8/7/2006
This week I’d like to introduce my newest baby, one that I’ve been hinting about for months, and one for which I’ve been in hard labor to birth for three long years: the book I named Frugal Video Poker. To say that I’m in a euphoric state of relief is the understatement of the new millennium!
I want to share some information about this new baby with you all, my loyal readers.
First, I want to emphasize that this wasn’t a solo effort by any means. Viktor Nacht’s name shares the author line with mine on the cover. He not only wrote the practical computer lessons, but also gave continuing input through the whole book. Jim Wolf’s Frugal Video Poker software was the impetus to start this book and the two turned out to be perfect mates. And how can I list the countless influences on my video poker knowledge over a period of sixteen years? Every book, every software program, every magazine article, every e-mail, every strategy chart, every Internet forum posting, and every conversation with another player –- you can see their footprints all over the pages of this book.
This is a book that will take anyone interested in being a video poker player step-by-step as far as he wants to go, from raw novice to knowledgeable old hand.
Who might find this book helpful?
1. Someone who has never played VP, but would like to learn. A beginner can start out with simple concepts in the first few chapters, so he isn’t overwhelmed with too much information too fast.
2. Someone who has played VP, perhaps even for a long time, and has read a bit about skillful play, but has never grasped the complete picture of how to become an expert player. He can choose to study the chapters that will fill in the gaps in his knowledge.
3. Someone who wants practical advice about how to play VP more skillfully without a lot of complicated math explanations in the early part of his study.
4. Someone who’s already a skilled VP player, but would like a resource that covers special opportunities, like tournaments, VP promotions, progressives, new and/or unusual games, such as Multi-Strike. He’ll also appreciate the extensive resource section for advanced study.
5. Someone who has the Frugal VP software (or plans to buy it) and wants to learn how to use all the helpful features it contains: tutoring you in playing accurate strategy; generating strategy charts; figuring out the value of slot club and comp benefits; determining the value of promotions, such as a bonus on quads; understanding volatility; and many advanced features after you’ve mastered the basics.
If you want more advance information about the book, you can find a list of the chapter titles at http://www.FrugalGambler.biz.
ORDERING THE BOOK
One of the most frugal times to buy a book is often prepublication, and you’ve a couple of good options for discounted prices before the planned release date in mid-September. Both these sites also sell all my books and the FVP software.
To view the product description and order this title, visit the following link:
Frugal VP Info Page
www.FrugalGambler.biz – Click on the “”Frugal Video Poker”” banner or click on “”Books”” and then “”Frugal Video Poker.””
8/10/2006
Someone asked me recently how many royals Brad and I’ve hit since we started playing video poker. I had absolutely no idea, so I gave Brad, who likes the study of statistics, the job of looking through 16 years of records.
His findings brought on a lot of reminiscing.
Brad hit our first royal on Dec. 31, 1991. The $1,000 came on a quarter full-pay Deuces Wild machine at the Westward Ho. He held the ten, queen, king, and ace of diamonds and drew the jack. (Actually, this was our first documented royal. Later, Brad confessed that he’d played a lot of one-quarter just-for-fun video poker when I thought he was playing blackjack – and he hit two short-coin royals!)
I remember that New Year’s Eve day well. At my insistence, we’d walked from the Ho all the way downtown (and back – we were younger, had more energy, and were more silly frugal then) to the Gambler’s Book Club to get Lenny Frome’s book called Winning Strategies for Video Poker. Brad said we didn’t need a book, especially one that cost $15.95, to tell us how to play a simple poker machine; he’d played poker all his life. But I’d read a couple of articles by Lenny that said there was a unique strategy for each paytable – and we’d been playing his strategy on 9/6 JoB off and on for a couple of years when we wanted a break from counting cards at blackjack.
When we got back to the Ho from our death march to and from the bookstore, we sat down to rest at two side-by-side DW machines. Brad dealt a hand and I looked at the strategy chart to see what to hold. It wasn’t long before we learned the basic lesson that video poker strategy isn’t intuitive and you couldn’t fall back on your live poker knowledge, especially in a wild-card game like Deuces, which was so much different from 9/6 JoB that we were used to. After a few hours, we found we were having to check the book less often, so we each started playing our own machines, though checking with each other and the book when we came across a puzzling hand.
