Gambling Pattern Changing??

I got to thinking about this while doing my daily walk this morning. When I first started going to casinos twenty years ago, I was pretty much an exclusive table game player. My focus was on blackjack for a long time. When Caribbean Stud came out I added that to my regular gambling schedule. Eventually I added 3 card poker to the mix. After a while, I backed off CSP and 3CP some but added Craps to my reportoire. For the next few years, blackjack and craps were about all I was playing. I read a pile of books about anything that I ever played with any regularity. Of course there is no way to beat the math of any casino game but I wanted to lower that house edge as low as I could get it by being as knowledgable as possible. Like most of us, I had good days and not so good days. This may be selective memory but it seemed to me that I had more winning days mixed in back then and when a day was a winning day, the totals were higher.

These days I play much more video poker to the tune of probably 75-80% of my gambling time is spent sitting at some bartop chasing Royals. My overall results seem to be that I am a lot less likely to have a winning day than when I was playing almost all tables. It is relatively rare to have a winning day if I play VP all day. The exceptions are when those elusive Royals pop up. Then everything is great. Still, I have averaged about one Royal a year for the last 7-8 years that I have been playing VP as my main game so that gives you an idea how frequently my days of VP have been profitable. Not that they are my only profitable VP days but it takes a lot of straight flushes and 4OAK's to overcome the math of the multi-hour sessions I put in.

The biggest thing is that I am starting to look at is that some VP sessions seem more like drudgery than excitement. My memory tells me that I had more fun playing tables. Even now, I still shoot dice just about every trip and that is usually one of the highlights of the trip. We are going to Harrah's New Orleans for three days starting Monday. While I will almost surely devote a chunk of my time to VP (I need a couple thousand tier credits to remain Diamond with CET), I plan to dramatically increase my time spent on tables to see how that affects my profitablity and more importantly, my enjoyment level of the casino experience. Part of that table time is going to be blackjack for the first time in a couple of years. It's funny in a way. The reason I moved away from blackjack in the first place long ago was that it was becoming more like a job than a fun time. Now I am going back to it because of the tedious nature that sometimes overtakes VP. I am anxious to see how I feel about things next Friday.

That is a lot of background for this one question. Have you ever noticed changes in your own playing patterns and levels of enjoyment while doing so?

 

Yes, for years I only played blackjack. Between the rules worsening for lower limit games and frustrating sessions I gave up on blackjack a while ago. I played the higher house advantage games like 4 card and 3 card poker, UTH, high card flush,etc. I had good sessions and bad sessions, as expected. Then I started playing Pai Gow poker and that's about all I want to play anymore. I find that my money lasts much longer and no one can affect the outcome of my hand. My wins or losses are all determined on how I play my own hand. I know that everyone says no one else's poor play has any effect on whether you win or lose at blackjack but too many times other people's choices affected the outcome of a particular hand. Over the long run it may not matter but it sure in heck matters when you split and double down and have 4 or 5 bets on the table and the player next to you makes a decision to play against basic strategy and the outcome is a dealer 21 vs a bust. This doesn't happen at Pai Gow poker and I enjoy it much more. That's what matters the most. If we aren't enjoying what we,re playing then we,re playing the wrong game.

 

I switched from mostly craps to mostly slots a few years ago. The offers and overall comps for slots are way better per actual loss than tables.

I love craps but the thing is, even at a $10 min, unless you are playing with throwaway money and always play until you get felted, you really need a much bigger bankroll than I expected if you want to give yourself the best chance by playing full odds and pressing while still being able to ride out the variance.

I still do a few lengthy craps sessions each trip, but I'm usually playing a grinding type game, only occasional odds and almost never pressing, which is OK, but I'm considering going off-strip for part of my trips, so I can hit up a $5 table and do it right.

I hear you about the boredom factor. I spend a good chunk of time playing low-volatility slots, which is mathematically the smart thing to do, but can get a little tedious. I find drinking helps.

 

I started with 100% slots. Then I figured that playing slots alone was idiotic (even if I was a low-roller), after diving into the math of gambling. I read a lot about gambling math on Wizard of Odds, Blackjackinfo etc. And then I decided to move my focus to blackjack.

I played a ton of blackjack, with perfect strategy nailed (with all the variations etc.). I still played slots but it was less than half of my gambling time.

However, after blackjack is screwed with all the rule changes, I got more into Craps and Video Poker. Craps kind of replaced Blackjack for me, and Video Poker replaced Slots. Nowadays, I do 40% craps, 30% VP, 15% BJ, 15% Slots. I get more fun out of Craps and VP now, and the others are more for short enjoyments. I used to chase bonuses on slots, nowadays if I don't get a bonus after 5-10 spins, I move on.

Looking back at my results, they definitely improved after these changes. Losses (albeit small) shrunk and some trips started to end positively. I couldn't care less about comps.

 

I've been doing more VP lately and less video slots.

