speed again; when we play that way, I tend to get in about 50% more hands per hour than my friend. Quite honestly, I don't find playing video poker to be a very social activity, but I'll concede to those who enjoy playing with a friend as their preferred mode.
-BG
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