You talking about your mom making the dumplings makes me think of the little old ladies making egg rolls at A'chau. (Have you been)

How is the DSTP line up at Barona? And are they generous with the comps? Wouldn't mind playing some golf and eating at the steakhouse from time to time.

Leon u ever go to ac? If so hit me up!! Goat!!!


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Not sure about the DSTP since I basically have never played it. The little I've looked into it I don't think it's very good. Best I've seen for DDB is 9/5. Comp-wise I think Barona has to be way up there (assuming your action is decent). Obv more than Vegas bc, well, Vegas is the stingiest in general. They are constantly giving away money (random 5$, 10$ to guests), lots of point multiplier days and other free giveaways, etc. I've been receiving 200$ in the mail and 500$ cash back every month for quite some time, in addition to the random 100$ on Bday month, 100$ twice a year for being a "Diamond guest", etc. Obv all the meals and hotel are comped. So from what I can tell I think it's pretty decent.

Not since high school when I tried to sneak into the gaming area on a family trip LOL. The vast majority of my East Coast gambling was done at Foxwoods- that's where I cut my poker teeth. Limit HE 2000-2003- what a glorious time. They started to get a 5-5 pot limit HE game going the last few months I was there (Moneymaker hadn't won yet) and it was a gold mine. Probably like the NL games were supposed to be in the early days- if you had any clue you would just stack donks over and over. I wish I'd had more ability to play live from 2003-2005, but I guess the online party games were better, all things considered.

Thanks. Another: Dealt full house. Dump the pair and go for quads?

Never

Wrong - you would dump a two if you had AAA22 for example

https://wizardofodds.com/games/video...00-d-50-d-800/

Sorry, I guess for the A heavy variants this is correct. But in that particular example wouldnt you only drop one 2, not both?

Correct - hold onto AAA2

Makes sense. Don't go for non-premium quad draws when dealt a FH. Depending on the game, it's worth dumping the pair, keep the trips for a premium quad draw, and possibly even the notable kicker.

Fun game. Still crazy to think about OP dumping thousands within a few hours...nice to know that persistence can pay off.

Just wondering how much incorrect decisions could cut into your ROI. In blackjack, there's a lot of decisions that have to be made (e.g., when to double on soft totals, when to split vs. dealer's upcard). For VP, and UX in particular, it seems more straightforward.

That's why I was asking about these particular situations. Not sure if there are some other "tough" decisions and what is the advice (yes I know about WOO but you are the master).

Basically TDB you always draw for quad aces, 2, 3 or 4, and you always keep the kicker if there is one. DDB I believe you only break aces full, even though that feels wrong to me. You don't keep the kicker which is more intuitive.

I have no idea how much the incorrect decisions cut into expectation, but I can tell you it's not any more straightforward than BJ. Both are just filled with examples where the right play can be memorized and there are a bunch of non-intuitive situations. Rule variations = paytable variations which can make for a different play. For example, in full pay TDB (9/7) the three flush is pretty powerful- you keep Jxx instead of JQ offsuit, which to me is not an intuitive play. Memorizing the right plays are really the only way to keep expectation as high as possible.

To me, the breaking of fulls/keeping kickers are not tough decisions. You're playing for premium quads w/ kickers- if being dealt 4's full is exciting enough where you don't want to break, you're playing the wrong game. Same thing with keeping the kickers- make 400 instead of 2000 or 800 instead of 4000 often enough and you end up getting pissed/realizing just how much of a difference that kicker makes to not only your overall expectation, but more importantly to the fun factor.

Heh. I definitely wouldn't call UX straightforward.

Consider the differences in strategy between 9/6 Double Double Bonus - https://wizardofodds.com/games/video...ble-bonus/9-6/

and 9/6 Double Double Bonus Ultimate X 10-Play - https://wizardofodds.com/games/video...ble-bonus/9-6/

Yeah, this. I can't recall all the differences between the two, and don't play regular DDB often enough to care. I'm sure I make mistakes at DDB UX as well, but it's not like I'm grinding out a living where every little edge counts. I'd rather give up a small edge than spend hrs memorizing some arcane strategy difference.

I have players cards from every casino/card room in San Diego county, with the exception of the new Hollywood one in Jamul.

In my experience, Barona has by far the most generous comps of all of them, ainec.

Pro Tip: Not sure if they have them anymore, but they used to have a few random days one can earn 7X points on video poker.

I went one of those days and basically was playing $6.25 to $12.50 a pull (MUCH less than Leon plays), and after a 4 hour session, I earned 2 free nights in their hotel, dinner for 2 in the Barona Oaks Steakhouse (was excellent), 4 Buffet passes (one of the better casino buffets) and $500 cash..I was shocked how quickly the comps added up..

