My History in Video Poker (cont'd)

[Lazyace]

 
 
      
                   

[Lazyace]

 
  

[royal flush]

it is to bad the "banked" games like flush attack 8 ball are gone thats why you still write long posts about 1990-91

[royal flush]

this site does not allow online gambling sites. anyway the best game on those is 9/6 job 99.54%

[mickey crimm]

Lazyace, Brian is a friend of mine.  You probably know Tex too.  As a matter of fact, when you were at the Silver Club in Sparks I was also there playing the IGT Blackjack for the cashback.  I torched the game out of the casino.  I left over $3300 in comp there when the play ended. 
 
But when it was going on I walked into the coffee shop one day and was shocked to see Brian sitting there.  Brian told me what he was doing there.  The Aaron you speak of Brian visiting is Al/vdpkr557. They are   very good friends. 
 
When Brian was there I did something I never do as I steer way clear of OP guys because I don't want to get 86'd through guilt by association.  I visited Brian at the bar for a few minutes while he was working the OP. 
 
Tex was one of the first people I met around the banking machines in 1996.
 
I don't know if you have kept up with Brian since those days but here is a story for you:
 
vdpkr557 and Brian exchanged phone numbers when Brian was in Sparks.  Maybe a few weeks after you guys left I got a phone call from vdpkr557.
 
"You're not gonna believe this"  He said.  "Brian just hit a $50,000 sequential royal at the Riverside in Laughlin. 
 
"He did?  That lucky bastard.  Well lemme see....the North Tower bartop sucker 8/5 dollar progressive.  That's the only one in the house with the sequential paying $50,000.  What's the over/under on how long he holds the money?"
 
"About 8 days."  vdpkr557 said. 
 
Several days subsequent to that conversation vdpkr557 calls me again and says:
 
"Brian bought a Corvette and drove back to Eugene, Oregon and payed off a guy he had "borrowed" $5000 from.  He used to sell cars for the guy.  I guess the whole time he was in Nevada he was hiding out from his family and the guy he borrowed the money from.  He's goinig back to selling cars for the guy." 
 
"Did Tex go with him." 
 
"Yep." 
 
Eventually Brian's phone number quit working and vdpkr557 lost contact with him.  But vdpkr557 recently ran into Tex in downtown Las Vegas and got Brian's new number.    I'll try to get the number for you if you want it. 
 
vdpkr557 says Brian is still selling cars.  If you know Brian then you know he has to be one of the best car salesmen in Oregon.
 
 

[Eduardo]

Welcome back, mickey!

[mickey crimm]

Welcome back, mickey!

I hope no one payed the ransom!!  Thanks, Eduardo.  I should have some time next week to make some posts.  I hope everyone is doing well. 

[mickey crimm]

In one of his posts Lazyace writes about the Williams machines where hustlers were getting a 45 coin bet for nothing by manipulating the buttons.  Here is a story about what happened to one downtown Las Vegas hustler I knew:
We called him "Peg-Leg Rich." Rich was a banking machine player and an excellent sports better.  I ran into him one day and he asks me:
 
"Mickey, do you know anything about the Williams glitch?"
 
"I heard about it" I said.  "But I don't get into those things.  I don't like losing casinos--and I especially don't like going to jail."
 
"Well, a friend of mine wants me to go to California.  He says I could make a killing in no time.  I think I'm gonna go."
 
"Good luck with it, Rich."
 
A couple of weeks later I ran into Rich again in downtown Las Vegas. 
 
"Did you do any good, Rich?"
 
"Yes, I sure did.  I came back to close out my apartment.  I'm going on the road."
 
"Good luck with that, Rich."
 
About a year later I was walking through the Colorado Belle in Laughlin when I saw a man who looked somewhat familiar.  He had on black clothes, wore a beard and a black hat.  He looked somewhat like a Rabbi.
 
"Is that you, Rich?"
 
"Yeah, it's me.  How you doing, Mickey?"
 
"Great.  Great.  How about you."
 
"Well, I guess I'm doing okay now."
 
"Why?  What happened?"
 
"Well, I got busted in Trump Marina in Atlantic City doing the Williams thing. "
 
"Wow!  What Happened?"
 
"I had $25,000 on me.  They confiscated that.  I got off with a $5000 fine and a six-month suspended sentence."
 
