When new games are introduced these days, I usually read about them on-line first, find out where they’re located in Nevada because I'd never play them at any of the very questionable Indian casinos around here, then take one shot at them before putting them into the never-to-be-played-again file of my mind. Why? Because every game since the advent of the triple-play/five-play/ten-play machines has been nothing more than a gimmick created to over-entertain the player into giving up more money than he or she had planned on losing.

Yes, some writers pretend that some of these new gimmick games are worthwhile, but that's ONLY because they’ve added them into their repertoire of strategy cards, fee-based training classes, and/or the usual array of computer programs for home-based play. You'll never hear the truth about the games from anyone other than me, because while everyone else is profiting off of the general playing public in any way possible by saying the game is "beatable", I take absolutely no money from anyone ever for helping them understand what a waste of time or how good a game might be.

But that's FINALLY not the case with Dream Card Video Poker (DCVP). How did I reach this decision? Well, for one thing I've read Bob Dancer's casinogaming.com's two-part review on the game. Just a reminder, before going there to see for yourself, remember the way he writes isn't for everyone or for most in some cases. He taints many of his articles with an exceedingly easy to detect false arrogance meant to amaze the little people, and I've caught him making up more than a thing or two or intentionally misleading players within his columns in the past.

For instance, in this week’s column he claims the best a professional player of available positive EV machines in Las Vegas can make these days is around $20,000 if they play 40 hours a week (and who's stupid enough to do that anyway?). Then he goes on to say how he needs more than that "wage" to make his living and investments. However, NOWHERE does he state that he also works MULTIPLE JOBS in order to even GET an income--or why (as if we didn't know! I report/you decide. You will NEVER be deceived like that on vptruth.com, and it is why the Publisher of Gaming Today had me writing continuous interesting, truthful, and meaningful articles for over 7-1/2 years before I chose to quit last year - replacing guess who in the process? And I NEVER accepted a penny for doing any of it…- but guess who did when he wrote for them for less than a year!

Nevertheless, I know Bob still works very hard at certain things he does, so I generally know what to trust and what not to trust in his writings. He mentioned there were multi-play DCVP machines at the South Point. I don’t remember if he said what denomination(s) they were available in but that really didn’t matter because I wanted to give them a decent try so I could report to you all on the game. I wasn't able to locate the game on-line anywhere to play for free and besides, even if I did I would not have used that experience as anything real. Playing inside a casino, as Bob always does, and for real money is the ONLY way to make an open and honest report on anything gambling. Home-based computer simulation programs tend to be randomly programmed. Casino machines most definitely are not.

So two days ago I fired up my Corvette and blasted out of the garage for a late night drive up to Las Vegas and the South Point hotel for a turnaround trip to play DCVP. I know, I never take that car to Las Vegas because of the multiple valet parking abuses it would see, but I was only going to the South Point and that’s a place with very convenient & easy parking out front without the need to valet. The car's also good for a needed rush when sleepiness starts to set in. One shot from 50-90 in a car that'll do over 200mph is enough to wake the dead!

Back on topic, when I got to South Point I immediately asked a floor person to lead me to the game I wanted to play. I sat down and chose to play 10-play quarters. My bankroll was an even $5000 but I needed very little of it. I put just $400 into it and played for almost 4 hours. It was a bit tiring and as most of you know, sitting at machines for a long time is not my cup of tea any more. But I had a goal of understanding this game the best I could on this short visit, so I made the most of my time.

You may have seen where my multi-play strategy utilizes only the 5-play machines for several reasons as identified in the strategy. But this game was only meant to be played in 10-play format. Even if it were available in 50 or 100-play it would not be as effective a game. First, this game is one where you really want to SEE what's happening in every hand; and, most people would find playing the required $125 & $250 per hand offensive for a quarter machine.

The game's basics are simple: the math behind it is not. What you need to know is on the game I played, DDB, the Dream Card appears 31% of the time. Bob actually did all the leg work on the game's statistics for me beforehand so I walked in with a wealth of knowledge. All I really needed to do was start playing to get the feel for the game and to see what, if any, changes I'd need to make to optimal play and/or my special plays that deviate from that strategy in order to have the best possible chance of winning the most on my visit TODAY (not as if I were playing into infinity, as the famous names try to sell you) - which is what I always try to do.

I approached this visit as I've approached any for-profit trip I've ever made while I was a professional player (until earlier this year). Every trip is an individual event, having nothing to do with any that have past or that are to come, so whatever happens on this trip is in and of itself a single one-time event period. Translation: Even though I was there to experience and study a brand new game, I WANTED TO WIN!

First things first: It was the middle of the night, I forgot my slot club card, the slot club was closed and I did NOT want to flag my presence by getting the pit to carve me one out, so I played without one. Last year (2008) I tapped this place for nearly $40,000 with really not a lot of play, and this year I was up a little also. I'm not a pro player any longer, but asking for staring eyes by talking to the casino boss or any casino host is one of the dumbest things any strong and/or winning player can do.

Briefly, DCVP means (on DDB in my case - the frequency is different for every game type) on 31% of the deals the 5th card out will be the best EV maximizer to the first four cards dealt, regardless what they are. In other words, if your first four cards include any four cards to the SF, the 5th card will ALWAYS complete that SF for you. And in the case of 10-play that's a good chunk of credits. Also, if your first four dealt cards include any set of trips, that 5th card will always finish out the quad. Just imagine if you get four-to-the-Royal!

The kicker in all this is that you pay for that Dream Card. Each hand costs 10 credits with the return of a 5-credit played pay table. So on the 10-play quarter game I was playing, it cost $25 a hand. You rarely make up your 100 credits with standard wins, so big Dream Card hits are an absolute necessity if you're going to win. And yes, there are many times where the Dream Card gets dealt on very inappropriate hands.

How did I do? Not bad. My 2nd Dream Card dealt filled in quad 6's for a win of 2500 credits. I got 6's again later on in the same way. That seems like a lot of credits but not in a volatile game like this. After the first quad 6's I was down to 900 credits before I got my next meaningful Dream Card - this time filling in a SF for another 2500 credits. What was odd - but not really for a game of this type - was that I got ANOTHER Dream Card with four-to-the-SF before I left in the early morning.

What I really wanted to see was of course, my specialty, four Aces on the bottom line with the help of the Dream Card, but it didn’t happen. I did however get one Royal Flush after being dealt four of them. If only the Dream Card showed up then….

I left the building with a nice profit of $620, which way more than enough to pay for gas and food. It's always nice to take casino money home, but again that wasn't my first goal. I wanted to understand and get a feel for the game and I did that. For the first time in many years I believe there's a new game on the casino floors that can be played consistently for both fun and for a profit.

What I found was I actually would fare BETTER using a few less of my special plays on this game. It also makes no sense to play unless you go after the 10-play games (which is also the explanation for my 1st sentence here). We know how all-important the deal is on the multi-plays, and it's the actual game-breaker in DCVP. Every now and then you'll get a Dream Card, and every now and then it's gonna make a huge difference in your credits. Of course, the key is to set a plan before going into the casino and stick with it without deviation. If you're simply going to sit there and tire yourself out waiting for the dream hand to be dealt, you'll be doing exactly what the casino wants you to do. I think you all know what that means by now, right?