Wow you racked up some serious comp there.

FYI as of a month or so, VP players only can get up to 3x points on pt multiplier days. I think they've finally wised up- some of the full pay games there are +EV any time the multipliers get over 5x. I remember a day about 2 years ago when it was their anniversary (7x pts), and it was over 95 degrees (5x pts). Of course I went, expecting to put in some serious volume. Early into the session it started raining, which added another 3x pts! 15x total- the highest I've ever seen, and all the staff were talking about it, they'd never seen anything that high either. I think I played about 4 hrs total at a theoretical 1% or so advantage. By the end, I'd ground over 1 million pts (good for over 1000$ cash back) yet somehow STILL found a way to book a loser that day. So annoying.

Yes it was about 2 years ago I acquired most of my points, it was possibly the same day.

The 2 night stay was mid-week only, and I wasn't expecting the buffet comps, but when I checked into my room I was told they were included.

Barona has a very good buffet, and normally about $30 a person, so that was a nice bonus.

The only other SD County casino with decent VP tables is Valley View. When I first signed up for a card I got all kinds of comps from them for the first 2-3 months..then after that nothing, even though my play was more or less the same as before when I was getting the comps..

Day 5

This was to be my last day on this trip- while I was leaving the next day, the plan was to eat breakfast then be on the road back to SD so hopefully I miss traffic the entire trip. We eat at the Peppermill again (forgot to take pics), then my dad and I head to the Wynn for an AM partnership session.

Very early into our first bullet, one ace becomes-



Man, I need one of these when I'm taking shots on my own. A 5-figure score would be super sweet. As it is, my cut of this is 2400.

We fire the rest of that bullet and 2 more, which puts me up about 1k for the AM. Head back to the condo for a quick lunch, then I move the TV into the back of my car while my parents rest. I head back to the Wynn in the early afternoon, with the plan being to play until dinner- Italian at Sinatra.

I play some TDB but it's cold. I decide to mix it up a bit and play deuces wild bonus. I also get the bright idea to play 10 lines instead of 5, thinking the variance at DWB is lower, so I can make a bigger bet but not have twice the likelihood of going busto? As soon as I made the switch, I'm dealt-



Which turns into-



Couple of nice hands made, along with the always-welcome 4 deuces.

A little while later, it deals me-



Nothing impressive money-wise, but it looked pretty.

Keep playing- get 3 deuces again...



Which becomes-



Excellent. Happy the 4th deuce is finding a way to come in, and if this were TDB I wouldn't have won nearly as much bc the 4th deuce came in without the kicker.

I'm firing on all cylinders. Just a short time later, here comes the white whale draw again-



OK, I've got 10 shots at it. Royal Flush, no deuces. Of course I've also got 4 outs to RF w/deuce but that'll be a consolation prize at best.

I blank on all 10 spots. JFC.

Whatever- still doing well. I get dealt 3 deuces AGAIN-



With the below-average result of-



Look carefully. The 4th deuce came in 3 times, once with an ace! That's running good, simply no other way to put it.

I play all the way until dinnertime this way, just killing the machine and having fun.

Once we get to Sinatra, I am informed by the hostess that I need a collared shirt (totally slipped my mind and I'm in a T-shirt). They lend me a jacket, AND inform me that I can take it off when I get to the table. High class place enforcing rules but in a smart way FTW!



Amuse bouche, basically gazpacho. 6/10.



My carpaccio/arugula appetizer. A great way to get in some greens- 7/10.



Mom's parma ham. I'm not a huge fan and didn't try it.



My veal parm, I told them to go easy on the mozzarella (usually they put too much). 7/10.



Dad's lamb chops (7-8/10, they were perfectly cooked), and my side of black truffle fettuccine (7/10, truffles are good but not to-die-for like they make it sound).

After dinner, my dad wants to play a bit more. My mom and I are encouraging him to rest as he is obviously tired, so since we're on the Encore side he agrees to just play "a little" here. I decide to chill with my mom with some penny slots. We want to play Walking Dead 2 as my mom has had some luck with the machines here, but unfortunately they are full. We pull up to the Willy Wonka machine- also a ton of fun.



Collectively, we pump in 400$ and don't get a single bonus round. Not one. I think we lost our money before the waitress could come back with my coffee. Disgusted, I check out WD2 and it's open now-



Here, we get a little more play for our money. Several bonus rounds and shots at the grand (one time, baby!). Every single opportunity, OF COURSE we find a way to only come up with the mini-jackpot. So rigged. Ultimately, WD2 takes all our money as well and I'm now stuck 400$ post-dinner on penny slots LOL. We go back to check on my dad.

