The Fastest Video Poker Player in the World as of December 1, 2017
For quite some time, I have been considering the possibility of breaking a speed record in video poker and organizing a challenge here at Wizard of Odds. Over the years, I've reached out to various skilled video poker enthusiasts, inquiring if they were interested in helping establish a baseline for this record. However, each one turned me down, often citing they didn’t feel fast enough anymore. A common refrain I heard was, 'You should have asked me two decades ago when I was at my best.' Aging certainly has its downsides (fun fact: can you guess who I’m paraphrasing?).
When it became public knowledge that Stephen Paddock, known for the tragic Las Vegas shooting, was engaged in video poker as an advantage player, it cast a shadow over the game and its players. This compelled me to take action by initiating a positive video poker challenge of my own, highlighting the skill involved in the game.
Initially, I reached out on Wizard of Vegas to find someone willing to take on the challenge. You can follow the conversation in the thread titled LOOKING TO SET A RECORD FOR THE FASTEST VIDEO POKER PLAYER . Luckily, a young man named 'Ken' took notice and contacted me to take part. We arranged to meet at Santa Fe Station, where I filmed him playing two machines at an extraordinary pace of 2,544 hands per hour. Afterward, many forum users expressed their desire for a separate record for playing a single machine, so I invited Ken to attempt that, and he subsequently achieved a remarkable speed of 1,537 hands per hour on one machine.
Not long after, another contender appeared—Dr. Antonius, who asserted that he could outperform Ken's speed on a single machine. We convened at the M casino, where he played one machine at a phenomenal pace of 2,262 hands per hour. The details of this event are documented in my ongoing discussion on the Wizard of Vegas forum. SINGLE MACHINE CHALLENGE #2
You can find videos of all these challenges on YouTube, as well as on my newly updated Wizard of Odds page. If you believe you can surpass either of these records, and are willing to demonstrate your skills over ten minutes (with speed penalties for any mistakes), please reach out to me. I have a small reward of $100 for anyone who can establish a new record and is interested in joining the challenge. Video Poker Speed Records Accurate strategies and insights for casino games like blackjack, craps, roulette, and a plethora of others that are ready for play.