Ongoing VP TR, PART 2!

Sounds funny but the bubble craps machines helped a little with some tilt control. I am not sure if you are like me but when tilting and other people are shooting just as badly it amplifies the tilt. Totally not their fault and I am not nasty to them or anything like that but it just annoys me more.

I found it was easier to reduce the tilt by sticking my ear pods in and playing a bubble craps machine for a bit. Also the wait for the handpay then helps but that's if you roll enough for a handpay lol!

I see that next year the limit is increasing to $2000 which will also be good for those machines. Also reading they are going to be installing high limit bubble craps machines at the El Cortez so that might mean they will come down to the strip also. They are going to allow you to put over £1k on a number which I am trying to work out if that is going to be good or bad for me.

Appreciate though that nothing beats rolling the dice, going on a run and the table cheering for you. Nothing

Re: UTH, I play small stakes almost exclusively these days and it can also be quite tilting 😀

I would think keeping track of just shooters is fine, keeping track of every roll would get super tedious...best leave seeing every roll to the youtubers of the world

You can still press though. Just bet bigger the next roll. Obv it'll be a different shooter. The issue with pressing don't stems more from the whole bet more to win less concept. It's one thing to hit a 4 for 100, press to 150 and take 150 profit. It's another thing entirely to lay the 4 for 100, win 50 and NOW WHAT? Press everything to 150, pick up nothing and now stand to win just 75$? Sucks.

[QUOTE=urbanwaste;59184684]Sounds funny but the bubble craps machines helped a little with some tilt control. I am not sure if you are like me but when tilting and other people are shooting just as badly it amplifies the tilt. Totally not their fault and I am not nasty to them or anything like that but it just annoys me more./QUOTE]

At Wynn, you get no points for bubble craps, so from a comp perspective I can't do it. I've played it in the past when I want to play dice, just want to kill time and would rather sit alone at a machine than deal with humans, but it can't become my main game.

The bastids!

Yup. That's why I love watching Vegas Vacation.

Sorry to hear about your last VP trip Leon. But win or lose your posts are always interesting and informative.

Have you given any thoughts on how to track win/loss for 2026 and how/if the casinos will modify the annual statements to try to accomodate the OBBBA deduction limitation? On one hand, treating non W2G win loss as a yearly aggregate as has been done would be beneficial to the player. OTOH, the OBBBA change would require that losses would be limited to 90% - perhaps aggregated on a "session" level. Casinos should have the ability to net on a session basis since they can track play based on time and any "long" break durations. Unlikely that they will see this as their problem. Worse case they summarize a gross win and gross loss totals for the year. So every "win" no matter how small (two pair in JOB) would be counted as a win. Doubt the Casinos do that either.

The annual win/loss statements I've received typically also have estimates for table/sports/race bets if applicable for that casino. Tho I don't play much of any of those, the records truly seem like estimates and I don't feel they were accurate. But the same issue to identify and limit deductibility of losses on a session basis exists.

So it seems the onus will be on the player to keep session logs themselves and not rely on Casinos providing any useful info - other than reporting W2Gs. It sounds like you are already planning to keep track of enough of this info to document your craps TRs next year. Looking forward to reading those

You may find this entertaining:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/s/9eDEPZgxG...

Yeah, tax courts don't see those win/loss statements as evidence, because they are unsigned, they are estimates, and they only account for gambling where you used your card. Example:

https://www.morrellawpllc.com/court-cases/mayer-v-commission-us-tax-court/

Morrel Law PLLC

Mayer v. Commissoner (US Tax Court)

The onus is and always has been on the player to keep accurate records as you go. Totally sucks, but anyone with big wins needs to be sure they are doing this, or they will owe taxes on the full amount of "winnings" if/when their return is flagged because of W2-Gs or audited.

Before the tax laws changed, horse race bettors would simply pick up discarded losing tickets off the ground to claim as their own losing wagers to offset signer wins of over $1,200 come tax time..

There's an Indian casino about two hours from my house. They occasionally have a "deepstack" poker tournament, so I decided to try it today. I don't want to get completely rusty by the time the next WSOP rolls around. There were some very bad players, including the guy that took me out. The hand started with 3 limpers, including villain. I raise fairly big with QQ offsuit. The clueless guy to my left (I had to show him how to hold his cards so that I couldn't see them) calls and villain calls. Both calling a big raise after limping, lol. Bets go in, board comes all under ten rainbow, all the money goes in, and of course my QQ is no good against KK. Remember, that guy limped. Out in level 2. No, I didn't rebuy.

