Rod wrote …
I’ve never timed my playing speed until today. I knew I was fast but was astonished in two time trials of 15 minutes each, one was 1200 and another at 1275, when multiplied by 4. Is there a such thing as an average speed?
Be careful not to be misled by a couple of rapid sessions. Playing quickly for 15 minutes is much, much easier than playing that speed for even 1 hour. Also, I think you tend to focus more on speed when in a time trial.
Here’s what you could do if you are interested in a realistic playing speed. Pick out a time when you are going to play for a couple of hours. Clock your speed for that 2 hours session. Don’t adjust the clock for breaks you take, or drink orders or talking to your friend or answering the phone. These are all things that happen. After 2 hours, I’ll bet your hourly speed is quite a bit less than the numbers listed above. Two hours is also long enough to eliminate rounding errors on your watch ( especially if you don’t have a second hand on the watch. Not usually a problem in this digital age).
Also, speed is good but over rated. Any speed related mistakes will cost you much more than the extra hands of play you get in. Unless there is a real good reason to play quickly ( timed promo, progressive, etc), slow and accurate is much more profitable.
Machine type is a huge factor in how fast you play as well.