5 Month Drought Finally Ends

[Correna]

Warning - lotsa personal/non-vp stuff thrown into this story:

Life as I know it will cease to exist tomorrow as I begin taking the
final steps necessary in preparation to sit for the CPA exam in May.
My instructor told me yesterday that I will be expected to study for
approx. 600 hours in the next 120 days. Knowing that, my best
friend and favorite vp companion suggested we go play some vp today
at Don & Mike's Sports Bar in the Majestic Star Casino (Indiana) -
where we would also be able to watch the Packers kick the ViQueens
arses : )

We took the near 2-hour drive early this afternoon and were settled
into our seats at the bar 15 minutes before kick-off. Normally, we
both prefer games with higher variance (DBDW, DDB, DB) - but 2004
was ugly for both of us... and my 18-day adventure in December in
Vegas was truly brutal - so we opted to play 25c JB... and slooow
too, hoping our budgeted bankroll for the day would last until the
end of the fb game. About 10 minutes after we started play, I was
dealt QS JH 10S 4D 3C. Correct play would be to hold QS JH - but
these bartops are hooked up to a progressive that was at $1450. My
gut instinct told me that the level of the prog made the QS 10S the
beter play. Bingo! Up pop the the A, K, and J needed to fill in our
first RF of 2005. Saweeeet. Been 5 looong, painful months since the
last RF... so this was especially wonderful. Don & Mike's has a
promo running that gives a pretty nice bomber-type jacket for a RF.
Finally landed ourselves one. We continued play and both did well.
He had many 4oak's and tripled his initial stake; I managed to hold
on to mine. Near the end of the 3rd quarter, I suggested we move to
the opposite side of the bar where there are $1 progressives...

Only one machine was available, so we shared it. The prog was at
$4350. In an effort to stretch our play out, we again chose JB.
About 10 minutes after we started play on this machine, we were
dealt KC QC QH 10C 5D. Held the pair of Q's and up pop AC JC.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. We both just sat there staring at the screen - time
seemed to stand still. I thought for a moment we might both get sick
right there. Knowing we had played this hand correctly was of little
consolation - you feel like you were just robbed of over $4000. This
is the 3rd $1 RF I have "lost" and his 2nd. It is so very painful
mentally. The thrill and joy of the 25c RF quickly faded.

Yes, we are happy to have walked out with our starting stake doubled
in addition to the 25c RF... but did we have to lose a $1 RF while
watching the Pack get their arses whipped... and by those nasty
Viqueens no less??? Ahhh... a truly bitter-sweet day.

Correna Correna

[jackessiebabe]

--- In vpFREE_Chicago@yahoogroups.com, "correna2" <correna2@y...>
wrote:

          <SNIP>

I suggested we move to

the opposite side of the bar where there are $1 progressives...

Only one machine was available, so we shared it. The prog was at
$4350. In an effort to stretch our play out, we again chose JB.
About 10 minutes after we started play on this machine, we were
dealt KC QC QH 10C 5D. Held the pair of Q's and up pop AC JC.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. We both just sat there staring at the screen -

time

seemed to stand still. I thought for a moment we might both get

sick

right there. Knowing we had played this hand correctly was of

little

consolation - you feel like you were just robbed of over $4000.

This

is the 3rd $1 RF I have "lost" and his 2nd. It is so very painful
mentally. The thrill and joy of the 25c RF quickly faded.

Yes, we are happy to have walked out with our starting stake

doubled

···

in addition to the 25c RF... but did we have to lose a $1 RF while
watching the Pack get their arses whipped... and by those nasty
Viqueens no less??? Ahhh... a truly bitter-sweet day.

Correna Correna

========================================================

Hi Correna,

I can truly feel your pain, since this has happened to me several
times, though at the .25 level. This is so much worse!

I would have played the Q's exactly as you did, but I've often
wondered if it's smart, considering how many "high Pair's" (even
when converted to better hands) it takes to equal a RF payoff.

Occasionally, I must admit that I DO keep 3 to the Royal and drop
the high pair, even when it is not the correct play. Unfortunately,
I have never converted one of those deviations from proper play, to
a royal.

