I was playing dollar 10/7 Double Bonus at the Four Queens during a promotion. As always, before I started my play, I checked the pay schedule to verify that the game was what I was expecting. Casinos change games periodically and if the game has changed, I may well change the game I want to play there — or even decide the promotion is not worth playing.
After some time, my credits went to zero. This was not a big deal. It regularly happens. I reloaded the machine with some additional Benjamins and began to play again.
Soon thereafter, I was dealt three aces. I held them, of course, and drew. I remember thinking getting four aces would be nice. I was down a bit for the day and an $800 jackpot would put me ahead, at least for now. Continued play on this machine could easily eat up $800 and then some if I didn’t receive additional jackpots along the way.
The ace came in and, surprisingly, the machine locked up. What’s this? An $800 jackpot isn’t a taxable event and previously at this casino, didn’t lock up the machine. Some casinos do periodically make jackpots of this size hand pays, in the hopes of generating more tips for their floor people, but this casino hadn’t done that to my knowledge. Had that changed?
I looked again and saw the jackpot was for $2,000, not for $800. Along with the fourth ace, I’d drawn a deuce. I was playing Double Double Bonus, not Double Bonus. When I went to zero credits, the machine must have switched games. I had checked the game when I first sat down, but not after I went to zero.
To prevent this type of thing from happening, I regularly reload when I get down to five credits. So long as any credits remain, the machine won’t change games on me. But if there are zero credits, sometimes it happens.
It was not just DDB. It was 8/5 DDB, returning 96.8% when played well — which I was not doing because I thought I was playing a game where you hold flush kickers and prefer 4-card open-ended straights to low pairs.
Before this happened, I had not made a similar error playing a game this bad for probably twenty years. I’m really careful about checking every time. But this time it happened.
There are a number of players at the Four Queens who recognize me, and the four one dollar 10/7 machines are on fairly busy pathways. While the machine was locked up with the jackpot light blinking, several dozens of people passed by. If any knowledgeable players saw me hit a jackpot on a 96.8% game, they were gracious enough not to mention it.
But it is unlikely that this happened. A number of players would have been all too happy to razz me a bit. I tease players (and other people) on occasion, and what goes around comes around.
I don’t blame the casino for this. If they are going to offer 10/7 DB, they need to make their money somewhere. Putting the default game on the box 8/5 DDB is one way to do this. They’ll collect from a certain number of not-so-knowledgeable players. I would have bet the farm that they would never have caught me in this. But they did.
This type of event is on my list of signs to look for to determine whether or not I can still play competently. I’m almost 75 years old, and mentally I’m not what I used to be. It happening once every 20 years is not particularly alarming. If it starts to happen regularly, I’m going to have to make some unpleasant decisions about my future play.
I was extremely fortunate that I found out about this while hitting a $2,000 jackpot. I could easily have gone on for several additional hands, playing the wrong strategy for that game, without realizing the game was so bad. Losing quite a few dollars before I discovered my error would be a far more typical result. It’s not that often that you get rewarded for mistakes, but this time it happened to me.
That jackpot made the difference between winning and losing on that particular trip. There are those who would say I should count my blessings. Not me. To me this might be a sign that I’m deteriorating. It’s not a pleasant thought.
Thank you for sharing this story. It reinforces the need to be vigilant in gambling and in life.
My first ever big hit (AWAK, Horseshoe Tunica) I thought I was playing quarters, had pretty much just sat down, might have been the first pull. Up to that point I had only played quarter machines and didn’t even know about multi-denom, multi-game options on a machine, which there weren’t so many of back then. Talk about not paying attention. But a lucky mistake. Whan they offered us a room we were already staying in a Red Roof Inn or something, so I said “no thanks, we already have a room at….” I know they must have thought what a dummy. My husband, the non-gambler, chided me that I should have taken them up on the room. I was learning a lot back then!
This happened to me at Boulder Station when I was in my 40s. Same situation, thought I was playing double bonus but it was double double. It was a quarter game and I wondered why it was taking so long for the 800 quarters to register. You’re human, Bob. Don’t sweat it. You’re a very smart guy.
Similar stuff happened to me many times. I remember this having occured at the Palace Station Casino during a multiplier day promotion. I was playing 10-16 Deuces on 50 cents level and because I went up to the restaurant using that convenient elevator that brought me up to level 2 where there are these old school restrooms that are mostly empty I went there. When I returned I put my ticked back into the machine and played on. Soon later I hit something I can’t remember what it was (wild royal or a straight flush) , it kept counting the money I had just won and I played on without looking at the credits , but after a while I switched from credits to cash and noticed that there was an odd amount of money indiacted, not just 50 cents increments but nickle increments. I was happy about it for not having hit a set of deuces or the royal flush during this error but mad about me because I only realized it later and then figured out how many points I was not receiving while playing for small-time-money (nickel denom!!!)
