10 day visit to
Peppermill - arrive day 1 at 3PM.
Day 1 gaming at 4:15
I played 25c and 50c denoms, multi-lines and
found myself down 2000 after just a few hours.
Moved up to $1 and
hit 4 x 400 bonus quads, and one 800 AAAA on $1 DDB. The suited prog Royals in
high limit have a high one: AKQJT hearts is worth over $7900, normally $4000,
but this one rests near $5250 and has not been hit for a while. I adjust
by holding Ah Th rather than Ah alone.
Cashed $500 in
freeplay and finished about 12:30AM down 1900, with 7 hrs play for the day and
a good fish dinner at Oceano.
Day 2
Met me brother &
sis-in-law when they arrived about 12:30 before I got any gaming in. Got them all checked-in & situated, I’m
sponsoring them for a nice suite just down the hall from me. Plus SPA
treatments for sis-in-law. They’re here for 3 nights…
Again down $2000
after just a couple hours with no quads at or over $200.
Quads finally came
regularly and about 6:30PM I was playing $2 DDB with Progs on the RF and top 4
bonus quad hands: AAAA for $1758 and my first tax form of the trip. Down
1600 on the day to here, had a nice dinner at Biscotti’s - a place I hadn’t dined
since getting a terrible meal there many years ago when they first opened up.
Try the avocado egg
rolls.
Great jazz music
started up near dinner’s end at the nearby chandelier bar, so me & bro, a
huge jazz fan, saddled up to some bartops and enjoyed the shit out of the music
while doing god’s work on the machines.
I headed over to my
stomping grounds on the main casino floor and found loserville. Only plus
money on ONE of EIGHT machine/game sessions. There was a drawing at 10PM,
the big prize was a $5000 square on a big board with 12 total squares to pick
from. MY NAME GOT CALLED, so I got to pick a square, I got $500 cash. The
last stiff to pick won the $5000. I got called for this game last year, won 200
freePlay and same thing happened- the last picker won the $5000.
I still lost $4000
on the day, quit at 11PM with 8 hrs of gaming.
Day 3.
Hit AAAA for 800
twice before 5:00. Had a Peppermill breakfast at cafe counter about 4:00.
Skipped dinner.
I
“discovered” that I like the low volatility of the simplest
“starter” game of Jacks or Better, and won 800 in a long session of 3
line x $2 JoB, hitting six quads along the way for $250 each.
Found and played a
$1 Joker wild with a prog RF at $6364 (starts at $4700) and hit a slick Wild RF
for $500 on it. Down 1500 as I played some slots during the 2nd night of
drawings at 10PM. This time the first stiff to pick a square nailed the $5000
prize. Back to lots of $2 denom games for me, lost a bunch and getting
down to my last 1/5th bankroll. $2 DDB with five prog meters. Three machines,
I’m on one end and a prodigy “kid” about 30 yrs old is playing the
other TWO machines FASTER than me (and I’m fast) one-handed. He was blurringly
hyper speed. I can’t fathom his eye travel pattern. People are stopping and
staring, like watching a brilliant concert pianist. This guy is a pro.
But our hero (that’s
ME) hit some nice jackpots before prodigy-boy: KKKK for 500, 4444 for $803,
2222 for $835 and AAAA for $2168 (resets to 1600). The absolute SECOND I
hit my AAAA, pro guy stops playing. I smelled his brakes smoking. He
whipped out a calculator, cashed out his two tickets, muttered “nice
hit” to me and he’s GONE.
I called it a night
after I got my handpay & tax form.
Back in the room, I
looked up some math tables on the Wizard of Odds website and computed the ER
for the extra prog payoffs.
The base game has an
Expected return of 98.98%
with the RF at
$10,780, add another 0.65%
AAAA w/kicker at
$4500 add 0.31%
AAAA no kicker at
$2168 add 0.99%
Add those up &
you get 100.91% return.
That’s exactly why
this pro was there. Any game over 100% (and over $1 denom) can payoff
theoretically hundreds of dollars per hour.
