Ongoing VP TR, PART 2!

https://x.com/zgregjennings/status/17994...

Saw this today

Holy mother. 60k on a $5.25 spin. Do want.

So Jelly of these hits.

The amount of dealt 4 of a kinds to me is staggering. I just want to hit *one*.

Day 2

I sleep in a little longer than normal, probably bc I'm already feeling short. I start off in hi limit bc it was decent last trip, I hate 5 line UX right now and as far I can remember I'm due for a bunch of dealt amazing-ness on this machine.

Of course I get quads on the redraw. Running bad.

Oh MAN this was the comeback right here. SO CLOSE.

I have missed every trip ace draw so far this trip. My 1st 4000$ hit. I'll take it, obv, but if this is the only way I can make premium hands I'm going to lose, period.

I stop for breakfast with D. We're only up a few k so far, but it's a start.

I want an omelette. I also want gravy. Let's get both. Omelette with a side of biscuit gravy (they gave a lot obv).

After breakfast, D and I play more craps. We partner up 50/50 to preserve bankrolls/decrease exposure, which of course means we book a small win. After that, more VP.

I manage to turn a small win into a small loss. Down about 20k for the trip again, even for the day. Back to UX, dealt quads again!

Spoiler

Show

Again, MEH! How do I get dealt quads with this frequency, yet they're so meaningless?!

I dump a few k and head up for a nap. After, I take stock of the situation-
- stuck 25k or so, about 1/2 my total bankroll I'm willing to play
- got about 2 days to go

I remind myself to keep my head up. Overall, I've been playing hardcore VP for about a decade, have hit tons of things that many people would never be fortunate enough to get, and I still have a bankroll.

Then, dealt quads AGAIN!!! (#3)

Spoiler

Show

And AGAIN. MEH WTFWTF HOW ABOUT A PREMIUM!

I play down to about 30k negative, then move to hi limit.

This was a surgical strike. D and I head to the FB for dinner and I'm right around 26k down for the trip, again.

We're eating at the Chyna Club. I'm a little over so much Asian food, TBH, but I want to try all these new restaurants and none of the other things sounded particularly appealing at the time I made this resv.

Overall- cool decor. Most dishes were decent, the black pepper beef was the best I've ever had. I actually didn't want to get it but D wanted it and I picked most of the other things. It was the best thing we ordered (9/10). Beef super tender, and the black pepper had a kick without being overpowering. All other dishes 6-7/10.

After dinner, D and I walk around and see what VP options the FB has, since I might be moving here. Upside- they're no worse than Wynn. They've got all the usual games, and they've got TDB double super times pay which I wish the Wynn had. Downside- they're all the same All Star 3 cabinets. I know it doesn't make a difference but there is something nice about being able to play on different cabinets and graphics to change it up, esp when losing.

We catch our ride back to Wynn revitalized. D is losing at craps and his partnership with me. I'm obv losing, quite a bit actually given this is basically 24 hrs in. However, we're here to play. We've had several small wins at the craps table together- let's keep that going. So we walk up to a promising table at the Encore- plenty of space, friendly dealers, 25$ min.

And... proceed to get brutalized. For me, this was the first truly bad craps session of the trip. I think I came in for 2-3k and lost basically all of it in 20 min. Well, that sucked. We're somewhat deflated, but we walk back to the Wynn to give VP a try. VP can't be bad also, can it?

Yes. Yes it can. D and I lose 5k together which was supposed to be my stop loss for the evening. Instead, he decides to give craps another try and I'll play "just 2k more". This was my one mini-tilt session of the trip, sneak preview. I keep losing, keep missing draws, keep hitting minor meaningless BS like a 250 on a 3x multiplier which is just enough to keep me alive for a few min longer... in my defence.

SO SO tilting. I'm tired of this. I head upstairs really, really, really down on the Wynn and VP in general. It's getting less fun, and I'm pissing away money.

(Spoiler- D got basically felted that night. He walked until 2:30am and went to bed in a similar frame of mind).

Day 2 result- -20k
Overall- -40k
Dealt quads- 3

oof

That's basically it. Like any good Asian I was raised around gambling. Everyone played the lotto growing up. Had an uncle that would go to some track in NYC every week. I remember my relatives playing poker around the kitchen table with those ultra cheap red/blue/white plastic chips- the kind that you could snap in half if you wanted to.