He's playing 2$ Extra draw frenzy, 10 lines, so 120$ a push. Doing pretty terrible as well. The pay table is **** (I think 8/5 DDB??) and I encourage him to check out some of the other games. All of them are crap- unbelievable to me that Encore's paytables could be so much worse than the Wynn 1000 yrds away, especially at a high denom. I'm getting annoyed just watching him play such a suboptimal game. Finally he bustos the ticket he put in and I say it's time to return to the Wynn (for me). My parents parked at the valet on that side so they need to head there as well.

We walk back over, and of course my dad isn't done. We should have just come to the Wynn directly. Anyways, we fire another 2 bullets but don't make anything, and then my mom and I insist he go to bed. Since this is my last night, I'm going to keep at it, but I'm well up and don't want to end the trip on too sour of a note so I give myself 2k max to lose.

Back to DWB. The run good continues-



So basically what happened here is- dealt two pair, aces and deuces. 4 outs to 5 aces which pays 400$. It's like a FH draw from 2 pair. Made the hand in one, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE! spots. Just unreal.

I fire in the rest of the first 1k bullet, then switch up to TDB for one last hurrah.



I think I made 4 aces w/kicker more this trip than 2,3,4 w/kicker! Obv I won't turn this down.

5 min later, I turn one ace into-



Total surprise. Finally get my longshot draw to come in and it ALMOST gets there all the way. Oh well.

Flush with victory, I decide to hit TDB UX one more time. See if I can hit a 5-figure score and have it "all" be mine.

The 1k becomes 300 pretty fast, then I run it up all the way to 2.5k. Couple of random quads on multipliers, etc. No hand pays but I've got some bullets. I miss trip 3s a few times and trip aces once. The money is going fast, then it's gone. DAMNDAMNDAMN. Wouldashouldcoulda. Should have cashed out a 2.5k in hindsight- as far as I'm concerned that's a 2.5k downswing. I'm kind of pissed at myself, and realize I should have taken the 4 aces/no kicker as the sign- typically when I make that hand, it's NOT a good thing (LDO retrospective impression, clearly when you make 4 aces but without kickers you're not hitting anything big and are likely to post a loss). Oh well. That will have to do for this trip.

The following AM is unremarkable- breakfast at home, pack up and say goodbye to my parents, with a boring but uneventful drive back home. I make it into SD around 2:30pm.

Final tally- +9.5k

Final "trip bankroll" pic-



Looking ahead, I'm planning on curtailing the SD gambling quite a bit. Vegas is just more fun, and I'm pretty sick of dumping money here all year long. I'll likely go a few times a month but nowhere near my usual volume. Hopefully I'll still have some periodic updates/tasty pics for you all, but the majority of my action in 2017 is going to be in Vegas.

Thanks for reading!

Nice job buddy. Still salty you haven't contacted me for a sweat one of these days, but I figure I'll just stake out the wynn high limit area every weekend until I find you.

Haha, sorry about that man. I'm pretty private when it comes to my play- it's just one of those things about going through big swings, feeding hundos into the machine when it's cold, etc. Nothing with you personally obv. If I ever feel up to having a sweat I'll be sure and let you know.

WOW, talk about hitting way above expectation on a couple of those hands. That sure was a great day for you!

A couple of questions..I don't play any of the deuces wild variations but on that one hand instead of 99229 if it was 99222, would the proper play be to send back the 9's and just keep the 3 wild cards? Or would you still keep the ten pat hands?

Also, now that your father is getting older, do you think he makes the optimal "perfect" play every time? Or does he make a mistake every now and then that a younger him wouldn't have made?

Thanks..

True. But unlike blackjack, you can sit there for awhile consulting websites or printouts to determine optimal moves.

No idea, but I suspect the better play is keep the pat hand (10 x 100 vs 10 shots at a 22.5/1 shot at 4 deuces, + smaller chance at 4 deuces + ace, all the other hands, etc). I'll look it up.

My dad makes plenty of mistakes. I actually think it has more to do with his never having learned the book plays, and an inherent amount of gamble. Honestly a strong knowledge of poker helped me immensely- knowing the odds of filling a gutterball, what 22.5/1, 47/1, 1000/1 etc really means. Playing with my dad I feel like every 2 sec I'm telling him "no, don't go for the straight" or "keep the kicker". We've been over basically every play several times and I think he mostly gets it, but every once in a while I have to convince him to hold the kicker- "yes, it's the right play, again, same as the last 50 times". LOL

Just looked it up. Pat hand and it's not close. Expected return 20 vs 16.something.

Thanks, Leon. At first glance I thought it would be very close..