Another Day at the Casino

[FloridaPhil]

Yesterday, I made my regular weekly trip to the Tampa Rock. It was an interesting day as usual. I got to the casino about 10 AM. I always play my free play in the same two slots. To my surprise I found I had $85 in free play. On my last trip I was able to move up to dollar play and build up a lot of points. $85 is a lot of free play for a regular quarter play. I decided to bet $3.40 a hand instead of my usual .68 cents. I hit the three bonus coins and chose 25 free games. To my surprise, I hit a $200 jackpot with my free play. Nice! I cashed out and walked down to the none smoking casino.

My usual bank of VP machines was empty, so I sat down at my favorite machine and started to play quarter Bonus Poker. I put in a $100 bill, played quarters and went up and down for about 30 minutes. I looked down and the machine dealt me four aces for $100. I cashed out and put a $200 ticket in my wallet. Sometime later one of my $100s ran up to $140 and I switched to dollar play again. A few hands later, I was dealt a straight flush for $250. I cashed that out and put it in my wallet with the rest of the white tickets.

After lunch a lady sat down next to me. We talked a little, mostly about casinos where we had played before. She told me this was going to be her last visit to the casino. I asked her why and she said her husband was retiring and he didn't want her to play anymore. I assured her she would find a way back. She told me she had been playing with her IRA money. Her husband hadn't seen the balance in a long time and she had lost a big chunk of it. There was nothing I could tell her that would help that situation, so I didn't comment.

She was playing quarter 8/5 Double Double Bonus like most everyone else in the casino. She was hitting quads regularly which kept her in the game. I kept thinking about her retirement fund money going into the coin slot. Around 2:30, she hit quad 4s with an ace for $200. I said, "Maybe you should think about quitting now?" She said with a smile, "What do you think the chances are that is going to happen?" We both laughed at that.

No more than 2 minutes later she was dealt quad aces with a queen. We both watched as she threw away the queen and got a deuce on the draw for $500. She had won $700 playing quarters in 5 minutes. I told her I obviously didn't know what I was talking about and she should never listen to me again. This got a huge laugh and I decided to head home for the day. Just another day at the casino.

[FloridaPhil]

My casino stories are not meant to teach anybody anything. They are about my own casino experiences and nothing more. When I go to the casino I go there to be entertained. The casinos I frequent deliver what I go there for or I don't go back.

You may notice contradictions in my stories. So you know, I do not pick the games I play out of a math book. Whatever game I choose to play, I play the best odds and use the best computer perfect strategy for that game. I may choose to play Deuces Wild one day and Bonus Poker the next. In the middle of the day, I may switch to Double Double Bonus for a few hands. In the rare times I choose to play single coin, I start out that way and end that way.

I play 90% of my hands at max coin quarters. Once I have won the amount I walked into the casino with, I may play higher denominations. I don't do this because it's mathematically correct or I think doing so can beat the game long term. I do this because it makes a boring game more exciting. I do not think there is anything about my strategy that will allow me to win long term. If you want to join in the conversation with me, you are welcome to.

[FAA]

90% max quarters is ideal. What a sweet spot. Obviously you have preached this for years. Most players here are max something. I must follow suit if I hope to have a chance at a break even year!