Glad to hear it!
So it depends, as I don’t always have a “typical session.” When I go on trips to other states or countries, which is usually once a month or so, I’m on my grind and slot and play poker at least 12 hours per day. If I’m home, I’ll often stop in for a few hours three or four times per week, with a possible overnight thrown in as well. It also depends on the weather. If it’s cold (Connecticut), I’m more likely to be in the casino since what else am I doing anyway?
Checking machines is also dependent on a few factors.
How busy is it? If it’s 3 a.m. on a Tuesday at some random casino, once is going to be good for hours. In that case, assuming I’m waiting around the casino, I’d just “camp” individual machines if I saw someone playing (blog post on that here). If it’s at Aria (Las Vegas) at 9 p.m. on a Saturday, there’s going to be a lot more turnover. In that case, I’d just loop around the casino and check all of them, as by the time I got back to my original point, enough time would have passed to check again. So again, that’s hard to give a black-and-white answer. It’s more of a feel thing for me.
Where are the machines located? For instance, if the machine is in the middle of no where and doesn’t get much foot traffic, I’d be less likely to check it than one right in the middle of the action (blog post).
What’s the level of competition? How many pros can I identify (blog post)? If I see someone I’ve identified as a slot hustler walking out of a certain section of the casino, I can assume that section is going to be picked over.
As far as when I leave: whenever. I know that’s another non-answer, but I’m unregimented with slots. The slots aren’t going anywhere (hopefully), so I don’t usually have a calling to stay a certain number of hours.
Checking each bet on the various denoms: You are correct. You do look suspicious. Again, it depends on the casino. If I have an inkling I’m being watched or I got wind the casino is looking out for advantage play, I’m going to do as much with my eyes as I can. If that means sacrificing the machines where fingers are required, so be it. Now, for many of the casinos I visit, I don’t care if I’m told to never come back. So for places like that, I’d care less about trying to be discreet. If you can believe it, I have posts related to the subject of things you can do to stay under the radar: here, here, here, here, here (last one is the most related).
Hope that helps, and if anyone else has any tips or thoughts, let us know.
Ben Rosenthal.
Nicholas Reed
