Recently someone asked me how many royal flushes Brad and I have hit and that question sent me to my VP records – not a fancy-dancy spreadsheet but a good old-fashion spiral notebook. Wow, what a trip down Memory Lane!
You all probably remember your first royal. Our first one was hit by Brad on December 31, 1991. Actually that isn’t exactly accurate because Brad had been “messing around” with VP for a couple of years before– behind my back mostly because we were supposed to be “professional” card-counting BJ players. But when the count got bad at the BJ table or he was wandering around a casino while I was getting dressed in the room, he would stick quarters – ONE quarter at a time – in a variety of VP machines, any one that looked lucky to him. No stress to look for good paytables! He didn’t know a VP table from a kitchen table. Of course, you know what happened – in the couple of years he did this he hit two one-coin royals. He remembers the first one, at the Riviera, when the $62.50 was a hand pay. The second one was at the Stardust.
But finally on December 31, 1991, I decided that if Brad was determined to play VP, we were at least going to learn how to play it right. By now I had heard that Deuces Wild “could be beat,” but you had to know the right strategy. Brad didn’t think that was a big deal – how hard is it to figure out a hand that has only 5 cards to choose from? Why waste money on a book! But I had always been anal when it came to money, so Brad and I walked – yes, both ways – from the Westward Ho, where we were staying, to the Gamblers Book Club downtown, and bought Lenny Frome’s VP strategy book.
When we returned to the Westward Ho, we sat side-by-side at the coin-feed, coin-dropper quarter Deuces Wild machines, Brad in charge of playing the machine, me with book opened to the DW strategy page. No software program to practice on – I hadn’t even joined the computer age yet, thinking I was “too old” to learn how to operate such a complicated electronic device. Brad would punch up a hand and then I would search for that hand on the strategy chart. We’d discuss it if it was a complicated choice until we could agree on the proper hold. Needless to say, our hands- per- minute was a low figure!
After a couple of hours, we were getting the hang of the strategy and didn’t have to look up and/or discuss so many hands. But by this time it was about 11 p.m. and the smoke from a casino full of partying New-Year-Eve smokers was giving me a headache and I wanted to quit. Brad decided he wanted to stay a bit longer and play. That was okay with me so I left him with the strategy book and went to the room. About a half hour later, I heard a key in the door and then Brad entered with a big smile on his face and threw TEN one –hundred- dollar bills on the bed. We rang in the beginning of 1992 with a special fun-in-the-rom celebration of our royal #1.
Jump to 2013, just a few days ago, we hit royals #781, 782, 783, 784, and 785. Click on the picture below to see if you can find all five of them.
Next time I will take you for a walk down an interesting Memory Lane between #1 and #785.
My first one was in 1997 at the Golden Nuggett in Las Vegas. It was on a quarter Jacks or Better. I was so new to video poker that I wasn’t even sure what I had and what I had won. The guy sitting next to me had to tell me. Good thing I knew enough to be playing the maximum bet! It was a progressive so I won $1,248.00…just enough to be taxable!!!
I was playing poker full time and putting in many hours at the casino. I had not learned the strategy yet, but I was watching and learning from a couple players. I had started playing the VP tournament. An older broke poker player who was on social security had a one card draw to a royal on a dollar machine when he realized he did not want it. He came to the poker room and got me to negotiate a sale. I bought the draw at huge discount and hit the button and hit my first royal.
In 1992 I had been playing with a regular deck of cards playing jacks or better and keeping my results in a notebook. I had a giant bank roll of $1,500. Thought I was ready for $1 VP. We stayed at the Rivera. Bought 2 racks of 100 and started playing. Within a couple of hours I had hit my first royal for $4000. Little did I know at the time I was way over my head. I guess luck has something to do with it.
Nickels at the Rio!! I was shocked!!!
Hit a royal in a tournament at Harrahs in Lake Charles, La. First place was $1200. We bought two burial niches at our church. Wife said don’t tell anyone. I’m telling everyone.
Love the memories, Jean. Mine, believe it or not (and probably got me hooked) was also around that same timeframe (late 1990 – 1992). My memory is aging, and I didn’t keep many records back then!
It was at a local ‘Indian’ casino in San Diego. I only had $60 on me to play with (and it was a very old Reno-type of machine, but probably one of the earliest proto-types to uses something like TITO technology, due to CA gaming laws at the time).
It was a pretty poor 6/5 JB game, 20-1 for quads, but the royal was progressive! I got lucky.
Soon after that, I also purchased that same book you mentioned by Lenny Frome (Video Poker, America’s National Game of Chance) – and thus began my journey into the ‘multitude’ of varieties of VP that soon would ‘flood’ the LV market throughout the 1990s and beyond!