From Switzerland
Boris
I did exactly the same thing couple of years ago. Same casino – same game. Only in my case I had gone to John, came back & played a couple of minutes. Hit 4A’s & got paid $125. My machine had switched to 9/6 jacks & I didn’t check. Unfortunately there was a knowledgeable player sitting to my left to observe my stupidity.
The manufacturers, when I worked for them a few years ago, called this “attract mode”. As many have noticed, shortly after cashing out (or running your credits to zero) the machine changes the display to an animated one showing different games. Bob was “unlucky” enough to have fed money to the machine when it was displaying the 8/5 DDB, which then instantly became a real, live game.
Factory experience not withstanding, we all should learn to carefully select or verify what game we’re about to play, and our preferred denomination, when first feeding it money.
Attract mode is more obvious (?obnoxious?) on today’s hugemongus reel spinners that tower all the way to the ceiling.
10/7 DB is not a friend of me or certain other players, so I would not be drawn towards this game even under optimal circumstances. Far different from 9/6 Jacks, if you have a drought of quads, your money will evaporate way too quickly. There is a certain Las Vegas math/computer/VP expert who got “taken to the cleaners” by this game so badly that he stopped playing VP altogether. I liked and played 10/7 DB a long time ago but then the mild quad droughts made me dislike it. When I stay & play at the Four Queens (one of the 2 hotel/casinos I patronize), I only play 9/6 Jacks. Days on which I lose do not add up to severe $$$ losses.
8/5 DDB is Strip video poker at the quarter level, I would expect a tad better from Four Queens at the dollar level… Chumash Casino in Solvang is 8/5 DDB, I am not missing out on much staying away from Las Vegas until the casinos start caring about avid and better players again… They don’t care about us because they are making record profits…
The Four Queens has 10/6/40 DDB at the bars. But on the machines with 10/7 DB, it’s 8/5
The only dollar 9/6 Jacks now requires $16 per point, same as 10/7 DB and 10/6/40 DDB. They still have quarter and half dollar 9/6 Jacks at $8 per point.
4 Q’s has much better machine opportunities than any of those VP games.
A couple of issues to watch on VP paytables:
1. Max Bet goes to 25 coins instead of the typical 5 coins, so you bet much more than you thought if you aren’t paying attention.
2. Royal Flush only pays $1500 on five coins on a dollar machine instead of $4000…doesn’t go to correct “bonus” payout until you play ten coins for $8000. That mistake cost me $2500 once at the Atlantis in Reno when they put in new machines in the high limit area, playing Bonus Poker. Oddly the paytable for DW was “normal”. Got back at them though, when I hit 4 deuces for a total of $3000, almost consecutively.
4Qeens does not have big inventory of 10/7 DB. There are 4 one dollar and 3 bu player’s club. To me it is a fun but difficult game. The 35 for flush and 25 for straight really makes strategy difficult. I don’t work for the last .2%. It requires more study and is not worth it to me. In tunica at one time there was 9/7 TDB.strategy very hard but not impossible. Played them for years.
Back in the 90’s this was a much more common event. The game would change if left idle for awhile even if you had credit in the machines. I hit more than one unexpected jackpots.
The problem, Bob, is that you will probably not notice that you are slipping…you only noticed this time because you hit a big hand. You could have sat there for an hour, playing the wrong strategy and never knowing. Age is a cruel mistress…you will not escape! 🙂 (senior citizen myself)
Ah memories. Back in the “old days” the casinos would have ping pong-like paddles on top of the machine on the candle telling people that it was a 9/6 jacks or better machine.
I think Four Queens is the last casino to have these.
Mr Dancer, you probably played hundred of thousands (maybe more) hands, correctly during your career, don’t be too hard on yourself. Mistakes do happen. Move on, all is good i’m sure.☺️
Bob…have enjoyed your blogs and books throughout the years. At 75 I’d be thinking you’ve won enough and banked enough to try something less stressful. Like square dancing..or if that’s too much trying fishing!
Thanks for the heads up…much appreciated. BD your still the man in a lot of our books. I’m 67 and dedicated to going with flow as I get older, that means making the necessary adjustments and continuing to do those things that keep my blood boiling.