When do you want your wins?

1 October 2017

By John Grochowski

There’s no bad time to win at casino games. When the wins come, any of us would accept them gratefully.

But if you could time your wins on a three-day trip, which would you choose: early wins, so you had extra cash for your getaway, or late wins, so you could be sure the money would be coming home?

I asked for input from a group of slot and video poker players.

Anna: Oooooooh, I get a choice? Then I want the money early, please. That way I have a chance to win more.

The best trip I ever had was with my mother and my sister. I only brought $500 for the three nights. We play mostly penny slots, and we’re OK with doing side trips, going for drives, movies, shopping, so I knew I could make it last.

Do you remember the Fort Knox penny slots? Within the first half hour that we were playing, I won one of the progressives for a little more than $800. That took all the pressure off. Now I knew I had plenty to play with, and I put my original $500 in the room safe, not to be touched until we were going home.

It gave me the chance to try a lot of games. My mom always loved the three-reel slots. They weren’t my thing, but I played with her for a while on a dollar game. I won a $5,000 jackpot! That never would have happened if I hadn’t won early. I’d never have played dollars without that extra money.

Bart: There’s a lot to that late wins theory. I’ve seen it from both sides. I was on a day trip to a local casino, and was playing quarter Ten Play Poker, with Double Double Bonus Poker. I was dealt four 4s, so I got that 400-coin payoff 10 times. I didn’t draw the kicker to go with any of them, but still that was $1,000.

Fantastic start, right? Well, it burned a hole right through my pocket. I moved to dollar single-hand games because they hand 9-7-5 Double Bonus Poker with a progressive jackpot that was over $6,000. I went for the big win. Instead, I lost most of my winnings back. I stopped myself when I still had $200 over my original bankroll, but still, the whole thing would have been nice.

I liked it a lot better when I went with $200, was mostly losing until I had only $50 left, then draw a royal right before time to go home. Then I took the full, $1,000 home. That works better for me,

Chaz: I had a great streak of late comebacks. One trip, I was down $500 and drew a royal on the last day. The next time, I held my own for most of three days but probably still was down a couple of hundred until the last night. Then I playing Deuces on Triple Play and got four 2s on the deal for $750.

The time after that, I got two royals on the last day and came home with a $1,500 profit. Winning any time is good, but winning late and bringing the money home is fantastic.

Sally: Early, late, in between. I don’t care. Just give me the money. There are enough trips where the wins never come that any big win is welcome. My biggest? I won $20,000 once on a Double Diamond progressive. It was on the first day of a three-day trip, but I’d have been excited any time it happened.


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