I could calculate that too, but I don’t attack games based on ER in general.
So, it was late last night in the room that I reckoned why this guy was there.
As soon as the AAAA
jackpot reverted to $1600 - when I hit the $2168 - the game reverts to a
sub100% game : 99.92% still not bad, but this guy is a purist and he
LEFT.
Very cool to even
watch him play - first real pro I’ve ever seen- they are rare bird as
most of them aren’t so flashy to have the balls to play two machines.
Down 2400 on day 3.
9 hrs play.
Day 4
Boistered by two
$800 bonus quads on $1 DDB and $2 DDA&F and a really rare and cool looking
5-of-a kind for $1000 playing $1 Joker wild, I stayed even most of the
day.
Just before a long
room break about 5:00, I dropped 1300 on three sessions. Time for a
dinner at Biminis steakhouse.
2 1/2 hr dinner with lots of fun chat, animated by a couple bottles of
wine. Yum.
Post-dinner gaming
saw me tank 1200, then got +900 of it back thanks to a dealt quad Q on 3 x $1
Bonus for $375 and then another dealt quad, nines, on 5 x $1 for $625. Then I
tanked $1200 on $1 DDB with the suited progs (Heart RF at $8050) and $2 DDB with
the RF prog at $10,857.
Quit about 12:15,
down 2800 on day 4. 8 hrs play.
Methinks I could use
a return to Royal Boy status.
Bankroll hurting,
starting up with the ATM withdrawals. Not panicking YET, but I’m prepared to
jet home early should I tap out of resources.
Day 5 11:30 start.
3 line $1 Bonus, Deuces and DDB and $2 single
line DDB - the one with the $10K prog RF and prog meters on the top quad
hands. That’s how I spent my time up until 3:00 when bro left the casino
floor so he could catch the airport shuttle with his ultra-relaxed wife unit (from daily SPA massages)
for their flight home. No Royals for bro, altho he tried hard.
I was down 700 at
3:00. The gaming goes on relentlessly.
I dropped another
900 in high limit $1 DDB with suited prog RFs.
My muse next sent me
to play $2 Dbl Dbl Aces & Faces. One difference from DDB strategy is you
don’t keep Aces alone. When you are dealt one or two other high card KQJ,
you pick one and hold it also. This card helps straights, and serves as a
kicker should you score AAA or three of the high card on the draw.
Which is exactly
what I did(!). The kicker jacked up the jackpot from AAAA for 1600 to
AAAAJ for 4000. I’ll take that! and I did. Very handy juice for my
bankroll. Plus the whole $4000 on the session.
Next session on $2
DDB I hit my third bonus quad of the day for ~$805 each. for a plus session.
Scored bonus quad on
$1 DDB for 400, and again in my next return visit, this time WITH a kicker for
800.
UP 2700 for the day
when I took dinner at oceano.
After my daily
session on $1 JW with a $6500 prog RF, this day I’m +200,
I head for my
friends, the multi’s. I’m rearing for some 10-line, I ain’t rich enough to pay
$50 per hand to play $1 coin, so I play 10 x 50c DDB. I hit two bonus
quads w/kicker for 400, then, holding 3RF, I score my first RF on one line for
$2000. Royal boy. +1000 on the session. DDB is a tough and
volatile game. I relearn that every hour here it seems.
At least once per
trip I play a session of 10 line x 50c Super Aces bonus (7/5 offered). This game pays
1/2 a royal for all AAAA hands. no kicker needed. I score one for
$1000. no tax form, no handpay. and a +$600 session.
I’m UP 4500 on the
day to here.
I lose 3800 of it
via six losing sessions in the next 2.5 hrs. Ugh.
My nightcap I was
ready to risk my remaining 700 profit on $2 DDB.
Luckily, on the
proverbial “last” run of those 700 creds, I hit a 22224 for $1610.
Tax form, handpay.
Throw $100 more at
that juicy RF and call it a day at midnight, a +$800 session.
10 hrs gaming and UP
1500 for my only profit-taking day so far.
