"futrend" <futrend@y...> wrote:
I am interested in some opinions comparing full pay video poker
and blackjack in terms of enjoyment and return on playing costs.
If you look at off-strip properties, you can find VP with a players
edge (DW at Mains Street Station, AA at Hilton, etc). It's rare to
find any property that offers blackjack rules with >100% return
without card counting.
For a strip property, something like Jacks-or-Better Multi-Strike at
Caesars, with cashback, is right around 100%, which I also think is
better than any basic strategy blackjack you'll find there.
Comps seem to be better with VP. Playing quarter VP, I'll get plenty
of free food at Caesars, whereas I don't think they'll even notice a
blackjack player making bets less than $25. Maybe VP gets better
comps because, hard as it is to imagine, the average VP player plays
even worse than the average BJ player. Or maybe it has something to
do with the fact that they can track exactly how much money the VP
player puts through the machine, unlike table games.
I guess the main reason I find VP more enjoyable is that I gamble
chiefly as a way to release the stress of everyday life, & I find
that easier to do when I don't have to deal with the often surly
other gamblers (or dealers) at the table games. VP lets me go
completely into my own world; might be a minus for some people, but
it's a plus for me.
In recent years, though, most of my VP time hasn't been alone. This
is OK, since when I'm in the gambline zone, I enjoy talking to
friends, just not always strangers. But the big thing is that if I'm
at a bar or machines with a friend, they can ask me all they want
about correct play (I've taught lots of friends to play VP, & the
whole process is fun). At a table game, the dealer or other players
might get annoyed if I was spending too much time explaining correct
play to a friend. But with VP, it's all good.
Finally, variance is our friend. Aside from the stress relief &
social aspects, most of us gamblers enjoy the big ups & downs. So
playing quarter VP, the feeling that I could win $1000 at any moment
is cool. I know that when I'm drawing to a 3-card royal, I'll have to
do it well over 1000 times before I hit. But every one of those 1000
times I'll get the little rush, for a second or two, of possibility.
The more slow & steady ups & downs of blackjack don't offer this.
Stuart (RandomStu)
sresnick2@comcast.net
http://home.comcast.net/~sresnick2/mypage.htm