Gambler's Lock Box

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=olds442jetaway] I grew up in a blue collar neighborhood, so we never had those cars, but we had fun anyway.[/quote]Me too.  My Dad was a Sears TV repairman and my Mom didn't work.  I had 3 sisters and my parents adopted 2 kids, so there wasn't much money for anything extra.  Back in those days hardly anyone had any money, so it didn't seem any different.  Some how I got hired by an office machine manufacturer as a repair tech.  The company I worked for selected me for computer training and I was lucky enough to be involved with the software industry early on.  To make a long story short, I started my own company when I was 22 and had a great life.  I'm a risk taker, love excitement and have always been lucky.  I guess that's why I love video poker so much.    

[olds442jetaway]

     I remember taking the tubes from the TV to have them tested at Radio Shack in their test machine. We also had a couple of old tube type radios and would take them too. I just noticed I forgot to cancel my room for tonight ( darn ) so I'll have to go up or get charged for a no show. I am going to call the Mrs. who is still at school of course and check on what she wants me to get for dinner, make my same promise as Sunday night, and head up so I can watch the UCONN championship girls basketball game up there on the big screen. Just so happens, the nickel 800 for 1 spin poker bank of machines is twenty feet from the huge screen TVs. What a coincidence! Go UCONN....let you and the gang know how things work out.

[FloridaPhil]

I'm wondering what it would be like to move closer to a casino.  Sometimes I think I would get bored if I could play video poker all the time and other times I think it would be a good idea.  My wife thinks my idea stinks.  I should probably move to Vegas and be one of the old guys Bob talks about.  What's it like going every day?

[FAA]

What's it like going every day?----------------------------------------I wouldn't want to find out! Familiarity breeds contempt. And I already have enough contempt for over half of the AC casinos.

[FloridaPhil]

I'm off to Tampa tomorrow.  This time I'm upping my cash to $700.  I'll use the same $50 cash out limit and the box as before.  Just want to see if I can lose...  (that's a joke!)   

[olds442jetaway]

I'm wondering what it would be like to move closer to a casino.  Sometimes I think I would get bored if I could play video poker all the time and other times I think it would be a good idea.  My wife thinks my idea stinks.  I should probably move to Vegas and be one of the old guys Bob talks about.  What's it like going every day?







     You definitely need a day of rest in between visits. My usual routine would not interest too many people, but it is funny how many vp players my age and older do it. I usually go Sunday evening and arrive there about 10 pm. Have to make sure all of the home obligations are taken care of first. I usually don't get to bed until about 6 AM and only get a couple of hours sleep. I am usually home by lunchtime or so on Monday. Sometimes I do a repeat mid week, but not every week. Friday night is reserved for a trip with the Mrs. Arrive about 9 pm, play overnight and sometimes sleep in fairly late Sat morning. Then breakfast, play just a little more and home by about 2pm. This is a bit hard on your system and you need additional rest on your days off like naps, walks to work out the kinks from the casino, and eat healthy for the most part. I also take long walks at different times at the casino to give my system a break from sitting. Standing in place and stretching every hour or even more so helps too. The killer and I mean that literally is the smoke. I try to play in smoke free as much as possible, but those areas aren't even walled off. My total play per week varies between 20 and 30 hours and total hands approach 20,000 a week. Hope that helps. One thing I do still enjoy is the drive event though most of it is on I95. Luckily, it is just over an hour, otherwise I would need a stretch break for that too. Most important is to stay hydrated and don't back up your kidneys. Go when you have to go.

[olds442jetaway]