Day 6.
Lots of play today,
most of it at $1 and $2 denom, single and triple line, some five-line.
Best hand was a
KKKKA on $2 DDA&F for $1600. Nine quads for 500 each made for
some long sessions in my RF chase. Especially the juicy prog on the bank
of three $2 DDBs. The RF crept up beyond $10,940 today. Friends M & L
and I sat at it for a good 1/2 hour, then I moved on. Some lucky stiff hit it
after I left and it wasn’t me. It was M! And then to prove it was
no accident, he hit it again about 40 MINUTES later! Reset to “Only”
$10,010 or so. Plus, L hit the AAAAw/kicker prog for $4600+ and they both
combined for at least three other AAAA hits of $1600+. Anyhow, a heady
boost to their bankroll and if they weren’t up for the trip before that rush of
a session, well, they are now. I saw just two handpays,
including M’s 2nd Royal. He held 4RF on the 1st one, Held 3RF on the 2nd.
They’re off for home Wednesday, so a great trip for them.
I did a nightcap run
on $5 JoB with a prog RF at $21,300. Got 4 FH’s at $225 ea and One quad
for $625, but 20 min. into it I quit down 800. $25/hand is kind of sweaty
palms time.
11PM, 9 hrs play,
down " a lot"
- like all my
original bankroll.
I been rat-holing
daily ATM withdrawals, which I’ll use to get me thru 3 more days. I got
one more $750 freePlay offer after midnight Thurs nite.
Worst case, I tap
out & catch an earlier flight home. That would be a first, but lesson
learned on extending these trips out more than a week. I gotta either bankroll
more, change to a slower escalating Play Plan or stay for shorter trips.
Always adjustments to make.
Tour totals thru day
6:
52 hrs, down over
$12K
6 tax forms for
jackpots of: $4000, $2168, $2000, $1758, $1610, $1600.
2 x $1000
11 x $800
1 x $625
24 x $500
11 x $400
36 x $250
24 x $200
115 total jackpots
of $200 and up.
Day 7
AAAA for $1600 on $2
DDA&F
KKKKJ for $1600 on
$2 DDA&F
AAAA3 for
$4043 on $2 DDB progs
add in a couple
quads for $800 each.
7 hrs play on the
day. Down (!) 1000.
Day 8
dealt 3333 on 10x50c
DDB drew 2 kickers for $2400
2222 on 5 x $1
deuces - on 1 line drew all 4 ducks for $1000
AAAA for $1665 on $2
DDB progs
add a couple quads
for $800 each …
plus I turned $750
freePlay into $1200 cash thanks to a quad for $500
9 hrs play UP
$1000 for the day.
Still got two ATM
withdrawals available
for days 9 & 10.
Day 9
started before 1PM
and didn’t get a notable quad until 3:00.
then a steady drain
continued without big jackpots.
Oceano dinner -
tried a something Happy sushi (smoked raw salmon, cream cheese, jalapenos) and
wasn’t impressed, then the fish & chips entrée and also unimpressed - no
character kind of blah. 4 big pieces tho.
hit quad wild deuces
on one line of 5 x $1 deuces for $1000, dealt 3.
then quad AAAA in 10
x 50c Super Aces bonus on one line for $1000.
Long room break…
playing 10 x 50c
DDB, dealt 4RF, hit RF on one line for $2000 handpay, tax form.
a surprise quad AAAA
for $800 on $1 DDB - held one. The Hearts RF prog is over $8311.
Some guy was playing
it a lot today, he even had the audacity to “lock it up” - the
attendant shuts it down for up to 4 hours as a courtesy to higher level
players. It’s very RUDE and petty low brow thing to do, and luckily he only did
it the one time. I know how to combat this action - ask the attendant to
tell me what time it can be opened if the guy doesn’t return. Then I show
and park on it for hours. Luckily I didn’t have to resort to that.