 

Like OP, I gradually shifted from table to VP and now to more slots than VP.
The biggest losing sessions I had in VP were playing on those damn over 100% paytables.

 

Slots mostly in my 20's/30's, some blackjack. Then mostly blackjack in my 40's. Started heavier into slots maybe in my 50's as blackjack can be very social (have had amazing tables)...but sometime ago I switched totally to slots. Didn't want to socialize much. I started getting invited to slot tournaments I guess in 03? 04? and haven't stopped. The same group of degenerates show up at most, and that's my slot family.

 

40+ years ago when I started going to Vegas i was strictly a craps player. My wife played BJ. Somewhere in the 90s my wife discovered VP and gave up on BJ. I stayed with craps and would occasionally join her at the bartops for a break. Somewhere in the early 2000s I started splitting my time between craps and VP. That morphed into 95/5 VP/Craps.

I still get the craps urge once in awhile, but it is not unusual for me to not even touch the craps table during an entire trip. I enjoy VP more and even on a bad VP trip I tend to lose less than a bad craps trip.

 

This is an interesting topic to me since I'm currently going through a major shift in my play. I started out solely a slots player for years simply because they were the most fun for me. Eventually I got sick of losing all my money and split my time between slots and craps. Just like Chuck describes above however, craps was just too swingy for me and I'd sometimes lose my whole night's budget in 30 minutes with a few bad shooters. My last few trips I've been moving to mostly VP and enjoying it so far. I like 50 play machines so I don't need to count on my luck and going for a flush or straight always pays off. Even though VP isn't as exciting as slots bonuses, occasionally winning or breaking even is pretty damn fun too. The extra comps are nice too since it allows me to play even longer.

It's also interesting how as your game preference changes, so does your home base. I frequented a very different set of casinos as a slot player than I did as a craps player and now as a VP player.

 

Back when I first started going to Vegas in the 90s, I was strictly a blackjack player. Then I started adding craps to the mix. The wife is strictly a slots person, and over the years I've dropped table games completely and now spend 90+ percent of my time at the slots. It's a lot more fun, my bankroll lasts longer, and as mentioned above, the comps are better. I play slot tournaments when I can as well. VP is how I play off our Free Play at the end of a trip, to add to our bankroll for next time.

 

@RebelDiceMan - Thanks for a great thread. It's interesting reading your post and others in that after 16 years as primarily a slot player, I've tried branching out into VP and once in awhile roulette (table games are not my thing). I make no excuses for my love of slots knowing full well the huge advantage the house has over me. But after spending a lot of time on VMB and seeing all the VP enthusiasts and VP gurus on here discussing paytables and odds, I started practicing a lot and using VMB posts and other sources as I slowly incorporated VP into my play. Now at about 80 slots and 20 VP with an occasional session of roulette with a friend. So far, VP is not 'fun' because it's still tedious/work for me trying to play perfect strategy - focus, focus - and I like to Zone Out when playing, lol! I'm lazy when in Vegas. ( I'm a fan of all you VP players and admire your knowledge and willingness to share - those Royal Flushes keep me hoping (only one so far)).

So yes, my level of enjoyment has changed while trying to adapt to other play, and I tend to fall back on my old reliable low volatility slots with a mix of high volativity slots for 'excitement and drama and disappointment '- those darn Buffalo have me baffled cause I keep going back knowing they hate me .

Really am enjoying reading everyone's experiences and transitions over the years - the common denominator seems we tend to gravitate back to what we enjoy most when gambling - whatever form it takes.

 

My ebbs and flows seem to meld with losses. Blackjack was the only thing I played when I started gambling umpteen years ago. Then I was introduced to craps, and split my play. When I started getting hammered at blackjack, I would say, "screw this", and dump the game for awhile.

When craps started fondling my wallet on a regular basis, I would swear off of that, and jump back to cards. I started playing VP as a resting period from hours of play at the tables, and I fell in love with THAT game after a few big hits. Again, when you are whacking out 4oak every 15 minutes, and royals once a trip......Well, VP becomes the greatest game ever! Then, you have a trip like I did last time out, where you can't buy a 4oak, it becomes, "Where is the craps table?"

I figure a lot of people are in the same boat as far as why they change patterns.

 

I am all about slots still. My budget has increased and I entertain larger bets than max lines at 1 coin now. But I don't casino hop like I used to. I would try and play a few dollars at as many casinos as I could in a day. Now I am pretty selective about only playing at casinos where I want to have a future relationship. I focus my play at my home casino and a couple others where I like to stay instead of trying to be on the radar everywhere.

 

After years I've settled on:
Pai Gow for 4-6 hours a day of higher level play for my bank roll. Low volatility over the course of a session but you're not gonna hit it big. Followed by:

Craps-hit and run play for an hour and not much more, medium level betting. If I still have a good bankroll

Baccarat-no more than a shoe or 2 in the high limit room $100 min usually don't play every hand

If I'm up after the first 3 games I'll take some of my winning to high limit slot area looking for a home run.