Instead, I go exploring the casino to see if I can put some of this wonderful craps education to use. They have stadium-type bubble craps, and they also have real craps with a traditional table. I tried bubble first, and not remembering much of the strategy explained, I fed a hundo into the machine and start making three dollar bets, the clueless dolt that I am. One thing I really like is I'm not playing the pass line at all. That's usually where I lose all my money. The guy next to me is trying to help me out with working the machine. I can't work a touch screen very well, so I miss a lot of bets and I only press a few times. The highest any of my bets got was $12. At one point I look up and see my original $100 is now $177, and I decide that's good enough for my first time at this game, and cash out before sevening out.

I finally find the real craps table and just watch for awhile. I watch a guy roll for a good 15 minutes. He was rolling before I got there and was still rolling when I left. If I'd had half a brain I might have done pretty well, but I didn't even buy chips. I hope I don't get hooked on this because it's fun sometimes and I played it a lot in the 70's. At any rate I know I can go to this Indian casino and craps there is no different than in Vegas afaik, except the minbet is ten bucks on the table and a dollar on the bubble machine.

Try playing a suited QQ next time, and maybe it will hold up :p

I can only play what they deal me!

😆😆😆😆😆

Nah, this way pig4bill has two ways to make a flush!

While this is true, I have been going the simple route of just using casino annual won/loss records and W2G amounts to net out my play. By doing so, I've missed out on the benefits of taking advantage of netting out win/losses on a session basis for slot play. Now that controlling AGI has more tax consequences for me, I think switching to session play is going to partially offset the effects of the OBBBA loss deduction change-tho it still sucks. I know by doing the annual gross W2G total vs annual win/loss method, my AGI is being grossly inflated. I am sure the big upstuck W2G days and the hero "saved the losing day" W2G days will be reduced by netting the day's session. Likewise many of the "not enough" W2G's will likely be netted out significantly on a session reporting basis. End result is my AGI increased by the reported Schedule 1 income will be significantly reduced while any allowable deduction on schedule a is "only" affected by the OBBBA 90% limitation. And the allowable deduction as a result of session logging will be much much smaller than the gross annual win/loss statement the casinos provide. In my case, I'll be ahead going forward with session accounting and wish I had been doing it all along.

Just as an FYI some people find it really bad etiquette to buy in mid roll. Nice little result on the stadium craps though. This is when the addiction gets real 😃

1/8-1/11 TR

Backstory- A few things here. First, people may remember I got drilled in Dec 2025. That obv makes me NOT want to come back. However, I hit 40k at Barona in Dec which got me almost all the way back. Secondly, in planning my schedule months in advance, this was the only weekend in Jan I'd have available to me. So it's go now when I don't really want to, vs don't go and then by the time Feb rolls around I'll be going through withdrawals. Thirdly, I got a great offer from the Wynn (6900 FC and 1200 food). Lastly, I'm really curious how this "only craps, no machines" business is going to work out. I'm kind of looking forward to playing bigger craps and betting purples and yellow more frequently.

SO- as far as VP/taxes/craps goes, let's just get this out of the way right now. I ended up playing a ton of VP as you'll see. I was reasoning earlier with D that I will keep daily session logs of VP, and tracking daily loss will help me offset the gross wins which get reported. If I happen to hit a huge hand, well, taxes are a good problem to have I suppose. But ultimately what I realized is I need two games I can play. I MUST be able to move from one game to another if it's cold, if nothing else just to change it up. And there's no better cure for a cold dice table then being able to sit by myself at a machine, at least grab a drink/smoke and be away from other humans at that moment. So, I went into this trip knowing I'd play more craps than normal, but still get some VP in. Finally, D and I did a rough comp/theo calculation and the reality is I'd have to play dice 10x as big as I do to get the theo of VP. One can just cycle so many hands of VP faster than craps, and in addition you never get wiped out in a few hands. Betting 1000s to start at craps SEEMS fun, but at an icy table I'll get destroyed, never get to cycle hands, and probably earn nothing in comps anyways. Sure, I'd earn the same if I get hrs at the table, but those sessions are rare.