So I never gambled before age 21 for real, but it seemed like normal entertainment to me. I grew up playing games and when I get into something I get into it all the way. For instance, I got into Magic the Gathering when I was in high school in Taiwan, right around 1994. I kind of missed the era of really valuable cards and started playing after they all got restricted. Long story short I was playing so much in college, trading 3$ cards for 4$ cards, 4$ for 5, etc and winning tournaments at some point I had all of the power 9 in Beta, 4 of almost every valuable/broken card, etc. My collection was quite frankly ridiculous. For shts and giggles I looked up the auction value of my collection in today's dollars- easily 6 figures.

So after I sold off my MTG collection I got into poker. Started pre 2003 poker boom and was poised to take advantage. I got to live the post-Moneymaker 2004-2005 era. I almost dropped out of medical school bc it literally was like printing money back then, if you had a pulse and could count to 10 you could beat the games.

My interest in poker was waning around when Black Friday hit anyways. I had plenty of knowledge of the statistics of gambling and most casino games at that point (much of it due to Sklansky/reading poker authors' works on casino gambling). I went through a blackjack and craps phase until I settled on VP.

My brother makes 3-4 trips a year always at the Wynn. His play has actually increased and his offers have decreased. I think it's the general trend at Wynn.

Oh man, MTG has been the gateway drug to "serious" poker for as long as I can remember. I roadtripped to PT Long Beach (as a spectator, of course, heh) in 1998 and a bunch of the Magic pros were playing something like 1-2 LHE in a lounge on the Queen Mary after hours. Pikula used to post on this site and Finkel has a couple of cashes on Hendon Mob...I wonder if they still play.

I was a player first, collector second and investor not at all at that time, so of course I don't own a single Alpha card because they weren't tournament legal then (oof)

I forget what your local is? But according to vpfree2, it looks like you can play 50 play 9/7(!!) TDB at Barona.

btw watching some of the slot "influencers" play vp, they are so bad at switching btwn games and they make a TON of mistakes.

Yes the 9/7 TDB game at Barona is my main game. You can play up to 100 lines, 50c credits actually. My 200k hit from Dec 2023 was on those exact conditions. I actually don't like VPfree2 as a resource- can't tell you how many mistakes I've seen over the years. Doesn't really matter for me now anyways since I know where I'm playing.

I hate those slot influencers. I mean, I guess I'm happy for them that they can make money producing content. But I'm not. That whole industry is about getting people to click/view etc, typically by being as vapid and annoying as possible. Why anyone would pay attention to an influencer, let alone give them money is beyond me, but... I might just be a grumpy old man.

I'm sure the casinos love their bad play- yes, please make content for the masses that puts idiocy on full display, that 99% of them won't even know is moronic! Cha-ching Cha-ching Cha-ching

Day 3

I wake up and head downstairs... scared. That's the best word for it. Stuck 40k, had at a maximum only planned on a 50k loss (and even that I didn't really consider as a strong possibility) and I've got over a day to go.

I manage to book a small (~3k) win going into breakfast.

OK, so TR confession time. D and I went to Jardin for breakfast. I got pretty much the same thing I got the last time I was here. I thought about taking pics for the TR, but then thought "this trip is so forgettable, the likelihood I'll have anything interesting to report is basically nil, meh F it". So from here on out the pics are spotty at best. I may have remembered/thought to care, more likely I just didn't care anymore and assumed this TR was dead in the water.

D and I have a nice breakfast and we plan our attack for the day. I've got a little over 20k. Plenty if all we played was craps, life support if I'm playing VP. OK, let's play craps. I've had pretty good results this trip betting 320 across, I've also gotten plenty of play. So what's the harm in buying in a little bigger and playing 640 across rather than 320?

Well, we know the answer to that- I stand to lose twice as much. But I could win twice as much too!

So D and I head over to a table at the Encore. Plan is play here, and if bad we hit the spa. I buy in for 3k instead of 2k and reason I've got about 5 rolls at 640 across. That's HOPEFULLY enough??? I make my bets and immediately get gunshy. Man, that's a lot of money to have out there when I don't stand to pick up any chips without a repeat or a decent roll.

