Good point! Travel costs, even if you planned on them, cut into your EV even if it is great enough to nullify the expense. If your bonuses cover you travel & lodge expenses, the more EV you're taking home with youOriginally Posted by shadroch
It sounds like it would be worth getting a PO box in Vegas for mailers.
I currently have no player's club cards. Would it be better to have a LV address for a new card or an out of town address?
I'm not going to play rated bj so room comp's are not a consideration. But some discounted buffets and match play sound like it would be worth $40/year for a PO box. I'm usually in LV once a month for 2-3 days.
Have a friend take you to DMV and get you a non-drivers Nevada ID card. Sign up for a card using his local address and then sign up again using your real out of state id. You'll get two seperate groups of offers. Out of state offers tend to be free rooms and such, locals tend to be free slot play, discounted buffets.
Let me die in my sleep like my Grandfather.
Not screaming in agony like his passengers.
If you are going to play machines while rated, an LV address will generate different offers than an out of town address. Like KJ described, locals will get mostly gaming offers. A non-local will get some gaming offers, along with free or discounted rooms, meals, shows, and the like. Something to consider is that if you use an LV address, you may only be able to harvest a fraction of the offers you receive. Some of the offers will have date restrictions, as KJ mentioned above. Given that you're in LV just 2-3 days a month, it is plausible that you find yourself realizing the same amount of FP/MP as an out-of-towner, minus the free room.
As the month draws to a close, I thought I would update my results of 'chasing bonuses'.
Some of the birthday bonuses listed on ACG and other websites are outdated and no longer apply which was disappointing, but still I played just over 2 grand worth of EV during march, mostly in the form of free play and match plays. I have learned some things from this experience both positive and negative.
Negative: Playing through these low limit bonuses, takes a great deal of time and organization. Because I spent so much time running around playing these matchplays and freeplay opportunities, many which are only good on certain days, my blackjack play was severley cut. Most months I accumulate between 5500 and 6500 dollars in blackjack play EV. This month with reduced time it will come in around 23 to 24 hundred dollars in EV. So adding in the bonus EV my total of 4400ish is well below my normal average month's EV and that is the bottom line for me.Additionally, because I was frequenting one particular property almost every day to play 2 or 3 match play coupons, I ended up playing more blackjack at this property and it's very mediocre blackjack game than I would normally. This mean less play at other more profitable games. Also there is the issue of time. I spent additional time figuring a schedule to best maximize these opportunities, plus needed to keep detailed records involving the matchplay's so as not to overplay certain dealers or pit folks. All time consuming.
Positives: Zero chance of Negative variance. That's something kind of special.With $1200 worth of free play, it is impossible to lose money. Your return has to be somewhere between 0 and, well, I guess the high end is open, depending on what you may hit during the month, but it's reasonable to expect somewhere pretty close to expectation, which is where I came in at. Matchplay's are a similar story. Unlike free play you could show a loss with MP's but would have to lose more than 2 of every 3 played. Playing several hundred, this becomes unlikely and more likely that you will come in closer to expectation.
So while it's pretty cool to have a couple thousand dollars EV, guaranteed to be on the winning side, the bottom line is it was actually a reduction in EV for me and that's a long-term, losing proposition. I think the trick, like most things in life, is to find a happy median.
Last edited by KJ; 03-30-2012 at 09:38 AM.
Seriously? I'm sorry, but bonuses and matchplays are by far easily the ripest berries you can pick from a casino. Ridiculous to even suggest otherwise. Maybe your 1% from card counting gets you all jazzed? Or 2% from other AP techniques or whatever.
Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity.
Actually the point of my post and my conclusion from the last month is just the opposite of your conclusion, Gamblor. You have to remember, we are talking about low level bonuses that I am chasing in quantity. My conclusion is why get all jazzed about a 47% return on a couple $10 matchplay coupons (EV of $9 and change), if it takes me an hour to get to the location and play them, when that hour's return at my 1% card counting rate is worth five times that.
I think 21forme expressed what I am feeling, except I don't give the casino's credit for distracting me, I take the blame for allowing myself to be distracted.
I think BigPlayer has the right idea. It is a matter of organization and taking advantage of opportunities that are truly on my way, but not chasing miniscule opportunities not worthy of the time involved.
A good example of what I am talking about: Several times a week, I find myself walking up or down the east side of the center strip area. I always stop at the free pull machines in front of Casino Royale where one of the 'prizes' is a $5 matchplay coupon. After a few minutes of chit chatting with the attendant, who is kind enough to give me the matchplay coupon whether it is the prize I actually earn or not, I head inside the usually crowded casino. The BJ tables are almost always full, so I usually just head for roulette, which six months ago they moved from the front of the casino to the far back. After squeezing into the usually crowded low limit roulette table, I make my wager and wait 5 minutes while the drunken dollar players cover the board with their bets. If I am lucky enough to win, its another couple minutes cashing out and pushing back out through the casino. 15 to 20 minutes for EV of $2 and something. Multiple this by 3 times a week and I lose an hour chasing 6 bucks. Brilliant move!
Last edited by KJ; 03-30-2012 at 10:16 PM. Reason: add-on
Low limit or not, well yeah I'm not suggesting you drive 10 hours for a $10 matchplay coupon, but we know better than that KJ.Actually the point of my post and my conclusion from the last month is just the opposite of your conclusion, Gamblor. You have to remember, we are talking about low level bonuses that I am chasing in quantity. My conclusion is why get all jazzed about a 47% return on a couple $10 matchplay coupons (EV of $9 and change), if it takes me an hour to get to the location and play them, when that hour's return at my 1% card counting rate is worth five times that.
I think 21forme expressed what I am feeling, except I don't give the casino's credit for distracting me, I take the blame for allowing myself to be distracted.
I think BigPlayer has the right idea. It is a matter of organization and taking advantage of opportunities that are truly on my way, but not chasing miniscule opportunities not worthy of the time involved.
A good example of what I am talking about: Several times a week, I find myself walking up or down the east side of the center strip area. I always stop at the free pull machines in front of Casino Royale where one of the 'prizes' is a $5 matchplay coupon. After a few minutes of chit chatting with the attendant, who is kind enough to give me the matchplay coupon whether it is the prize I actually earn or not, I head inside the usually crowded casino. The BJ tables are almost always full, so I usually just head for roulette, which six months ago they moved from the front of the casino to the far back. After squeezing into the usually crowded low limit roulette table, I make my wager and wait 5 minutes while the drunken dollar players cover the board with their bets. If I am lucky enough to win, its another couple minutes cashing out and pushing back out through the casino. 15 to 20 minutes for EV of $2 and something. Multiple this by 3 times a week and I lose an hour chasing 6 bucks. Brilliant move!
Having said that your right, still a bit of a hassle to chase these bonuses, but usually well worth it of course.
Last edited by Gamblor; 03-30-2012 at 11:14 PM.
Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity.
If someone was to come on here and say that they tried counting cards for a month but found it took too much organisation and was too time consuming, sitting thru shoe after shoe and not gaining an advantage, what would he be told?
Obviously not every coupon in existance is worth chasing down but are you really going to turn your back on $25,000 plus a year because its sooo difficult to organize your time? You have the discipline needed to count cards but not the ability to organize profitable coupon runs? Somethings not right.
Let me die in my sleep like my Grandfather.
Not screaming in agony like his passengers.
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