Repeat each day.

So I start with higher level bets with low volatility and progress to lower level bets with higher volatility seems to workout ok for me comp wise and I easily get my time in at the casino.

 

I started with Craps and had no idea what I was doing while younger. I made all the wrong bets. Then after laying off for years I went back to BJ and slots. After BJ rules got so sorry, I changed my table game play to Craps with LIR or 3CP for a fling if I am up(hoping for that big hand). I still do some slots and VO but VP has not been kind to me lately with the decline in their paytables. So I am a floater I guess. Never had much interest in the red/black wheel and Bac.

 

Started out with slots due to the lack of knowledge for other games. As the years progressed, slots have progressed to about 10% of my play with the majority BJ, VP and a now a late comer to craps as I have read enough to lower the house edges to something respectable. For me VP has only been over the last few years and it has been more of an excuse to have a beer and watch the "game(s)' at a bar that I don't get to see much at home due to life committments. I can get my couple hours of 25c vp bouncing up to 1.25 to get my beer every so often and come out more or less closer to even. I have had decent luck wiht BJ over the years and now craps. Slots has always been a life sucker for me. Between not winning and getting no real joy out of it, my slots are usually a few minutes with my SO to keep her happy during a visit.

 

Interesting thread. I started gambling at my local poker rooms playing $1 - $2 Limit Texas Hold'em. Then in 1996 I made my first trip to Vegas and got hooked on BJ. I remember playing $5 BJ and being amazed at the "high rollers" betting quarters. I continued to play mostly BJ throughout the late 90's, but began to sprinkle in a little bit of craps, 3CP and slots. In the 2000's I began to mix it up even more, primarily playing BJ, but adding more carnival games like 3CP, LIR, Caribbean Stud and more slots. More recently, I've been playing a lot more VP (primarily DDB), Slots (primarily Top Dollar), and LIR. I think that I'm chasing the big pay days that these games can provide more than the less volatile BJ and Craps. I still enjoy playing BJ and Craps for the social aspects of those games, but I think I like the idea of being able to have a big win on a small bet that VP and Slots provide. (LIR is kind of like table VP for me.)

I am planning to devote more time to Craps on my trip this weekend because I can't play that at my local casinos, but I like to spread my play around for the variety.

 

My gambling pattern is changing almost trip to trip these days. It started just with the bankroll creeping up. And it looked like what I was heading towards were more trips, short trips, and lots of poker and blackjack.

But now I am trending towards longer trips with golfing mixed in. More downtown focus, and also a rental car, so the strip is rapidly losing the last of its appeal. And with the budget stretching over more days, my poker abilities eroding, and the need to stretch a budget longer, as well as more non gambling activities, I am trending back towards a value gambler. Toying a little with machines, and cutting blackjack back down to the strictly-fun type of budget.

I am constantly reassessing, though. When I get to planning a trip, I think about what I enjoyed and didn't the previous trip, and work from there.

 

I started as a BJ player. The rules got worse and I wanted comps so I switched to VP. I started mixing poker in about 10 years ago. At this point my game mix is determined by length of trip. If there for a weekend I play 100% VP. This coming summer we will be there for 14 nights and the trip is timed with the WSOP and the Grand at the Golden Nugget so probably 60% poker/40% VP.

 

My original game was blackjack and it is still my favorite. I play a little bit of Pai Gow - have tried to get my wife into that game as she does not really like blackjack, worries too much about doing the "right" thing or not. So Pai Gow is the table game I can play with her. I have friends who play almost exclusively craps and sometimes I will play craps with them but I don't like the higher variance you get from craps and as a result never play that by myself, just when I want to play with friends that are playing.

I also play a lot of video poker and that play has probably increased over time. I enjoy video poker - but not as much as I enjoy blackjack. I will admit the increase in my video poker play is largely because it is much much quicker and easier to accumulate points for comps at video poker. I play $20-25 blackjack and flat bet most of the time. That does not get me very many credits at all. I like being CET Diamond and I only get that way by playing video poker - and watching my point accumulation so that I maximize the bonus tier credits for daily play. I would have to play blackjack for a lot higher limits than I do to get enough points to stay Diamond. I don't like doing that in blackjack because I never want to have my bet amount impact how I play the hand. I know that you can't do that but I see it all the time from people that press their bets. When the best size gets higher they are more reluctant to double or split even though they know that is the correct strategy. I enjoy playing the game - I don't expect to make money at it over the long run so flat better a conservative amount works best for me at blackjack as long as I can find a playable table - which I can still do most places in Vegas for $25 (although no longer at Aria or Bellagio based on my last trip).

But back to the main point - I have shifted my play more toward Video Poker the last few years - and while it is probably not economically logical I do so at least in part to maintain tier status for comps. I probably lose money in the process but I do think it helps with free rooms and I use the Diamond lounges and show tickets so I at least try to get what I can out of the tier credits I am earning.