I have read some very interesting posts about video poker and there are some who know what they are talking about and some who have no idea where they are at.

I do not enjoy playing these machines but my wife really enjoys playing the slots and as a professional gambler I try not to make any plays that are not mathematically in my favor. So therefor I will not allow her to play VP or other slot machines that are not mathematically in her favor.

Forgot to mention in my post to Norm that, even if you can come out slightly ahead after playing that million hands, how much are you actually making? If you are $10,000 ahead at that point (which also seems unlikely), you will have won at the rate of about $2.40 an hour. Less than half of minimum wage!!

Jim

Did you flunk math? A million hands at a slow pace of 500 hands per hour will take 2000 hours. 40 hours a week for 50 weeks. Expect to make about $12,500 or $6.25 per hour for being slow. Don't forget cash back plus comps will could easily reach $10,000 in value over this time. Some extremely skilled players play two machines at a time.

Paul is right on the two most important points in his post:
1st, over the long haul, in a house backed game, you can't beat the house.

Paul is wrong, wrong, wrong. There are people who have made hundreds of thousands of dollars playing slots or having teams on slots. I could tell some recent stories about how the casinos were beat on slot machines that you wouldn't believe. Just today I had someone playing a Blackjack slot machine at a major casino when the slot personnel came along and closed down the whole bank of 12 brand new slot machines because they were getting beat. I once had a standing offer to bet $1000 that I could take $40 and turn it into $1000 within a week just playing slots.

2nd, you should treat your gambling expenses as a cost of entertainment.

BTW, even if you're a good live poker player, it's tough to stay ahead in low stakes games, thanks to the drop or time charge, as the case may be.

You are certainly right on this one. What a grind playing low-limit poker. I would rather dig ditches.
Norman