If you're worried about "practice" royals...

From time to time someone will post a thread about hitting a royal on their computer shortly before leaving for a gambling trip and thinking they're doomed in terms of having a good trip with actual money at stake. And of course, the math folks immediately chime in that getting that royal will have no impact on what happens on your trip.

Well, intellectually of course, I've always known that was true, but in the gut, which is really where most of us non-pros live, it's hard to convince yourself of that. You figure you're due one every 40,000 or so, and that you just got yours.

Well, I just got back from a weekend trip at the Four Queens. I hit a royal on the wizardofodds site last week, so of course, I knew there was no way I'd get one on my trip. I just hoped to not lose too much. Well, I got to my hotel Friday night at 10:30 and had a royal on a 50-cent 9/6 Jacks machine by shortly after 11:00. Then Sunday afternoon, I got another one. It wasn't on the same machine, but was on the machine right next to it.

So getting a phony royal so close to a real trip doesn't hurt you at all.

But since I only hit 1 royal in 6 Vegas trips and 2 Tunica trips last year and hit 2 on one trip this year, now I have to convince myself that I'm not hosed for the rest of this year and all of next...

You may or may not be doomed but congrats on the two that you did hit.

I have only hit royals twice (they were hours apart) on all of our trips to LV. What is funny that is had hit one practicing right before we left and then hit the 2 within hours. It was also the trip that everytime I sat down at a machine it seemed that is spit out 4 Aces (I play DDB). I considered it a lucky omen that I hit when I was practicing right before our trip. LOL--May the video poker gods smile upon you. LOL

Oh great, those are my two favorite machines, now they're out of royals.

LOL You are too funny! Thanks for giving me a smile today!

I've hit 4 on my computer, 2 within 20 hands of each other and have yet to hit one for real. My buddy hits one on the machine next to me every trip. I have got to find a way to get that monkey off my back.

I've hit royals in Canada, and several in the midwest including Indiana and Illinois, but not yet in Nevada, which is where I've dropped the most coin..I'm DUE! Next trip to LV 2/5/2011! Wish me luck! Been playing educated VP since 2003!

Pete
Indy