     Back early this afternoon from my mid week trip. All went well. UCONN won and just about a minute after the final buzzer, my nickel and dime spin poker machine hit another Royal on the top line. I played 3 lines again this session. I was playing dimes this time and the Royal was good for about 400 bucks. I was out just over a hundred when it hit. My 200k hands without a Royal on the deal line though is now up to 205k. Just a side note about my room. I didn't check in until nearly 4 AM and the only thing left was the most luxurious and large suite the casino has. The hotel manager gave it to me knowing that I would be out before ten this morning. He did give me a 1pm checkout though. The suite was awesome. Over 2k square feet. On the top floor. Views were unbelievable. Furnishings and fixtures were elaborate. I think this is where they put up the top celebrities. Too bad the Mrs. wasn't there too and actually, I was only in the suite about 3 hours myself. It even had a huge dining room, kitchen, and on and on. I know this 96 percent bank of machines will get me soon, but I love the 800 for 1 feature for just a nickel if you want. The 3 lines is a big help and I don't seem to have much trouble with the variance so far. I have to look, but I don't think they offer 3 line airport deuces for quarters. Those machines have greatly reduced paytables. I didn't catch the quad deuces this trip, but I'll take the single line Royal hit any day.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=olds442jetaway] My usual routine would not interest too many people, but it is funny how many vp players my age and older do it.[/quote]Thanks for the info. I love playing when no one else is around too, but I don't think this old body could hold up under the pressure.  I do get the nap thing though...  The suite sounds fantastic.  We booked a suite last year in Tahoe for our anniversary trip and my wife really enjoyed it.  She kept commenting how the suite was bigger than our first house.  I'm encouraged by this gambler's lock box thing.  I don't totally understand why it's working, but I'm going to keep it up until proven otherwise.  Hopefully, I'll have a picture or two to post soon or at least keep breaking even.  I could handle that.

[olds442jetaway]

     I guess we are both too old for 12 hour sessions standing at the craps table. Those are the best odds by far of any game in town. I used to play before retirement. Ten times free odds behind the pass line was great and you only gave up 1/2 percent on the pass or come line. There are many downsides for us seniors to craps though. The smoke, the unruly and drunk patrons, extensive standing, long waits between bathroom trips, and on and on. If they ever have individual at your seat craps video games set up like a vp game and with great odds, I might give it a try again. However just like video blackjack where they punish you on the blackjack payout, I'm afraid they would do the same thing on video craps. Also, could we really trust the software? I have enough trouble getting my mindset around the fairness of the vp software. I know this is crazy thinking, but how is it that most all of my Royals come in on poor paytable games and almost none on the 99% games. That drives me absolutely crazy, but I just have to deal with it. I just have to go with whatever is working. By the way Phil. When you find airport deuces out your way, can you find multi line games with the same 98.91 odds. I sure can't find those in Ct. The only way I am surviving for the moment here in Ct. on the 96% multi line games in by having the ability to increase my bet to whatever I need to be even should the quad deuces hit. As you can see from my recent posts, the Royals even if on one line of the 3 can turn a losing day into a good one even without the quad deuces hitting. I know the variance is higher, but it doesn't seem so bad with just the 3 lines. Long term, I should hit Royals on one of the 3 lines about every 15,000 hands if I just count the deal line where you make your card hold decisions. For me that would be about every other session. We'll have to see what happens as the year progresses. I really like getting paid 800 for 1 for the royal for even a nickel bet, 25 for 1 on the wild royal, 16 for the 5 of a kind, and 13 for the straight flushes. The penalty of course is on the lower paying hands. That will probably catch up with me should the Royal and or quad deuces stop hitting regularly. I would never play this game if airport deuces were available for 3 lines on quarters.

     Edited to add....I can just hear what Bob is thinking...I just give up on this guy. He will never be an advantage player. Choosing 96% over 99%. He is just plain nuts if he thinks he can turn that kind of long term play into winning years year after year.... Like you, I do appreciate all of his hard work on vp that is made available to us for a nominal sum. It has really opened up the world and possibilities of vp.

[FloridaPhil]

Another small winning day for the lock box.  Got to the casino about 9:45 this morning.  Played $20 bills at max coin 50 cents & $1 single line Airport Deuces until 11:30.  Cashed out immediately each time the counter reached $50 like before.  My buddy and I had lunch on my comps and played until 2:00 PM.   I took seven $100s with me this time so I could play longer.  Got home with five $100s in the box and three in my wallet.  Again, I never got a quad deuce or a natural royal.  I can't see any math that would explain why this is working, but I'm sure it has to do with the streakiness of DW coupled with the low cash out limit.  Three weeks of 98.9% deuces wild without a loss is phenomenal considering I never hit any of the two biggest jackpots.  The only problem you run into is that you run out of cash much quicker than normal.  When playing this way you cash a lot of tickets and you lock up a lot of money.  It looks like you need $1,000 or more to play this way for more than 4 hours.   I'm OK with it as long as my loses don't climb with the denomination.  If this keeps working, I'm hoping to be able to play at the dollar level all the time.  I'm sure I'll run into a losing day eventually. Only time will tell.