As you say, video poker speeds are measured in hands per hour.
If you play at a nice relaxed pace, you'll play somewhere around one hand every 15 seconds. Count one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, up to fifteen one thousand to deal, hold your cards, draw, and deal a new hand and you'll see that one hand every fifteen seconds is actually-y-y-y-y-y v-e-r-r-r-r-r-y v-e-r-r-r-r-r-y s-l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ow-w-w-w-w. At that pace, you'll log 240 hands per hour.
Cut that half in time and now you're starting to pick up speed. Experts say 500 hands per hour is around medium speed.
Dr. Lou Antonius, measured by Michael Shackleford, the Wizard of Odds and author of our book Gambling 102, hit 2,262 hands per hour; that's a hand of video poker every 1.59 seconds. That's faster than lightning!
Jean Scott tells us that she's never clocked her and husband Brad's speed. "I play slower because I'm a perfectionist and think accuracy is the prime consideration. Brad plays much much faster than I do, but he isn't as concerned about accuracy as I am. I've tried to get him to slow down so he's more accurate, but unlike the way he does everything else in life, when it comes to playing VP, he can't seem to do it. He plays just as fast now as he did 30 years ago. I play the same speed now as I did 30 years ago."
Jean adds, "Fast to me is 500 hands an hour, but most pros play much faster. And there's such a difference in machine speeds. Multi-lines are much slower."
Bob Dancer picks it up from there.
"Speed depends on the machine. New well-serviced machines I can easily play more than 1,000 hph. Some machines are set by the slot director to go only so fast. That slows things down considerably. Triple Play to Hundred Play machines also slow things down, simply because it takes time for the hands to fill in. W-2Gs slow things down. Most games I play I know cold. Others I need to think about some and slow down, occasionally looking up a hand."
Here's the main point, as far as we're concerned, which also comes from Bob, writing years ago in a magazine article. "First and foremost, if you're playing a machine where the house has the edge, you're better off pacing your play. The more you play, the more you'll lose. Sure, you may hit some big winners, but if you don't have an edge (including slot club points and possibly comps), take your time playing. Don't rush to give the house any more money than you must. Only play as fast as you can be accurate.
"When playing with an edge, Wyatt Earp probably said it best. 'Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.'
Don’t get killed. Make sure you're playing correctly."