What I have done, successfully, on several occasions, and will
CONTINUE to do (even if I have a non-suited high card and the proper
play is to keeep it) is to keep a suited J/10, Q/10 or K/10. This
play has resulted in a few RF's, and I refuse to give up the RF
opportunity to add .03, or less, to the EV of the play. I am a
recreational player, and it sure adds to my recreational enjoyment
to snare a royal! I don't really think that this has cost me much,
if any, bankroll over the 25 years that I've played vp. But, if it
has, I was more than compensated for any loss, by my excitement when
snagging a royal.

I'm sure glad that your RF draught is over, and hope you snare many
more during future sessions. I also hope you are able to squeeze in
a little vp between your rigorous study schedule for the CPA exam.

Cheers,

Babe

[vp_nbi]

Congrats on the royal. As I'm sure you know the strategy changes as
the jackpot goes up. Howard has pointed out that at 880 coins over
reset JOB becomes 100%. At this level holding AT and holding 3 card
royals vs. a high pair are correct plays. Frugal VP is a good tool for
calculating the correct strategies at various jackpot levels. Simply
generate a new machine type by updating the royal payout of the
paytable. The resulting strategy chart will be correct for that
jackpot amount. I agree with the point about not making the max EV
plays to the exclusion of all else. Generally I'll play correct
strategy from 1000 to 1100, but from 1100 to 1200 I'll adopt the 100%
strategy even though it's incorrect. I could fine tune my approach by
bringing several charts, but I don't think it makes that much of a
difference. At 1200 and above I'll usually take a break from the
progressive unless I just arrived. The $1 progressive will not see any
of my money unless it's 100% for JOB. This is the only condition under
which I'll play the $1 progressive as I still have strong suspicions
that it's gaffed.

--- In vpFREE_Chicago@yahoogroups.com, "jackessiebabe"
<jackessiebabe@y...> wrote:

···

--- In vpFREE_Chicago@yahoogroups.com, "correna2" <correna2@y...>
wrote:
> <SNIP>

I suggested we move to
> the opposite side of the bar where there are $1 progressives...
>
> Only one machine was available, so we shared it. The prog was at
> $4350. In an effort to stretch our play out, we again chose JB.
> About 10 minutes after we started play on this machine, we were
> dealt KC QC QH 10C 5D. Held the pair of Q's and up pop AC JC.
> NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. We both just sat there staring at the screen -
time
> seemed to stand still. I thought for a moment we might both get
sick
> right there. Knowing we had played this hand correctly was of
little
> consolation - you feel like you were just robbed of over $4000.
This
> is the 3rd $1 RF I have "lost" and his 2nd. It is so very painful
> mentally. The thrill and joy of the 25c RF quickly faded.
>
> Yes, we are happy to have walked out with our starting stake
doubled
> in addition to the 25c RF... but did we have to lose a $1 RF while
> watching the Pack get their arses whipped... and by those nasty
> Viqueens no less??? Ahhh... a truly bitter-sweet day.
>
> Correna Correna

========================================================

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Hi Correna,

I can truly feel your pain, since this has happened to me several
times, though at the .25 level. This is so much worse!

I would have played the Q's exactly as you did, but I've often
wondered if it's smart, considering how many "high Pair's" (even
when converted to better hands) it takes to equal a RF payoff.

Occasionally, I must admit that I DO keep 3 to the Royal and drop
the high pair, even when it is not the correct play. Unfortunately,
I have never converted one of those deviations from proper play, to
a royal.

What I have done, successfully, on several occasions, and will
CONTINUE to do (even if I have a non-suited high card and the proper
play is to keeep it) is to keep a suited J/10, Q/10 or K/10. This
play has resulted in a few RF's, and I refuse to give up the RF
opportunity to add .03, or less, to the EV of the play. I am a
recreational player, and it sure adds to my recreational enjoyment
to snare a royal! I don't really think that this has cost me much,
if any, bankroll over the 25 years that I've played vp. But, if it
has, I was more than compensated for any loss, by my excitement when
snagging a royal.

I'm sure glad that your RF draught is over, and hope you snare many
more during future sessions. I also hope you are able to squeeze in
a little vp between your rigorous study schedule for the CPA exam.

Cheers,

Babe