Casino Kid (35:03) Run Notes

Casino Kid (35:03) Run Notes

Lisa (blackjack): 100% manipulation. Three hands: double, double, stand. EZPZ.

Martha (blackjack): First shuffle is 100% manipulation: 10,A.... Stand is the only option for the first 8 hands. Second shuffle is a chance manipulation. To identify the shuffle, I don't pay attention to individual cards - only totals. My hand totals were 16 and 14, so I know to stand on 12 for the showdown. Pretty smooth.

Joseph (poker): A chance manipulation: I have to fold all until the showdown for this to work. I can recognize the pattern by looking at the 9th hand, but Joseph is generally so weak on the 10th, it usually doesn't matter. Keep in mind, speed mostly comes down to how many times the opponent folds (twice here). A pretty decent time: a few seconds better than average.

Stephen (poker): Another chance manipulation. He doesn't fold at all, so it winds up being pretty slow. But it's any easy win: he's locked into an A-high, so I draw 5 to pick up a pair and he's done.

* Here, there's a chance of NPCs blocking my path on the way to Tom. Pretty clear path, so no significant delays.

Tom (blackjack): The first non-manipulated blackjack opponent. Speed factors for blackjack include number of BJs (fast) and insurance options (slow). Kinda average, but good win.

Ted (poker): There's actually a chance for manipulation against Ted, but I didn't get it. I thought I may have (was one card off), so I delayed to try to avoid a bad beat. Lost to a strong pair and wound up going back and forth against him. Five hands; overall pretty dicey. Lost nearly a minute.

* Again, was not blocked by NPCs on the way to Lloyd. This can be a real jam, so good deal.

Lloyd (poker): Good luck against Lloyd, but I screwed up. I shorted my bet by $200, forcing myself to play an extra hand at the end. Won all the hands, but could have been around 15 seconds faster.

Harry (blackjack): Pretty good. Can't complain.

Stefany (blackjack): Kinda bad. Not a great lead-up, then went 2-2 against her. Lost about 25 seconds.

Whitney (poker): Fast but close win. A specific pattern can be observed on the showdown: If an opponent holds their 3rd and 5th cards, they are very likely to have a pair (often a strong pair) and have a good chance of turning it into two pair or 3-of-a-kind. Strength of the pair can vary by opponent. Got pretty lucky here, drawing two weak pairs.

* This walk is great: Male NPCs look exactly the same, so I have no idea which one is Jack and which is Joseph. I'd say Jack is more likely to be further up, so good guess. ;)

Jack (poker): Pretty much the same thing that happened against Whitney. Also, I won both hands with Jacks & Fives. Too cool.

* Sketchy walk to Clyde, thanks to the Wonder Twins.

Clyde (blackjack): An interesting note here: BJ always pays out 3:2, even when you bet all. So I was able to avoid a 3rd showdown hand. Overall, a marginal loss of less than 10 seconds.

Pam (poker): If I get a good shot, I like to play a bonus hand against Pam, just in case I lose the 1st showdown hand. She folded after the draw, but no big deal. Showdown was close though: A-high vs K-high. Bonus hand cost me 20 seconds.

Bo (blackjack): Pretty fast.

Cindy (poker): Fast, again. Another pattern here on the showdown: if you're dealt two pair and your opponent holds their 2nd thru 5th cards, they very likely have two pair as well. Strength of the pair varies by opponent but is usually beatable with a very strong pair (As or Ks, maybe Qs). If my pairs are weak, I might hold only the higher pair and try to draw a stronger pair or make it 3-of-a-kind. It's never a comfortable situation.

Bruno (blackjack): What a dude.

King [of casino] (poker): Shaky start, strong finish. Note how I lost the first called hand: A-J-10-7-4 vs. A-J-10-7-6. LOL! I will sometimes call with an A-high depending on how many cards he holds. Usually costs an extra $50k. Might not be worth it all the time, so it depends on the situation. Lost the first 3 hands pretty close. Ran him down after that. NOW, I'M THE KING OF CASINO!