How long do you play?

[FloridaPhil]

I'm curious about how many hours at a time professional video poker players play.  Assuming 800 hands an hour (average?), it should take about 54 hours to complete one cycle.   If you play 8 hours a day and keep up this pace up for 5 days, you should average about one Royal every week and a half.   I realize it may not actually turn out that way, I'm asking about physical problems.  I can only stand 3-4 hours at a time and my eyes start to cross and my neck and shoulders hurt.   Any tricks to lasting longer.  No funny jokes please...  we're talking about video poker....    

[Frank Kneeland]

I would consider 800 hands an hour to be dead slow. I can't speak for other pros but a Royal a week when I was a full time VP professional would have been a very disappointing week. Now, I am no longer anywhere near that active and perhaps only play 8 hours a week.Stating exactly what was normal for me would not give you much to go on for an average, since I do not believe my career was "normal" in any way. 12,000 hands a day was about my average, though I think this is more than most play. I did not take days off in a week and instead preferred long vacations once a year.~FK

[marie meijer]

I used to play VP several hrs without moving. However, I am re thinking this. A nine year old boy developed a blood clot in his leg after playing video games for too many hours. A few peeps have collapsed and died after leaving an airplane from blood clots due to prolonged inactivity. SO, I am convinced we are better off moving around after two hours of any activity, be it riding in a car, computering or playing VP. Besides, a break will help us wake up and stimulate those brain cells for better focus and playing, hopefully leading to more wins.A news broadcast recommended blinking several times after twenty minutes when using the computer, to give our eyes a break. I suggested this to a friend who has eye problems. He replied that we automatically blink many times in twenty minutes and there is no need to consciously think about blinking.  I often only have a few hours to  play in local casinos. However, on casino trips, I can skip eating and entertainment and play non stop for eight and more hours. Why am I always surprised to realize how many hours I have been playing! Blame it on the casinos with no clocks in sight! There are some tips for staying awake when driving long distances that could be transferred to playing VP for hours. Stopping every two hours and walking around for a few minutes helps. Something as simple as eating an apple or drinking orange juice or water, whistling and yawning can help one become more alert. Once, I was advised by a physician to keep a child awake while driving from one emergency facility to another. Open the window for fresh air, turn up the radio or sing loudly would all help. Try singing in a casino and see the reaction.

[mammajamma]

I would like to see someone playing 12,000 hands per hour.

[edog743]

Frank really? that is 200 hands a minute. You might want to rethink that one.

[Tomcat1569]

I would like to see someone playing 12,000 hands per hour.


 Mamma, I think you may have misconstrued this number. That would be 200 hands a minute! Even on multiple machine play, that sounds physically impossible. Frank, did you mean per playing session? My play seems to vary between 600-700 hands an hour -- putting me square in the super-slow camp, LOL.

[Tomcat1569]

Frank really? that is 200 hands a minute. You might want to rethink that one.
 Jinx! We were writing similar responses at the same time

[edog743]

Beat you to it Tom

[New2vp]

12,000 hands a was about my average, though I think this is more than most play.I am going to guess that the missing word between  "a" and "was" was "day" (if he didn't put a typo in "12,000").  In his book, Frank wrote he was "clocked at around 2000 to 2400 hands an hour," noting that this was achieved by playing two machines simultaneously.

[Frank Kneeland]

Yes per day. Not per hour. I left out the word "day" but edited it in now. One of my partners that plays slowly on only one machine gets out even more per day to this day. He plays 12-16 hours almost everyday...and he's in his 60's I think he has a gambling problem. He's been hospitalised twice for VP related injury, but there's no talking him out of it. It's his whole life. It's sad...