My next ‘real’ Royal was on an old favorite of mine at Binion’s downtown. I was ‘showing’ a friend how to play .25c VP on one of their Aces/Faces Bonus Pkr (before I knew about FPDW). I had been fairly lucky with the bonus quads – but this session, and a long-standing record I haven’t beat yet – on my 6th hand, holding only King and Jack of Hearts, the 3-cd draw filled the Heart royal!
Thanks for sharing…and I hope many others do the same.
Martin
PS – Perhaps you’ll come up with another article on how you first came across ‘slot cards’ and ‘slot clubs’ and various ‘comps/freebies associated with them. Boy- long memories return as I am even now looking at my Las Vegas Advisor Guide to Slot Clubs book by Jeffery Compton!–circa 1995. 18+ yrs, my how times have changed! (along with casinos and ownerships, etc, etc).
Everybody remembers their first I’m sure . We were at the Tropicana in 1993 . My husband played his bucket of quarters through the machine , 5 at the time of course . This was way before TITO . Bucket almost empty there were only 3 quarters left and of course with those he hit the Royal . A year (or two) later , we were visiting Las Vegas , but had left for the weekend to drive to the Grand Canyon . Came back and tried to check back in to the Tropicana , but the check-in line was long . Decided to walk over to New York, New York giving the line at the Trop time to go down . Hit 4 to a Royal in spades . Needed the Jack and got it . That was our first $1000.- Royal . Had quite a few since then , they are all very special , some I remember , some I don’t , but one always remembers the first .
First SpinPoker pat dealt Royal. About a decade ago at Valley View Casino grand opening in San Diego. I just discovered NSUD and SpinPoker. Unfortunately only nickels and never had a repeat to this day. My partner says he remembers my very first royal back in the early 80’s downtown Vegas at the newly built Sundance. (Before it became the Fitz and D) Partner says I was too naive to recognize my royal win.
Wow! 785 Royals! What is the cumulative total of all those? Even at $1,000 each that’s $750,000! Holy cow! Probably more since you and Brad play at higher limits.
My first, and only, Royal was at the Gold Coast on 25- cent FPDW. I believe it was in 2001. Unfortunately, I haven’t played much in the last decade or so. However, I’m starting to get back into it more and more. Hope to hit #2 soon!
very nice win Jean & Brad, your Canadian/Henderson acquaintances
Ahh, the good old days. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, my wife and I played only nickel poker (still do). We remember hitting royals and four deuces almost regularly. My wife hit two royals in one hour at the Gold Coast. We haven’t heard “happy days are here again” the last 6 or 7 years.
I hit my 1st at terribles in July 21,2008 it was job for $1,000 I also won 3rd place in their weekly slot tournament for $1,000. I was attending a teaching economics conference at the Tuscany.
I remember I got it at harrahs reno on an 8/5 quarter machine and it was dealt to me. Machine wouldn’t let me make a mistake it auto held the hand $1000. I remember another trip I was dealt a suited 10 j q k twice in the same day and hit the straight flush both times. I still don’t know if that’s bad luck or good luck
Congrats on your recent win and congrats on your endurance to walk all the way to Downtown from the Westward HO!!(Especially both ways)
I am not sure what year it was, but it was shortly before Silver City closed. I hit a Nickel progressive Royal. I think it was $203.
But my best memory is July 1986, when my husband taught me video poker at the Barbary Coast on my first trip to Vegas.(No royals but a wonderful vacation)
MO
My first and second came 6 days apart during our yearly trip 2008. I spent a year playing and learning your software FVP. We went to Silverton to use a coupon for dinner and I put a $10 in a DDBP machine and was upset because I realized it wasn’t a TITO, great if I hit anything I am going to have to cash out dirty quarters. I thought I would play through the $10 and move. Didn’t need to hit a Royal in diamonds after holding three. The second one was 6 days later at Arizona Charlie’s again there for a gaming and dinner coupon. Had $40 in a DDPB machine and an old bitter man playing beside me got an arm tap saying look what I hit! Royal in Spades after holding 4 to a Royal. I thought wow this will be easy to pay for our trip ever year if gambling is this easy. I haven’t hit a Royal since.
I had my first royal when I cornered Princess Diana in a broom closet at Buckingham Palace in 1979. And yes, I remember it like it was yesterday.
I’ll never forget my first. It was in May 2002 and we stopped at Harvey’s in Counsil Bluffs Iowa (now Harrah’s). It was a quarter Deuces Wild machine. In addition to being paid $1000 I got a t-shirt proclaiming me as a jackpot winner. I still have that shirt today.