[Iceman]

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Can VP still be a +EV game, or have most Casinos changed their machines and lowered payouts?

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There are very few beatable machines anymore. Most of the ones that are beatable only return 100.1% or 100.2% with perfect play and have complicated strategies so that few people will even get close to the theoretical perfect return. You definitely won't find any 100.8% Deuces Wild dollar machines anymore. In fact, many casinos are reducing returns to around the 98% level in order to bring their video poker profits in line to what they earn from slot and table game players.

Some casino slot clubs that give you cash back depending on the amount of your action. If you have access to a good cash back program, then even many standard video poker machines can be +EV.

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There is a casino 10mins away from my house and I believe they have some VP machines. Is there a way to look at the game determine if it can be beaten with perfect strat?

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If it's a game with complex or unusual rules, then there's no automatic way to tell if it's beatable or not.

You might want to write down the full pay payouts of +EV games on an index card, and then in the casino you can compare the full pay returns to what they do offer.

There are software programs that will figure out the theoretical return of a game and the perfect strategy for it.