D starts us off. It's decent. I get my roll paid for pretty quickly. The 5 is amazing- I go from 100 to 250 as planned (power press), take a same bet (pays 350), then take it to 500. It hits again- same bet. Hits again- 700. Hits again- go to 1000$. We officially have yellow on a number for the first time this trip, and first time for me ever on a 5 or 9 (I usually don't bet those numbers). D is super efficient and of course he's hitting other numbers as well- I think he only wasted time with a 3 or 11 once, max two times out of all his rolls.

This is getting legit huge. Every number is pumped up in some way. I'm not pressing as hard as I think I would when in the abstract- being stuck huge for the trip and finally getting a chance to pick up decent money each roll, I'm not gonna lie... I was gunshy. I take the 5 to 1500$, then to 2000$. This roll is ecstasy. A new player joins the table and surprise surprise doesn't kill the roll. D makes his point, all the numbers are off, and NOW he throws 7 on the come out. This is just perfect.

Every roll is critical now. We're picking up purple chips minimum no matter what hits. And if we see a 5 or a 9... yellows at minimum. I think about taking a pic but worry I'm going to kill the roll by doing that. I realize that's stupid, obv me taking a pic won't do anything. I've never had all the numbers pressed this high before, this might be a once-in-a-decade pic. The 5 hits AGAIN and I take it to 2500$. OK, I have to do this subtly so the crew doesn't get mad and I don't slow this roll down. D hits another number. I pick up my chips then whip my phone out.

I'm in the top slot. 4 and 10 are 500$ each. 450 on the 6, 600 on 8. 9 is at 1000$, and the 5... 2500$!!!!! Not pictured- a rack+ full of blacks, some purples, and some yellow!!!

Grab that pic. D has only been rolling 25 min. It just goes to show how truly rare a real 1hr long roll (with no BS, people slowing the game down etc) is. Come on, just keeping hitting numbers...

... D 7 outs the next roll after my pic. Did I cooler the table? Sure, I'll take the blame for it. At least I got a pic at the height. I was legitimately so upset at myself that I didn't have the heart to tell D I took a pic until later that night. Obv he didn't blame me.

OK, that was the roll of the trip. Hell, that was the roll of the year. I left over 5500$ out on the table. After that roll, I was still up 13k. We keep playing, but you know where this is going. Give some back, there's no way we're going to recreate that magic... screw it, let's color and enjoy this for a bit.

In for 3, out for 13 and change.

SO MUCH FUN. That's why I play craps, and honestly why I stopped playing so much craps. It's just too unlikely a roll like that is going to come, and waiting for one for as long as you do gets real old. I'm now stuck less than 25k for the trip- this AM has been quite a recovery. I can ALMOST see a path forward here if this keeps up... we head back to VP.

God, finally got a good one on spin.

I think this VP session was also a medium winner (~4k). Getting unstuck slowly but surely. We head to the spa.

At the spa, I text host to confirm the spa will be covered by my card status. He tells me I used it already in March... I don't remember that. On reflection, I guess I did (one of the March Madness guys used mine when they went with D). OK, guess I'll use comp dollars. Plus side- host is getting back to me right away. Down side- this spa is not worth 100$ out of pocket, which is basically what comp dollars are. Whatever, I don't care anymore. D asks host to put me on his spa credit (should cover both of us). Host doesn't answer him... argh.

Spoiler- host covered everything. Whether using D's credit, or bc of my play, we'll never know. But the Wynn is slowly getting back into our good graces.

D and I kill a few hrs there, and then it's time for more VP. I head to hi limit- still waiting for some real heat!

That's not hot enough. Straight flush is the most undervalued hand in VP.

I give back several K there. This next pic is 3 hrs from the last one, so you know the damage was done. I THINK what happened was-

- head to craps and it sucks, lose a few k
- head back to floor, lose a few k

So I'm now stuck basically 35k again for the trip, and have given back most of the AM recovery.

Thank god. It's as close to a 5 digit hit on VP that I've seen this trip.

D and I head to dinner at Safta 1964- it's a Mediterranean chef in residence at Jardin. I didn't take any pics and the food was just ok (5-6/10). That said, I'd try it again just to eat different things on the menu. Most places are worth giving a second look and this place makes that cut off.

