35 Years of Advantage Play – Part 17 – Q+A

Last week I finished leading you down that long winding path of advantage play we took, but I promised that I would answer the questions so many of you were asking during these last 16 weeks of reminiscing.  So, it looks like I will need to keep writing about our journey – at least for a little while longer.

One of the most frequent questions, not just now, but down through the years, has been about that wonderful “miracle mountaintop experience” that unites all video poker enthusiasts. For the nickel player plugging along unnoticed to the whale pampered by the casino while risking thousands of dollars in the high-limit room – the world stops turning for them, at least for a little bit of time, when a royal flush pops up.

How many have we had?  Which one of us has gotten more?  Which ones were the most exciting or memorable?

Brad and I have had a lifetime royal total of 1,317.  We always played out of one bankroll and it never mattered to us who “got more royals.”  We were a team and any royal brought joy to both of us equally no matter which machine it was on.

When we first started playing video poker, I did keep more detailed royal records.  Brad got the first one, December 31, 1991, $1000 on the quarter Full-Pay Deuces Wild coin-droppers at the Westward Ho.  We don’t have to check my records for that one – it is solidly etched in a brain cell somewhere in each of our heads.  The detailed royal record I kept through ’97 is an interesting read. Mostly $1000 at first with a few $2000 as we sometimes ventured up to 50-cent machines.  Then the momentous decision to go to dollars and the two $4000 ones I hit on July 6, 1995.  1997 was the last year I kept detailed records, and a summary showed Brad had 38 to my 24.  This was probably due to the fact that he played faster and took fewer breaks than I did – although many of our friends just thought he was the luckiest gambler they ever knew because he always seemed to hit royals more often than the rest of us. However, Lady Luck didn’t neglect me completely. Of the 5 dealt royals during that time, 4 were mine!

Starting in 1998, I listed our royals but with no details since we had started playing a lot of multi-line, and obviously were getting more of them.  This pumped up our total quickly since I counted each royal separately, even multiple ones from one hand.   If we ended up with 2 royals on a Ten Play machine hand, that added two to our royal total. When Brad was dealt a royal on Hundred Play, that added 100 to our royal total!

Our most exciting royals?  Of course, that very first one.  “You always remember the first time!”  And, not a surprise, the forementioned one dealt on Hundred Play.  And it’s always fun to beat long odds.  Once I was playing $5 Triple Play at the Palazzo and was dealt a flush that contained 4 royal cards.  Of course, I made the correct play by throwing away the off flush card, hoping to snag a royal. Double joy when 2 came up for a 40k win.

Another 40k win, one that was a shocker for me and the Harrahs casino supervisors who gathered around to discuss it, was a royal on a dollar Ten Play Double Super Times Pay Jacks or Better machine.  I was on a 10x multiplier and all I had to hold was a lone Ace.  I must confess I was mumbling not-so-nice words under my breath.  I slapped the draw button with disgust –  and a royal filled in that Ace on one line!

Here is a picture of what I called my “OH NO” dealt royal.

A back story is needed here.  I had been no-mailed by  Station Casinos for many years after hitting a royal on the top line of a dollar Multi-Strike machine.  You would think a big casino conglomerate could handle a 32 K+ jackpot without feeling I was a major danger to their bottom line.  But I digress…

So, after Stations bought the Palms, I was extremely disappointed; the Palms was our closest casino and had been a favorite since it opened.  They had good games with great players club benefits and mailed offers.  Now it would not be a good play if I got no mailings.

Fortunately, someone “upstairs” made a decision that they would look at the history of previous strong Palms players and add them back on the Stations mailing list.  I was very happy but decided to be cautious in my play selection at first since I felt I was kind of “on probation.”  In the past I had usually played quarter Hundred Play but instead of dropping down in the number of lines I would play, I decided it would be fun to still play all hundred lines but at the 10-cent level, which offered the same game, 8/5 Bonus.  So, I am starting to play, with Brad on one side and chatting with my usual playing buddy on the other side. Suddenly, I said, “Oh, no!”

I must have been pretty loud because both Brad and my friend stopped playing and turned to me with concerned looks.  When they saw the dealt red royal covering my screen, they started laughing.  They understood my reaction!

Fortunately, there was no negative consequence this time and I stayed on their mailing list and played there until major game downgrades sadly made this casino unplayable for us.

Stay tuned for more discussions of your questions next week.