richardrick7 wrote:
I'm making a slow transition from JOB to 10/7 DB. I've heard that
simply using JOB on 10/7 is worth .2%
Since I don't know how to tweak WP and VPSM to analyze a simplified
DB strategy, could some of you math people figure it out?
Rick,
I'm writing this in the middle of yet another restless night so it's
gonna be pretty q & d. Hopefully someone will take you up on your
challenge of detailing a simplified DB strategy.
Playing 10/7 DB with 9/6 JB strategy gives you an ER that's about .1%
over that of 99.54%. Having said that, I don't advise anyone to head
for the nearest 10/7 machine unless they've got a good grasp of the
game fundamentals.
You need as much of the .6% ER advantage of 10/7 DB over 9/6 JB to
help grapple with the much higher volatility of double bonus. (Of
course, there are some volatility fiends out there who'll race past a
trusty ol' 9/6er to scramble for a 9/7 DB just about any day ...)
If you've got vpsm, then you have a decent strategy in hand (and I
TRUST that you're using the basic one, not the advanced! 
···
------
You've identified two hold changes as being ones that will
significantly improve your EV. They aren't the ones that would pop
out at me ... in fact the first one is a little flawed:
you write:
But it seems (using Winpoker and VPSM) that two simple modifications
of JOB would bring me closer to EV breakeven on DB:
1. Holding a 3 card Flush with 1 hi card over a 3 STFL with 2
gaps and 0 hi cards;
What you're describing here is a hand with 3 STFL, all low cards, and
yet apparently you have another suited high card. No question of what
to hold here, it's the 4 card Flush.
Don't think I'm making fun ... that's the problem with ranked strategy
cards -- they often have you comparing two holds which either can't
appear together or, if they do, it means that an even better hold is
present.
------
Digesting strategies in this way can actually be an excellent way to
get a handle on a game because it forces you to construct actual hands
that meet the criteria. Do that enough and the process of identifying
best holds within a dealt hand becomes a snap since you've become
skilled at building hands around the holds.
You could try to approach DB from a simplified strategy as you
suggest. I think there indeed are some that will get you most of the
way to full ER with a limited subset of holds. But I'd recommend
mastering a basic strategy such as the vpsm one. When you get to the
point where in your vp software practice the ER cost of your errors is
less than .4%, you might want to start tackling it in the casino. But
frankly, I don't throw my money at any game until my proficiency
against theo is 99.8% (.2% error cost).
I'll stress that I'm not talking about error rate (play errors per 100
hands). That's a useless stat as far as I'm concerned. I'm only
concerned with what my errors will cost me on average.
------
I strongly recommend that you lay out the bucks to purchase Frugal
Video Poker (FVP).
"Perfect" Double Bonus strategy (you know, that "advanced" mess in
vpsm involves a good number of frequently occurring penalties (aka
"interferences", having to do with things like Aces and 10's in the
same hand and the like). The penalties call for modest changes in
some holds if you're going to play absolutely 100% optimally.
However, you can ignore the penalties and still play at well over
99.9% of the game expected return. You want to ignore penalty
situations and play basic strategy. However, unless you tweak the
winpoker error level setting properly, winpoker will flag every one of
these penalty situations when played by basic strat.
FVP has a play mode so that the only errors it flags are those that
are indicated by the basic strategy as well.
Note: FVP can produce its own strategy cards, a nice bonus. You'll
want to print one from FVP just to make sure the software is
consistent with the strategy you use. There may be a minor difference
or two between it and the one produced by vpsm. I've never compared
... may be that they're identical.
------
Take these steps and you'll be in good shape, Rick. I really don't
advise stepping into casino play with a simplified strategy. Double
Bonus is a difficult beast to get your hands around. But if you stick
to your practice you'll find there will come a time when you crest the
hill and the rest falls into place pretty quickly.
- Harry