"Well, at least you didn't do any jail time." 
 
"The Atantic City end of it wasn't that bad.  It's what happened in Las Vegas when I got back."
 
"Tell me."
 
"I got back to Vegas, walked into Treasure Island, found a play on a Double Diamond Mine, stuck my slot card in and within seconds I was surrounded by suit security.  They trespassed me and asked me about Atlantic City."
 
"So you lost Treasure Island?"
 
"I lost every place.  I can't stick my cards in anywhere."
 
"So that's the reason for your change in appearance."
 
"Yes."
 
"How you making your sports bets?"
 
"I'm doing it all online these days."
 
That's too bad, Rich.  That's really too bad."

[mickey crimm]

                                  A GAMBLER AT THE CAL NEVA

      Late in 2001 I moved to Reno from Vegas.  The number of good plays in Reno at that time was mind boggling.  For a good two years I played 9/6 job, 50 play, with a four of a kind bonus, which made the game come in at about $60 an hour. 
 
 
The play vdpkr speaks of here was at Baldini's in Sparks.  It was 9/6 Jacks nickel fifty play with 1.06% cashback.  I played the game extensively but vdpkr pounded it which is his usual style.  Even though he pounded it the play lasted an exceptionally long time. 
 
I found this play using a technique called "follow the hustler."  Any time you see a consumate video poker pro in a casino ask yourself this question:  What's he doing here?  Then you follow him/her to find out why they are there.  I've found many a play using this technique. 
 
I was making a banking machine lap around downtown Reno one day when I ran into Catman John by the dollar Kool Kat's (banking game) in Harrah's.  John, a former poker dealer, and banking machine player is known as either Catman or Johnny Katz.  He got these names because he has a motor home filled with cats.   He traveled the country playing the banking games. 
 
"Mickey, why would Tuna Lund be playing a fifty-play video poker at Baldini's?"  John asked. 
 
"Tuna is out there playing a fifty play?"
 
"Yes."
 
"I don't know exactly why, John but I'm headed right out there to find out.  See you later."
 
That's how I found the play.  For those of you who have never heard of him Hans "Tuna" Lund is probably the most legendary machine pro of all time.  He also has a 2nd and 3rd place finish in the main event of the WSOP.  Most people think he made his money playing poker, but that's not true.  He ran the most awesome machine teams of all time.  They were nationwide.  They would go anywhere on a play. 
 
Tuna had video poker teams as far back as the eighties.  They worked the 8/5 Jacks progressives around Las Vegas.  I had the pleasure of speaking to some who worked for him.  In those days the 8/5 Jacks progresives had 2% and 3% meters.  And they were everywhere in Vegas.  Casinos, bars, supermarkets, etc.  While the teams were pounding on the progressives Tuna always had a scout out looking for ripe numbers.  When they smacked the royal in one joint they just moved to the next joint.  Tuna's teams were almost single-handedly responsible for the meters being cut back to 1%. 
 
Around Reno/Sparks/Tahoe/Carson City, when a casino came with a juicy promotion Tuna's teams would monopolize all the good machines in the place. They always got the money.   
 
Tuna's teams also woked slot progressives.  It seemed that Tuna had proprietary information not available to just anyone.  Like knowing the payback percentages and odds on topline hits on these progressives.  My guess is it's because he grew up, and went to school, in Sparks, Nevada.  In other words, a lot of future IGT employee's were his classmates.   
 
Tuna could be brutal too.  If some other team beat him to a play and they wouldn't cut him in he would walk right into slot operations and explain to them just how bad they were going to get beat. 
 
Vdpkr is friends with the person who was Tuna's partner on the Florida video keno progressives.  I was told by vdpkr that the two split an   $8,000,000 win for the five years they were there.  They were paying people $30 an hour to play dollar 8 spot progressives--plus whatever the people ripped them off for.  They even had two people who hit the solid eight refuse to give them the money. 
 
Tuna pretty much retired to raise two kids as a single parent.  But he says he will be back when the kids are grown.  They are in their early teens now so watch out. 
 
The few stories I told about Tuna here are just the tip of the iceberg.  Hustler's used to gather and tell Tuna stories. 
 
 

[royal flush]

to bad that was then and this was now i played flush attack and eitht ball as the bonus was about to hit we all have stories