Going for Quad Deuces

[Eduardo]

I played the same machines a few months ago at Westgate, EDC. Still there in quarters.  (They got rid of the dollar version though)They were in the middle of an extensive remodel of the Sportsbook that I believe is now complete. I hope the machines survived the changes.

[olds442jetaway]

I don't recommend you make any of the strategy changes you have suggested. You will increase the frequency of deuces --- and you will end up losing quite a bit more than by playing the more standard strategy.That said, Wolf Video Poker allows you to change the strategy and see how it affects the EV. You can get it at www.wolfvideopoker.com. It's a good product.



     Thanks Bob. I have Wolf and that is usually what I practice on. It does give you the cost per mistake. Most of the changes I was considering were listed as low or medium errors, but over the course of a long session, they could add up as you say even though some are just a few cents at a time. Things like inside draws to straight flushes come along quite frequently. I played a practice session before my trip up last night and kept track of the cost for 1 hour or play. It was just over 5 bucks. However, that was just a sample and dealt hands will never be the same per hour. Assuming that was an average amount of error cost, in a long session, it would add up to fifty bucks or so. I would rather have that in my pocket. I will post the trip results separately.

[olds442jetaway]

     I had a very long session up at Mohegan Sun and unfortunately, the quad deuces never showed on the quarter game I was playing. I was playing airport deuces 98.91% My entire session was at bet 5 because at no point did my losses hit 1,000 quarters or 250 bucks. I finally got tired and needed a good break and some food. Took my walk first to get all of the kinks out, re hydrated some more, and had a light meal in the lounge. Daylight was beginning to appear, so I opted to hit the room for rest and freshen up before making any more rash decisions. Couldn't have my usual bagel and coffee after my nap due to some major dental work 2 days ago. I do miss that as the bagels are very good up there. I was also on a short leash and had family matters to attend to in the early afternoon, so I opted for just a little relaxation play on a tough game without risking any more bankroll.
     They only have one nickel Double Bonus Deuces Wild game up there and it is the Multi-Strike game among others offered in the machine. Regular deuces aren't offered on this machine. Unless you are playing all 4 lines at bet 5 at least, you pay the Royal penalty too. Since I only had a short time left to play, I decided to just play the bottom line for 35 cents or 7 nickels. After just ten minutes, I was dealt 3 deuces and one ace. I pulled the other deuce which at a 400 for 1 payout was good for 2800 nickels. That was enough to get me about even for the session. And such is vp. You never know what will happen and it always seems to do this stuff when you least expect it. By the way, you can add another 6,000 hands to my stint without Royals. Just under the 200k mark now. I was just lucky I didn't hit one on the nickel game I was playing because if I did, it would have only paid 7 nickels times 250 or 1750 nickels.

[BobDancer]

    I was just lucky I didn't hit one on the nickel game I was playing because if I did, it would have only paid 7 nickels times 250 or 1750 nickels.It sure was lucky that you got zero instead of $87.50???I've never understood this kind of logic. Hitting a royal on that machine has absolutely nothing to do with whether you hit another one or five on your next trip. when I took math in school, $87.50 was better than zero.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=BobDancer]It sure was lucky that you got zero instead of $87.50??? I've never understood this kind of logic. Hitting a royal on that machine has absolutely nothing to do with whether you hit another one or five on your next trip. when I took math in school, $87.50 was better than zero[/quote]I must be losing my mind, I'm beginning to find myself agreeing with Bob Dancer...    Anyway, what's wrong with any win even if it's a $62.50 royal? When I was playing quarter CS (don't any more), I played thousands of hands more than the average player and saw more quad deuces and royals than I could believe.  My cost per hour was ridiculously low and a $62.50 royal could keep me going all day.  I'm sure my losses were higher by percentage, but my cost per hand was so low one lucky max coin jackpot made a big difference. I guess you could call this the video poker theory of relativity!  (It's a joke.  If you don't get it, Google Albert Einstein).

[olds442jetaway]

     I think you guys missed the point. Of course some money is better than 0, but based on my track record of only hitting 2 or 3 Royals in 1.2m hands I would have been really po'd mostly at myself for not betting max on that Multi Strike machine. If I had played max especially at the quarter level, and didn't hit anything in the few minutes I had to play, the rest of the 400- budget would probably have vanished. As it turns out, as they say in the movies, I live to fight another day. . I still think my original plan on only betting what I need to be even or better on regular deuces wild will work well. I can't ever remember going more than 3 or 4 sessions tops without hitting quad deuces at least once. Until my Royal situation changes, I will just have to stay in " survival mode " for now. I am pretty sure there are no other players who post here with the possible exception of spx chrome, that has had such miserable Royal stretches.
     Just an aside and nothing to do with anything really, I saw a guy hit the same Multi Strike machine very recently with a Royal on the top line for 16k. That machine allows bets of up to 10 units and you have a choice of nickels, quarters, or dollars. Even with this hit, he was mad at himself because he had just reduced his play from dollars to quarters settling for 16k instead of 64k. I hate to even think what 40 bucks a hand for an 8 hour session would have cost him if he had hit nothing good at all. Here is my best guess though. Assuming he played 40 bucks a hand at 600 plays an hour for an 8 hour session with a paltry return of 95% ( my average ), the cost would be 9,600 dollars.

[BobDancer]

     I would have been really po'd mostly at myself for not betting max on that Multi Strike machine. That statement could give rise to another "maxim" notes could put on his list for successful gambling.If you're going to be po'd for hitting a royal flush, DON'T MAKE THE BET IN THE FIRST PLACE

[FAA]

I was bouncing around between three and five coins when I hit the Royal Flush on Saturday. It would have been a long ride home indeed had I been below max bet on the hand! Go cheap, fail to reap, start to weep. I got it very early in my session window, which I abruptly ceased after indulging in some photography. It would have cost me another twenty bucks or so if I was all max. Great insurance in retrospect.

[notes1]

That statement could give rise to another "maxim" notes could put on his list for successful gambling.If you're going to be po'd for hitting a royal flush, DON'T MAKE THE BET IN THE FIRST PLACE
 i have never endorsed playing less than max coins, there are many of my posts to support this statement. and, i would never play less than max and complain that i lost a large payout, because of doing so.  even though i am not convinced the machines are completely random, i would never suggest there is anyway of knowing what cards are likely to be dealt. 

[FloridaPhil]

The only reason to play single coin is to lower your losses on a negative expectation game.  There is no reason to complain about a short coin royal as you knew that could happen when you made that decision in the first place.  That's the beauty of CS.  If you hit a lucky max coin royal along the way, you should be happy as long as you don't expect it to happen every time.