This week we were reminded once again why we left Indiana to move to Las Vegas. On Monday when we left town the temperature in Las Vegas had been close to 90 for several days. During the 3 days we stayed in Hammond, Indiana, the wind chill factor got very close to zero a couple of nights. Now that’s a shock to one’s system we had tried to avoid by scheduling a Harrah’s 7 Star trip just before the April 1 deadline. We had kind of forgotten that Mother Nature has a way of playing tricks during March in Indiana!
Anyway, we didn’t suffer too much because the Hammond Horseshoe casino was nice and warm and the video poker machines were HOT! I had written previously that we had been enduring a severe losing streak since the first of the year, with a major royal flush drought, but we had continued to soldier on. Well, the video poker machines at the Horseshoe must have taken pity on us, because they handed out many many jackpots, enough to get us even for the year.
Some people tell us that they don’t like deuce games. And I understand this, particularly if they have a limited bankroll, because they are more volatile than games like JoB or Bonus Poker. However, we love deuces, and we have learned to survive the swings. Classic Deuces was one of the first games we ever learned and it was our core game for many years. When it became scarce and we were looking to go up in denomination, we embraced Not-So-Ugly-Deuces (NSUD), which we still choose whenever we can find it with extras that make it a good play.
So when we discovered a few years ago a good deuce game at the Hammond Horseshoe, in a multi-line format that always increases our enjoyment, we have become happy campers there a couple of times a year. No, we don’t always win – experienced gamblers know that isn’t possible no matter how skilled you are – but it is a good play and it is probably the play that is the most fun for us, even when we lose.
One of the main things we like about deuce games is that there is a mini-jackpot (four deuces) that can give you a winning session without hitting a royal. And if you are playing multi-line, whatever the game, good dealt hands can be even better than a single-line royal. At the Shoe we were on a dollar Fifty Play machine, which in the past we loaded up to play all fifty hands. However, more recently we dropped down to forty hands to decrease the paperwork – and thus the downtime – for W-2G’s. So in that case, being dealt a dirty royal ($5000) was better than getting a royal on one line ($4,000). Much to our delight, this trip we were dealt a lot of good pat hands as well as getting three single-line royals. (Play multi-line if you want to end a royal drought – although that doesn’t always translate into a win. We’ve played quarter Hundred Play and got several single-line royals and still had a losing session!)
But the high point of our play – and what helped get us out of our deep hole this year – was this beauty that came up on Brad’s machine:
Your original post said that you had “embraced NSUD.” If the $1 APDW 50-play still exists there, that would obviously be the better play. Assuming 99.96% with PERFECT play and 0.1% comps + 0.05% free play (per the VPFree2 database), you’re playing at 100.11%, or at $200/play (40-play), an EV of 22 cents per play. Assuming 400 hands per hour, that’s $88/hour +EV, 2/3 of which is in comps. In order to realize this return, you have to put in $80,000 coin-in per hour.
I don’t see how anyone with a bankroll of less than several million dollars could fade that kind of action without an unacceptable risk of ruin. I’m not going to run the numbers right now, but based on my experience playing 50-play nickels (peasant that I am), it’s quite possible to lose a huge number of bets in a short time. While your play is nominally +EV, its variance and consequent bankroll necessity is far beyond the reach of us mortals.
I assume you selected 40 hands to avoid the likelihood of a W2-G when drawing to 4 of a kind? 4 Quints on 50 play puts you over $1200 and also is approximately the expected number you would hit drawing to 50 hands.
How did you manage to get a picture? About a month ago I won $9000 on a slot machine and when I took my phone out and started to take a photo, security came running and telling to stop!
Kevin, what makes you think we weren’t playing APDW?
Is this game an advantage play? If memory serves, Horseshoe Hammond only returns 0.1%, so you’re playing negative EV exclusive of mailed offers/bounceback, etc., which wouldn’t be all that useful to you. Also: why aren’t you playing their much better APDW, which WOULD be a positive game with its base payback of 99.96? There are very few strategy variations from NSUD.
Congratulations! You’ll have to check out the new Horseshoe Cincinnati on one of your trips our way. They have no hotel, but put us up at The Cincinnatian Hotel. Beautiful hotel. Best part about the casino….Entirely NO SMOKING!!!!!
Hitting a $40,000 Jackpot just got you “even” for the year? Wow! That is a lot of money to be down just 2 1/2 months into the year. I am happy you won, but I wonder just what that says about the state of video poker now versus years ago before the casinos tightened up the video poker payoffs.
Congrats….there’s nothing better than getting dealt a big one.
My biggest win ever was getting dealt 4 deuces playing 15 line spin poker at the HRH LV
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Brad’s no dummy. He was dealt four wild cards and he already had the fifth wild card……Jean. He is a winner, all around!
It really doesn’t matter much anymore, but at one time pro level players were in the habit of holding everything to reduce the slight chance of error. There is no advantage in this game to drawing a card, so why risk it?
4 deuces pays 1000 units per hand. A wild royal pays much less.
Theresa, There is no hand better than a dealt 4 deuces. 4 deuces pays 1,000. A wild royal flush would pay only 125. Brad would keep the nine just because there is no kicker or anything better to increase the hand’s value. There is a bonus deuces game where an ace with 4 deuces pays more but this was not the case with this game. Keep the nine just to make sure you have held everything and there will be no machine malfunctions. Way to go Brad!! I’m sure that you checked very carefully to make sure the held button was showing on all 4 deuces.
WOW!!!…isn’t that jusst beautiful!!!!…Hooray for you…May you be dealt many more!!!!
WOW! Congratulations to Brad!! I love deuces wild!! You’re living my dream!
Is that at $1 pay table and a 40,000 dollar win? Wow! Who care what the wind chill was. LOL
Gotta to love those ducks.
Theresa, if this is NSUDs, four deduces is the best paying hand except for a natural royal.
Bob Dancer once told our group at a seminar to hold all the cards so you won’t screw up and hit the wrong hold button in your excitement.
Congrats Brad! I can only imagine what it would be like to play at that level or LOSE at that level. I have a question about holding the nine. Why? Why wouldn’t you leave it unheld and hope to get an Ace or a face card for a Royal