The Frugal Gambler Article Series

Jean Scott has started a new Frugal Gambler Article Series that will be published here.

Introduction to the Frugal Gambler Article Series - July 7, 2008

Choosing a Good Game - August 12, 2008

Chasing the Extras - October 3, 3008

The Bugaboo of Bankroll - October 17, 2008

Counting Comps - a Bankroll Danger - October 31, 2008

Learning Accurate Strategy - November 14, 2008

Improving Strategy Skills - November 28, 2008

Switching Around - December 12, 2008

Recordkeeping - December 26, 2008

Next Frugal Gambler Article on January 9, 2009

Introduction to the Frugal Gambler Article Series

Jean Scott - Frugal Gambler I am happy to be asked to contribute to this Web site. Many of you will know me from my writings down through the years and know that I give common sense advice about gambling, based on Brad’s and my 22 years of experience playing in casinos. The first few years we played blackjack exclusively, counting cards to gain an advantage over the casino edge. But in the early 90’s we slowly switched to video poker to take advantage of the fact that the casinos were beginning to give more benefits to machine players. For the last 17 years video poker has been our main game and it has been very successful financially for us, with almost a million dollars in cash profits and half again that much if we counted the amazing value of comps we have enjoyed over the years.

When I thought about this series of articles, I knew I wanted to write about subjects that would be the most helpful to the most video poker players. Then I remembered the most common subjects in the many e-mails and conversations with players over the years. Most of them could come under this title: How to Lose Less and/or Win More Playing Video Poker. After thinking about this, I realized that it was a subject that described just two sides of the same coin, one that is relevant to all video poker players.

All video poker players are on the same road but they are in many stages of their journey. Some are just beginning their trip and need basic advice to achieve their goal of losing less so they can extend their bankroll to cover more fun time in the casino. Others have been on the road for a while and are happy if they can break even on the game while earning a high level of comps. Some are much further up the road and their goal is to make a monetary profit as they enjoy the comps. There is also a wide range in the bankroll amount of video poker players and thus the denominational level on which they play.

In this Lose Less/Win More series, I will be talking about things Brad and I have done down through the years that have contributed to our financial success. Some will be hints we used when we started out playing quarters. Others will be pointers we discovered as we went to the higher denominations. Many will be basic concepts that are building blocks for success at any level.

Not every article will be equally helpful to every player. And some of the concepts will be more important than others. However, there is no one “silver bullet” that will make you a successful video poker player. I can’t even write an article about the 10 most important things you need to know or do. Our success has been built on the “little things,” thousands of frugal tactics used over 17 years. I am looking forward to sharing as many of these as I can remember!

Throughout this series I will be referring to resources where you can get additional information on most of the subjects I will be covering. Some of these will be my own books and products, which I will now list and briefly describe:

1. The Frugal Gambler (I refer to it as Frugal 1) was my first book, published in 1998, and is still the one that sells the most to this very day. It was completely updated in 2004 and is still the best “starter book” for any casino gambler. Many find it a money-saving resource if for no other reason than the chapter on airline bumps, giving material that is not covered in any other of my books.

2. More Frugal Gambling (Frugal 2) is the fat sequel to Frugal 1, with my daughter Angela, the Frugal Princess, reviewing basic gambling information and me providing more in-depth discussion of topics introduced in Frugal 1: slots, video poker, slot clubs, and comps. The large section on comps gives information that you find in no other book, written by me or anyone else, and is an essential resource for understanding the complex comp system in casinos so you can use it to the max.

3. Frugal Video Poker (FVP) is the name of my latest book, which is the perfect companion to the VP software program with the same name. Although I covered video poker at length in Frugal 2, I felt I needed to write something that “began at the beginning,” something a total novice could use as a step-by-step guide to entering the video poker path. My long-term experience as a teacher had taught me that a beginner hit up right off the bat with lots of math and complex concepts might give up. In fact, many players had said they had looked at some VP material and they just knew they couldn’t “do all that math.” So in the first few chapters I introduced the basics in simple mostly non-mathematical terms. Then I could slowly add more complicated concepts, walking the readers through them one at a time.

Many experienced recreational players told me they used the first part of the book as a refresher course, finding that there were some gaps in their video poker education. The last half of the book was designed as a resource book for all levels of players, covering special subjects like video poker tournaments, new games, progressives, skillful scouting, and advanced strategy skills.

4. The Frugal Video Poker software program is one of the most robust on the market today. It was the first to combine a strategy-generation function with a practice tutor. And it is the only one that has a hard copy manual, in the back of the FVP book described in #3 above, to help you get more out of your software program. A long list of special features include a Slot Club Calculator, a function that lets you figure out the value of special quad promotions, a tournament mode, a session volatility graph to help in determining bankroll, and multi-play modes for Triple Play, Five Play and Ten Play. It also has an introductory video in which I explain the basics of casino video poker play – and has the only picture in existence that shows Brad and me in the Jacuzzi!

5. Tax Help for Gambler, Poker and Other Casino Games is my fourth book and is now available in a completely updated edition. (We changed the original title, Tax Help for the Frugal Gambler, to be clearer that this was not just for low rollers; some people think – wrongly - that high rollers can’t be frugal!) This is for every gambler who doesn’t want to gamble with the IRS. This has all of the information in former editions plus much new material, including a whole chapter for the live/online poker player.

6. The Frugal Video Poker Scouting Guide is a checkbook size laminated booklet that needs to be in the purse or pocket of every wise video poker student when he goes to a casino. It contains almost 300 of the most common VP pay schedules, with the ER (expected return) for each one. A volatility meter ranks each game. The return for Multi-Strike and Super Times Pay is given for all games that appear in those formats. The break-even point is given for over 150 paytables you might find with a progressive jackpot. You can’t afford to leave home without it!

7. The Frugal VP Strategy Cards, produced by Skip Hughes, are perfect to tuck into a shirt pocket or fanny pack. Although you can generate strategies with your FVP software and print them out, many people like these neat laminated ones. These strategies are shorter than “perfect” ones, but are so much simpler to understand and remember with very little decrease in EV. You can buy cards individually or order the whole set of seven.

You can order all of these products at my Web site, www.queenofcomps.com. The tax book and the Frugal Video Poker book are available in E-Book form and can be ordered and immediately downloaded to read on your computer at http://www.shoplva.com/welcomeEbooks.cfm.

That is enough information for this week. Check back in a couple weeks for my first piece of advice on how to lose less/win more.

Click here to visit River Belle Casino and play video poker games, including Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild.

Click here to play video poker at Millionaire Casino.

Click here to get a $555 bonus at Golden Casino.

Read our review of VideoPoker.com!