OK, it's our last night in Vegas, again. We're at 30k stuck for the trip. Can't we just have some fun on our last night? We head to craps, and it sucks, again! We didn't last long at all. Head over to VP surprisingly optimistic- VP has been so bad all trip. Haven't had a good last night in I don't know how long. Maybe tonight's our night!

Maybe not. I didn't hit one jackpot, or if I did it was so small in my "probably won't be a TR here" mode I didn't care to take a pic. All I know I lose 5k in record time and I'm stuck 40k for the trip, AGAIN. Had an amazing roll earlier. Hit 2 8000s on spin. Irrelevant. GOD THIS IS SOOOO BAD!!!!!!

I feel tilt kicking in. I get up from the machine and head upstairs in basically the same mood I was in last night. I hate this place. I hate VP. I'm in bed by 10pm ON SAT NIGHT IN VEGAS FOR F'S SAKE!!!!!

Day 3 result- even
Overall- -40k
dealt quads- 3

Final Day

Not much to say here. D is taking an early AM flight and in fact we've settled up already. I have to leave for my flight at 10am, far earlier than normal. Plan is to slowplay, get room service breakfast, and go lick my wounds at home. Pretty glad I'm leaving early.

I head down to hi limit and grind at 12 lines. I get dealt quads number 4- just jacks. WTFever machine. So insulting. I'm up about a grand for the session.

Then, I get dealt quads number 5 of the trip.

Spoiler

Show

Apologies for the poor quality, I took this for me and not for the TR. That's dealt premiums with a kicker, 24k!

OK, let's think about this. I am only stuck about 15k now. That's not bad at all. WAY better than the last two days. I resolve to NOT give the majority of this back. I step up just a touch, but I'm good now. I'm ok with a 25k total loss given I was at 40k before. That's 10k for the next couple of hrs. I'm good.

Soon, I get dealt quads number 6 of the trip. As crappy as this machine has been, apparently it's decided to finally wake up.

Spoiler

Show

WOW! Dealt premiums with kicker again! 30K!

Ladies and gents... I AM UNSTUCK!!!!!

I just sit here and bask in this for a while. What a comeback. Sure, I'm only up a few k, but up is up. D comes down to head to the airport, sees the credits in the machine and immediately says "MOTHER F'ER!". He knows I've made a huge comeback, and he's not part of it. I feel really bad and snap decide to give him 2k right there. So he ends up stuck 2.5k for the trip out of a 5k trip bankroll, that's not bad at all and he recognizes that. We say our goodbyes and I keep playing.

The machine just stays good. I hit a bunch of 2000s and got dealt quads again (I think they were 9s). Still didn't take a pic bc I wasn't in TR mode. When I head up for breakfast I'm now up 10k for the trip!

I throw down a room service breakfast, shower and pack all within 15 min. NOW I'm in a rush. NOW I want to play. I guess all my run good for the trip is going to be jammed into these last couple of hrs!

On my way down to the floor for one last session, I plan my attack. I decide let's try spin, one last time. Hi limit finally decided to not suck, maybe spin will decide to not suck as well. I'll give myself 5k to play with, 12 lines. See if I can hit a monster. If not, I book a 5k win which relative to a 40k loss is obv the nuts.

I get dealt premium trips...

Spoiler

Show

BEST possible result. I somehow manage to make quads 5 ways out of 12!

I'm up big now. Let's keep this going!

Spoiler

Show

FINALLY. FINALLY. ALL MY RUN BAD ERASED IN ONE FELL SWOOP!

I have exceeded the credit limit in this machine (100K). This is a new life achievement. While I'm waiting to get the machine unlocked, I just bask in the glory. I've gone on a 100k+ upswing in 2 hrs. Zero five digit hits to 4. I've been dealt quads 4 times today, twice premium with a kicker.

Yeah, I'm coming back to the Wynn. Let's get real.

They unlock the machine, I give 2k back to spin then head to hi limit to play huge.

This was actually a disappointing draw- trip aces 50 ways and only converted one. I really thought THIS was going to be another major point in this trip. At this point I'm up 70k!

Alas, all good things come to an end. I gave back a few k over all at hi limit but played down to the wire and played huge for most of it. Final tally-

Day 4 result- +100k
Overall- +60k
Dealt quads- 7
5 digit hits- 4

Postscript-

D and I overspent on food, no questions. Host picked up all of it. The spa I already mentioned- comped. I killed the Wynn the last day. Just KILLED THEM!!! Played bigger as well, of course, but my host still picked up all the overage. So, in the end analysis for now I'm staying with the Wynn. I'm still going to see what FB has to offer, but ultimately my base offer here hasn't changed and I suspect my play will continue to get me a cabana in general, esp if I don't burn any play on D's card.

