There's a reason you rarely see people reporting about the best VP
paytables, the best promotions, the best cash benefits, etc. on lists
like this anymore (mostly regarding Vegas but sometimes at other
locales too). It kills a play when too many people find out about it.
In the 90's it was common for lists like this to be filled with
reports of the locations for all the best machines, when they had 3x
points, who had the best cashback rates, what the best play in town
was, etc. Remember the days of $1 FPDW in Vegas? All gone. $1 10/7
DB? Rare at places that have cashback. Even 25c FPDW is
disappearing, or having benefits cut (like half points at all
Stations/Fiestas).
Good Vegas video poker plays have been shrinking for 5 years. Now the
same thing is happening at other locations. Some of those Vegas pros
have even brached out around the country to find more lucrative plays,
competing with the locals and making it tougher on them. Casinos have
to react by cutting back good paytables and good cash benefits if too
many advantage players hit their machines. This is especially true at
smaller casino towns outside of Vegas, where any significant amount of
advantage play can make a big difference to the casino. It's a simple
yet frustrating reality.
What can people like us do to slow the loss of our good plays? One
easy thing: DON'T BROADCAST GOOD PLAYS. Don't make it easier for
others to come in and kill your most lucrative plays. Many of the
players who used to post good info to lists like this years ago
(including me) figured out that - as noble as it may be to share
information to help others - they're only hurting themselves in the
long run.
Share information about hotel rooms, good restaurants, pretty casinos
with nice atmosphere. But keep information about profitable plays
(best paytables, cashback, cash promotions) close to the vest,
assuming you want those plays to last longer.
This is a public service announcement.