Around 9 o’clock that night, I said we ought to quit. I’d developed a splitting headache from all the concentration on the game and the heavy smoke in a now-crowded casino. Brad was hooked on Deuces already and said he wanted to play a little longer, but I should go lie down, try to get rid of my headache, then come back to celebrate the New Year with him. About 11:30 p.m., I was awakened by a very excited Brad, who came into our room waving a handful of bills from his royal. I don’t think we’ve ever had a more exciting New Year’s Eve.
Next week I’ll continue with our trip down royal memory lane. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a quote I took from an Internet forum: “When I hit my first royal, I shouted so loud that security arrived before my hand pay!”
8/21/2006
After we hit the first royal I told you about last week, at the very end of 1991, we had to wait almost a year before another one showed up. But then they came in pairs, with Brad getting one Dec. 13, 1992, at the Riviera and my getting my first one the next day at the Stardust.
By this time we’d completely switched from blackjack to video poker, where there was no pressure from eagle-eyed pit bosses watching for card counters. In addition, Brad had retired in ’89 and we were spending more and more time in Vegas, driving there and spending most of the winter, and it was much easier to get room and food comps playing the machines than it was playing the tables.
In 1993 we hit five royals; Brad and I got two at O’Sheas just an hour apart. Indianapolis was losing its appeal for us and we were spending more and more time in Vegas. In 1994 we doubled 1993’s royal output. Out of our 10 royals that year, four of them were on progressives. They were our first jackpots higher than $1,000.
In 1995 we increased our play days again and hit 14, including my first dealt royal, at the Par-a-Dice in Peoria, Illinois, where we frequently traveled from our home in Indianapolis. Although we’d dabbled with some 50-cent play earlier, that year marked our first $1 play. The new era was inaugurated on July 6 at the Four Queens, after Bob Dancer convinced us that a promotion going on there was a much better per-hour play at the $1 level. And within two hours on our first venture into $1 machines, I got two $4,000 royals! Surprisingly enough, I finished up this year doing the same thing at the Frontier, getting two $4,000 royals within two hours, one of them on a throwaway hand!
For the next several years, we ranged all over the place, both in location (Illinois and Mississippi riverboats, as well as Vegas), and denomination, playing at whatever level we could find the best play, from quarters to dollars. Brad occasionally strayed to a “fun” machine, like the time he was trying to win a car for my daughter on the Neon Nickels at the Stardust and “accidentally” got a $200 royal. Our royal total was growing: 10 in 1996, 20 in 1997, and 27 in 1998. We were staying longer in Vegas and even when we were in Indianapolis, we were traveling almost every weekend to the Empress Casino in Joliet, Illinois.
In 1999 we finally got tired of staying in hotels for weeks and months on end, so we bought our condo in Vegas for the long winter stays. We had 52 royals that year, a higher number partially because we played more, but also because we were playing a lot of multi-line, which generates more royals. Same for 2000, when we had 45.
We figured we’d keep our place in Indiana for a summer escape from the Vegas heat, but after two years of paying expenses for a house that stood empty most of the time, we sold it and became full-time Vegas residents in 2002. We had 47 royals that year.
Tune in next week for the conclusion of this trip down memory lane. In the meantime, enjoy this smile from the “king of quotes,” VP Pappy: “”The best place to get a royal flush in a casino is in the restroom.””
8/24/2006
Jean and Brad are in Ohio for the funeral of Jean’s father, but she left this tribute.
The Wonderful Life of Rev. Olin M. Pfautz
He lived all 92 years of his life devoted to God and family. He was a highly respected minister of the Gospel, a tireless pastor to his many church congregations for more than 60 years. He nursed my mother faithfully for the last 20 years of her life as she struggled with the physical and mental ravages of Parkinson’s.
My mother’s health was not good while I was growing up, so Daddy often took over the duties of both mother and father. My fondest memories of him are from my high school years when I had to get up early for a long bus ride to school and he was always up with me: fixing my breakfast, chatting with me about my day’s activities, and sending me off with a prayer.
But most of all I’ll remember his constant joyous spirit, through the good times and the hard ones. When he was to have open-heart surgery some 12 years ago, I was in the room when the doctor was explaining the risk of the surgery for a man of his advanced age. Daddy just raised his hand and smiled. “”Praise the Lord,”” he said. “”No worry. I’ve been ready to go to heaven for many years.”