Stayed up til 2:30AM
- saw a couple drunks having trouble walking - one yute just plain SPRAWLED on
the floor behind the chair next to me. I yelled MAN DOWN! but I decided not to
try to help him up, he sprang back pretty fast and wandered away. Another
guy coming out of the THUMP THUMP night club “Edge” got directions
from Bruno the Bouncer to the valet. I sure hope he sat in a chair instead of
driving- just walking down thee hall he was doin’ the ziggy-zaggy.
10 hrs play today,
down 3300.
Without a profit
Saturday, this could be my worst trip ever.
But, the bastards
haven’t got me down, altho I went thru a lot of sessions today with no or few
full houses and quads in DDB and in JoB. Losing sessions that would normally
make a player start mumbling to self. I’ve decided 9/6 JoB is as
exciting as 8/5 Bonus poker and I notice the lower volatility and the extra
0.3% Return due to the full house and flush higher paytables.
Day 10 - last day
awake for good at
11:30, all packed, coffee’d up and room vacated by 1:00. Checked out and
bags to bell desk. Slipping in my player card and a couple hunnerds into
$2 DDB machine at 1:30.
I KNOW these
machines are capable of coughing up bonus quads and ROYAL(S) from
watching M & L play 'em for big profit. But I get ill if I don’t get a quad
by the time I jam in $1000. SO, down 800 in a short session. I played a
LONG session on the $2 DD A&F bank next. Bopped around to 4 different
machines, hit four regular quads for $500 each, for a +$700 session.
+$500 on $2 single
line JoB.
I wuz gonna play the
$1 DDB with suited prog RFs, but somebody hit the hearts RF which was up around
$8400. It reset to ? - it was at $5266 when I did a drive-by. An
older couple were hogging it earlier.
Dropped 1400 on a
pig-headed $2 DDB session. I note one quad for 500.
I put 300 in a $5
deuces water-tester. Was up 200 & got scared so I cashed out.
Played 3 line x $2
JoB for a +500 session. Down 300 total on the day.
Down 1300 to $2
DDA&F
up 300 on the $2 DDB
in hi limit with progs on the quads, thanks to a SF for 500 - TIME to play the
$5 denom. I chose an upright in high limit which has a Prog for the RF at
$21,425. Put in $600. Had my choice of games - I went for the safest,
JoB.
Played it for at
least an hour and didn’t put in any more scratch.
I tracked FullHouses
as they paid 45 creds = $225. Hit 18 of them. I also hit four quads for $625
each (125 creds). Down 600.
I wanted to up my
odds for the $20K RF, so I played 3 line x $5 Job. Dropped 1000.
Had to take out my
last ATM w/d and with half hour to go before I headed to the airport, I went
back to the high limit $5 with prog RF and committed to play 1/2 hour or until
my money ran out.
Hit 7 x $225 FHs and
one quad for $625. +$700 session.
5 hrs play today,
Down 2400.
Got bags from bell,
took a calm taxi to airport (fare $12, tip: $6) and skipped the long line (!)
at TSA because I have permanent TSA PREcheck, which paid off this time. Got to
the gate just as the first pre-boarders were called up, and slid into my window
seat unrushed. Plane got a de-icing due to the freezing temps, (did I mention
it snowed on day 9 and stuck on the ground thru day10?) but made up for 10 min
late departure enroute to arrive on time. My checked bag arrived at the
carousel just as I did, as did my ride out on departure level. A smooth oiled
machinery.
Except for the
profit bit.
totals:
214 jackpots of $200
or more. 2 Royals.
83 hours video
poker
down a lot:
think that $5 RF would’ve put me about even
12 W-2G tax forms:
2 x $4000,
3 x $2000,
6 x
$1600
and that one for $2400 for the dealt 3333 on ten line
···
also:
5 x $1000
16 x
$800
6 x $625
43 x $500
18 x $400
67 x $250
48 x $200
Having trouble
posting six jackpot photos both here on vpFree_Reno and vpFree.
Maybe moderator will
help with advice…
Thanks for reading
my long report. Hope you will post yours - this group needs more ACTION!
~MARK