Is it...or rather, SHOULD it be any secret at all where I or anybody else has played or is going to play? Hogwash! Anyone who portrays themselves as having a covert style of play is simply dishing out more of the same old BS in yet another creative way. Where I or any of the video poker writers play should always be public knowledge to anyone who wants to know.

Whether someone has found a comfortable corner in X casino or there’s a special reel ‘em in promotion for weak-kneed players going on at Y casino, if people want to know where their favorite writer is then it should be openly discussed. All this nonsense about there being a “special play that I want to keep secret” at some local casino or down at the corner convenience store is, frankly, for timid losers.

It’s especially informative hearing about a guru who’s discovered a “great play” (whatever that is...in my world the only great play is a machine that you beat) at some undisclosed gas station---undisclosed only because of a fear of a run by, snicker snicker, ADVANTAGE PLAYERS!? What a crock! Anyone who feels the need to “hide” a play at some rinky-dink location is doing so only due to a very high probability that they’re having serious financial difficulties related to an addiction to video poker. I see no other way to explain away such odd behavior.

If you’ve followed my articles over the years you’d have seen where I gladly divulge on an ongoing basis where I’ve played and where my favorite casinos are….win or lose. And why not? We hear the math folks all the time announce how one machine is no different than the other as far as their claims of randomness goes, so what’s the difference where any of the machines are located?

For instance, I’ve often written about where my favorite casinos are even where the MACHINES are located along with why, and I’ve given account after account of how I’ve done on them. Well, on Tuesday I returned from those casinos in Laughlin, after having played 2 sessions of 5-level $1-$25 ARTT.

On session #1 I hit absolutely nothing and took a $10,090 loss. Right now if you’re wondering if I was looking for machine patterns but couldn’t spot any, you’re incorrect. When I play a session there is no way or reason to be searching for developing patterns since I’m changing games often.

My next session showed a different result. I hit a quad 3 hands into $10 BP, which ended my session with a $1030 profit. But in my third and final session, somewhere in the middle of my 100 BP credits on the $10 game, I held the J of spades and the royal filled in for $40,000. With just over $30,000 in profit under my belt, I packed up and went straight home. Why? Because my win goal was only $1500 for the trip and as soon as I met or surpassed that number it is time to leave the casino. The 200-mile trip home is always a lot more fun after something like this.

One final note. A week later I made a trip back to Laughlin this time only to the Aquarius still riding the Laughlin Royal Flush high, and as many of us have seen in the past, that is a mistake. This one cost me about $10k. So in the end, my $10 royal really ended up being a $5 one. Still, a healthy overall profit for a little over a week's time. Still, one big ache in the sides of my critics--who either don't want it to be that I win, or want it to be that I really never play at all.

Did I make a mistake identifying where my favorite casinos are again? HA! Who cares? Like it’s gonna make a difference to me if one or even a thousand players hit that bank of machines I play in there. If they move them or take them out I’ll just find another place or casino to play – just like I always have. When you’re not tied down to playing only certain pay tables or if you’re able to reject the temptation of playing only under certain slot clubs because of status or promotions here or there, winning machines can be found in any casino at any time.

I do understand the mindset of AP’s who are nervous about too many people playing where their sacred +EV games are located, but it’s all so corny, really. No casino will ever take out a machine because of the popular myth that “the pros are hammering them to death!”. In reality, the only machines that “pay out too much” are the ones that hit an unusual number of jackpots in a short period of time – which happen very infrequently but can happen anywhere on any machine at any time. It has nothing to do with so-called advantage play. Nope--nothing at all.

I’ll end this article by giving my friends over at LVA Sports another jab that’s gonna hurt. You see, many of them continue to read my articles each week and sometimes, out of envy or confusion or whatever, they feel the need to enlist the interest of others in feeling the same way they do about what my articles do to them. I KNOW they wish I’d come back because deep down they are wondering what it must be like being able to win at video poker so consistently and so often.

But I’ve chosen not to give the moderators another headache this time and instead, I’ll let them wallow in their jealousy. They’re reading this anyway, so it’s not like they won’t get the attention they seek.

Nhreapa: (who doesn’t understand machine patterns): You first need to conquer your fear of me and my ability to play vp on a higher level than you before you can hope to understand what I teach on detecting hand-patterns. And since I’ve received hundreds and hundreds of e-mails asking to help understand more on this subject--and knowing how cowardly most of the critics on LVA Sports are and have always been—it wouldn’t surprise me at all if some of them are from more of the anonymous names over there.

PC, You’ve got to get out more. See if you get this: We DROVE to SF and back, stopped at home BEFORE leaving for Kona, I made a post from my home and not from Kingman or anywhere else (apparently that stung you and a handful of others where you hide out) and we left. ABC...123...even an out-of-shape European who hates his Czech Republic home should get it!

And oh, BTW---thanks for letting everyone know I’m still in your heads guys!!