So it's not that I'm playing for comps, so much as I am trying to consider what the best value for my money is, and the answer is definitely VP. Get nickel and dimed to death rather than wiped out, still a possibility of a huge score, and earn more comps almost without a doubt. Gotta take that.

I'll be joined by buddy J from Alabama who has featured a few times. With D out of work and felted, I don't see a trip with him anytime in the near future :(

Bankroll- 45k

Agenda- not much. Thurs J gets in late, dinner at Sinatra
Fri- dinner at Komodo at FB
Sat- dinner at Delilah
Sun- head home

I'll pick up the actual TR in a bit.

Day 1

I'm supposed to get in around noon on Thurs. With a mild delay, it's more like 1:30pm. On the other hand, I'm A19 for Southwest which is definitely above average. A little trip runbad to unlock gambling rungood? I'll take it. I grab some food at McD's because I know I'll be hungry by the time I get off the plane and don't want any delays in my gambool!

Standard faux food is standard.

We came in on the "wrong" side of Vegas again so I couldn't get a view of the strip. Also, forgot shoe pic. Result ??? We'll see.

Never gets old.

I think I got to ride in the Rolls every time this trip.

Check in is smooth- main suite is ready, connector is not. I decide to grab the usual pics despite having posted them so many times before, simply trying to mentally commit myself to this TR win or lose.

That out of the way... what to do? I'm supposed to open with craps. However, I really don't feel like it and already know I'm going to play "some" VP this trip. Better not force anything. Have to make sure the conditions for any gamble are optimal and control possible tilt (something I ignored last trip and got punished for it).

Think I can get dealt the nuts, one time, by this machine?

Alas, I don't hit anything that session. Only good news is I barely put anything in the machine. I find a craps table.

OK, this is uncharted territory for me. My plan is bet 1000$ even numbers- 300 6/8, 200 4/10. Barely press any hits until I get the roll paid for. How much do I buy in for? Well, I came down with 10k in cash and have 7k left. Looks like I'll short buy.

The first roll is decent and I'm up just a touch. This is working!

Second roll- bet the same, point seven out. Ouch.

Third roll- garbage. Scale back.

4th 5th 6th etc- garbage. Keep scaling back, keep losing.

What an awful session. I'm stuck almost 5k on my opening craps session and about 8k for the trip. I'm legit worried, mostly about craps bc this opening session proved big bets, over a long weekend with an icy table, are simply not sustainable. I check my tier credits on the way back to the Wynn, and they were laughable. I honestly think I earned LESS than a typical session while betting bigger- I felt very underrated. At a minimum, that's not going to be sustainable either.

AARGGGHH what to do what to do?!!!!

OK, I have to play VP. I can play slowly, and I won't get wiped out in one shot like in craps no matter what.

I put the remaining 2k in the machine and lose it. Looks like it's time to use up freecredit. I only have 4400 of 6900 loaded on my card.

Start.

God. Finally on the board.

Ended up using up 1800 of the free credit.

Pretty much 200% conversion rate, gotta be happy with that.

I get the pics I need, get the jackpot unlocked and only push a few more times when get my first dealt quads of the trip!

Spoiler

Show

F**K YES. Exactly the start I needed!

Kicker draw and result coming soon...

Many kickers!

I knew SWA was switching to reserved seating, but haven't flown in quite a while. Pretty much the same as before (i.e., 24 hrs before, jump on and select)--just that you get a seat instead of a place in line now?

Have you considered bubble craps? It would go faster than table craps. I have no idea how comps work, because it's part table game, but with the prefect accounting of a slot.

Please give the man some kickers!

Thw cheap fares you don't pick until 24 hours before departure. The other fares you pick your seat when you book.

No go. A) from what I've seen, any win, INCLUSIVE of your original bet, over 1200 triggers a hand pay. Machine locks up, IRS finds out etc. So if I bet 600$ on 6 and it hits, technically that counts (600+700 is 1300). So dumb and so slow. My goal is to get to table max, 600$ is just starting. B) You don't get comp points from bubble craps, at least at Wynn. Play the same game for no comp benefit whatsoever? Forget that.

Bubble craps is reserved for when I want to kill time and am near felted/can't stomach the thought of losing more around actual people.

Plus, the new system technically isn't in play yet. Have no idea how that's going to turn out.

Give this man KICKERS