Video Poker moving to a different machine/cashing in free play

If I have free play and don't necessarily want to use it all on one machine (VP), would it be best to just punch in a smaller amount when you put your pin number in?
Then when that's used up you can put your card into a new machine and start over using your remaining free play?

or if I put in the whole amount and the machine isn't winning and I want to move, would I press "cash out" even though I know I'm not going to be able to get a ticket I can cash?

When I pull my card to move to another machine I can put my pin in and use the remaining balance?

I've always just gotten small amounts of free play before and played it all on one machine.

 

I haven't been to a casino that will return an unplayed balance to your card. If you leave something, eventually someone else will play it off. I suggest you deposit smaller increments.

 

Some casinos will cash out a ticket that's good for "freeplay" only. It will say so on the ticket. Basically means you can put it in any machine but you cannot redeem it at the kiosk or cashier for cash. Better ask at a players club before trying.

 

I have a bit of a system I use for free play, just because I can't be bothered to try and remember which resorts will let me move the credits etc.

I simply enter the amount of credits I really think I'm going to play, not all of them. Say $40.00. I calculate in my head how many bets that represents. On 2.50 a bet, that would be 16. I actually count the 16 bets as I make them, then look at the meter. Now I know how my machine is doing, and I have the option of cashing out without risk of missing free play, entering more free play credits, or playing the credits and using it towards gaining tier credits.

Whatever I choose, at least I know I won't make the mistake of cashing out before all my credits are used! Many times after the 16 bets I would have been around the $40 mark still and otherwise wouldn't have a clue if all the free plat credits had been used!

 

Freeplay 101

All the slots I play with freeplay will not give you money back until you have played the freeplay. Normally I just put $10 in a machine each time I freeplay... in case it's a dud or boring... $20 if it's a familiar machine or higher base amount to play. Usually the machine will say something like "all freeplay you have chosen must be played on this machine." If you are wondering if you have used it all, and can't figure it in another way, take "cash out" and it will give a TITO for the amount you have earned and will leave your balance in the machine to be played off. Just don't take your card out, until you have finished free play at that machine.

 

Pechanga used to allow you to take your card out in the middle and then the money go back on your free play in your card, but they updated their system so I do not know if you can still do it or not. How I know before was when I accidentally took my card out and put it back in. I don['t think you can do that anymore there though because when I put ten dollars free play one time in china shores and then got 100 + free spins on it within the first spin of the free play at Pechanga, the bottom of the screen all of the sudden said card abandon because I have been just sitting there watching the free spins. Then after my free spins were over, had to take my card out and back in and the credits were still on the machine instead of disappearing like they did before I think.

I know at Morongo for sure if you do enter in free play and take your card out, the free play is still in the machine and does not go back to your card. All the casinos are different, so you will have to check with each casino and see.

 

I am not sure about any of the vegas casinos though because I do not remember being in a situation where I did not finish all my free play. I only remember about the 2 local casinos where I go to often.

 

It probably depends on what casino/players club you're talking about, and whether you're talking about upfront free play, or points converted to freeplay.

At MGM, when I convert points to freeplay, I've always used it all on the same machine, but I believe this is how it works:

You convert points to say $50 in Freeplay. That $50 sits in a separate Freeplay "bucket" in the computer system.

When you push the spin button, you are not using money from the Freeplay bucket - the machine deducts money from the credits you already have on the machine. Then when the spin is over, your credits on the machine get "reimbursed" for the amount you bet. The reimbursement comes from the Freeplay bucket.

So in that scenario (and I don't know for sure that it's 100% accurate), if you haven't used up all the Freeplay, you should be able to cash out whatever credits you have on a machine, move to another machine, and your Freeplay should still be in effect. When you start playing on the new machine, you should keep getting reimbursed after each spin until your Freeplay is used up.

On the other hand, if the Freeplay is actually downloaded onto the memory of the specific machine you're playing at the time, then you'd have to use it all up on that machine. I don't know what would happen if you cashed out before it was all used up - you might get a warning, or it might just get forfeited.

 

Watch the player points on the read out, they do not change while on FP (why should you earn points on their money, right?)

Once those points start moving again (gaining), that means your FP has been used and any credits in the machine are now yours (your money)

Cash out and go....

 

I should probably do this. Will ask when I get there.

 

I know you can see when your fp is done. What I was wondering is if I can pull my card before it's used up and move to another machine with the rest of my fp.

 

Then the answer is "no," not to my knowledge

 

In some cases yes, in some cases no... it all depends on how they handle free play.

IF THE FREE PLAY IS LOADED ON TO THE MACHINE: then no, you can't cash it out and move it to another machine.
By "loaded on to the machine" what I mean there is the free play credits are actually added to the credit balance on the machine. As an example you put a $20 bill in to a machine and you have $10 in free play that you activate... if the balance on the machine goes from $20 to $30 (to $30 because of the initial $20 cash you put in and $10 in free play you added) then the free play is actually loaded on the machine.

IF THE FREE PLAY IS ON YOUR CARD OR DEDUCTED FROM YOUR CARD: then yes, you can just remove your card and move to another machine and the free play comes with you (though you will usually have to reactivate it at the new machine).
By "on your card" an example would be how MLife does it: if you have $50 in free play then it will say on the card display screen that you have a free play balance of $50... if its a $1 machine and you press spin the machine will then take $1 from your available credits on the machine, perform the spin, and then at the end of the spin transfer $1 from your free play balance to the machines credits (plus anything you won on the spin, of course. Its doing that to reimburse you for credits you spent making the wager).

 

As I recall, some of the machines will have you put in the amount of fp you want to access. So say I have $200 fp and I put my pin # in and tell the machine I want to use $40, I think when that's gone, I should be able to put my card in another machine and access the other $180.

 

at Cosmo, you can enter a specific amount of your free play you want to do, and it's very easy, there is actually a countdown on the meter. Can't really make a mistake, so in that case I would only enter the amount I would guaranteed play on the machine. I vaguely remember them saying that portion will be lost if I try and move machine's, so I wouldn't bother risking it.

I found the CET properties more of a PITA....had to go to total rewards counter, then had to go to casino cage to get the vouchers. Have to insert voucher with the players card, but as you are playing, there is no way of telling how much of the credits are FP and how much are wins. That's when I quickly realized I needed a system to figure that out, so I started counting how many plays I would have at my bet level and count them off then cashout knowing what is on the meter is mine.

not sure of the other casino's........

 

At my local casino, once you put the free play on the machine it stays on the machine until it is used. To make sure I do not use any of my winnings from the free play, every time I win a spin I hit the cash out button. The machine then spits out my ticket with my winnings and the free play stays on the machine. I do this every time I win a spin until my free play is gone. Then you have the option of putting a winning ticket back in to continue playing, or taking the cash you got for free and doing as you please with it.