I got extremely lucky, of course. This was almost a TR that never was. Bottom line I'm flush again. I've also learned several things moving forward which should make future trips more fun-
- 320 across on craps, even 640 is infinitely doable for me and can easily result in fun
- 5 line UX SUCKS. It's just a tease, 99% of the time. Better to play the same amount 10 line, take a shot but not torture myself for hrs. If I lose I lose, get up and do something else.

That's it. I apologize for lack of pics at the end but if I didn't make this comeback we wouldn't have any TR at all. Thanks for reading!

What an amazing comeback! Just bonkers. Can you clarify why there wouldn't be a TR if you lost? Do you just not have the interest in writing up a TR for a disastrous trip? At least from my perspective, I'd find a -50k trip as interesting as a +50k trip, and not because I'm some kind of sadist, but because a big appeal of your thread is vicariously living all the ups and downs. I wouldn't begrudge you for not wanting to relive the trauma of getting your face kicked in, and it's your thread, obvi.

What a ride to the finish!

That K-high straight flush is the most frustrating dealt hand in vp to me. aargh!

WOW! Amazing stuff!

This thread has been a welcome distraction the past few days so thanks again for your amazing TR reports! Was def rooting for you!

TADA!

Thanks for taking us along, leon!

Just reading this last report feels like riding a bucking bronco where if you hang on for dear life there is glory, but if you get tossed you get tossed hard and a crash landing awaits. Whew!

It's only happened a couple of times in the past to me, but the process is always the same. I start off super excited and committed to documenting the TR, win or lose. Then, I get my teeth kicked in more and more and more. At some point, the ridiculousness of taking yet another pic of 1200$ while I'm stuck mid 5 figures hits me and I say to myself "WTF am I doing". If you go back through my whole history you'll see a couple of other instances where I post a very brief summary ("went to Vegas, lost 40k") and that's basically it bc I gave up and/or I don't feel like reliving the pain.

I definitely thought we were in for that on this one as well. More so bc of the (at the time) ongoing frustration with my host and the Wynn in general. There were literally points where I thought to myself, "I may never be posting from here again. F this. Why not stop now?". Obv when I made my huge comeback, well now THAT'S worth sharing lol.

Is there a book I can read to translate this?

I've had monster rolls and played during other shooters' monster rolls, but that was when I was under 25 and broke. Never made big money, although I did win almost $200 once after 3 rolls totaling 90 minutes. I knew how the table worked but I didn't, and still don't, know how "to play". It was $3 on pass, $6 on 6 or 8, etc. for every bet.

Wow! What a ridiculous comeback! Congrats on the big hits and turning a **** weekend into a big positive!

Out of curiosity, can you describe what your craps strategy was this trip? Including how you chose to press your bets.

Holy crap congrats on the comeback!

I'll try to answer Pig's question in my answer to you.

Pig, I usually bet certain numbers and try to get the roll "paid for" before I start pressing. In the past, it's been 6 and 8 or all the even numbers. Lately, I've been doing 320 across (every number, 50-50-60-60-50-50) or 640 (double). I press any hit and collect any repeat. So say 6 hits. I press it to 120 and basically pick up nothing. 5 or 9 hits, I actually go in the roll for more (power press), 50 pays 70, I drop them a nickel and go to 125.

This strategy is totally dependent on repeats. From that point, it's basically press a number, if it hits take the full value, press if it hits again, full value, etc. If roll is even decently warm the numbers get big fast. Obv you get killed on an instaout (any strategy basically gets killed with an instaout) or a short roll. It's a good way I've found to get some play for my money and have a real chance of making a score on a medium to hot roll.

Obv still a losing strategy, as all strategies are. But this one will give me a lot of play on a short buy in (2-3k) and has real potential to be fun pretty quickly.

boom - really happy for you Leon. Hope you can find some run good at the local too.

when's the next Vegas trip?

Yikes, that would be a lot of money for me. But thanks.

Do you generally make a come bet or pass line while hoping for the numbers to come in?