In a message dated 6/23/2008 4:43:54 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
kitchat123@aol.com writes:
I had an interesting chat with a gentleman playing video poker next to me at
one of the
bars at Mohegan Sun (an Indian run casino in Connecticut) last week. Now
granted, he
was a bit inebriated, but he seemed quite educated and intelligent. He also
mentioned he
lived nearby and was a "regular". After playing for about 30 minutes, he
leaned over and
said, "Of course, you know they tightened up these machines about 6 months
ago. Not just
these machines, but all the machines." I suppose I gave him a rather dubious
look and so
he added, "Oh, it's not just me saying that. Everyone is talking about it.
You used to have a
shot at winning but now these machines will just suck you dry."
I wanted to be able to just chalk this up to this player's paranoia combined
with his
imbibing a few too many. But I must say that the fact that in the past 6
months of playing
at Mohegan Sun, I have had 5 winning sessions out of 26 and in the six
months prior to
that at Mohegan Sun, I had 16 winning sessions out of 31 certainly seemed to
lend some
credibility to this theory. I know there are ups and downs in the game but
the fact that my
percentage of winning sessions went from 52% in the previous six months to
19% in the
most recent six months seems very strange, especially when you consider I
was playing
the same game, 9/6 Jacks or Better. And my accuracy rate has even improved
during these
past 6 months, always at least 99.7 or 99.8% when I practice on my tutorial
software. And
I play with even more care and accuracy when I am playing at the casino.
So my question is this. Is it possible for casinos to alter the machines in
such a way that
they have fewer payouts, without changing the paytables? Just to be clear, I
am not asking
if it seems likely. I am sure there are many reasons why it would seem
unlikely. I simply
want to know if it is POSSIBLE.
It is possible to fix a machine but why bother when you can just change the
paytable. If you take the total for the year, you have 21 winning sessions
out of 57 or a 37% winning record. 9/6 JB is a losing game so you should
expect to lose over time. The total $ results are more important then individual
sessions. I remember last year when you posted about winning sessions at
the time. I posted that it would eventually turn. It is always more fun to be
on the upside of the curve than the downside. My experience at MS is just
the opposite. More winning sessions over the last 6 months, less the previous
6. Players usually get the fear of a fixed game when they go thru a bad
streak. It is also a bad idea for someone (the player you spoke with) to be
playing VP when drunk if they care about their accuracy. If the player you
talked to really believed the games were fixed, he shouldn't be playing them. I
have spoken to players who have said the same thing after an extended losing
streak. They start winning and the games suddenly become fair. Human nature.
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