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Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 12:47 am
by cp999
Well said cool.

Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 3:36 am
by bubbles
what has been your average weekly profit over the last 5 years cp, if you don't mind saying? and as for your comment gary, you don't actually realise what being in this game is doing/will do to you. i don't think you are a bad lad at all but be warned there is a chance you'll blink and you'll be staring in the mirror at a 50 year old wondering where your life went. easy money when you are a kid is fine but don't be ignorant of listening to the voice of experience!

Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 7:20 am
by BFK
Fair point mate but he is only 17.

Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 8:43 am
by GaryChandler
Haha i am only 23, and in my opinion this game will only affect you if you let it

Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 9:14 am
by cp999
bubbles wrote:what has been your average weekly profit over the last 5 years cp, if you don't mind saying? and as for your comment gary, you don't actually realise what being in this game is doing/will do to you. i don't think you are a bad lad at all but be warned there is a chance you'll blink and you'll be staring in the mirror at a 50 year old wondering where your life went. easy money when you are a kid is fine but don't be ignorant of listening to the voice of experience!
I'd prefer not to get into specifics. ----------------
Your last sentence makes a lot of sense, because whether it's fruits or quiz machines, plenty people get into it when they are young, think "this is a really cool way to make money", end up ten years later with nothing, having blown the easy money on whatever, and would have been better doing something "normal". People often don't understand the gamble you're ultimately taking isn't the gamble on machines, it's the gamble you're taking with your life and sanity.
GaryChandler wrote:Haha i am only 23, and in my opinion this game will only affect you if you let it
I agree up to a point, but pro playing has a nasty habit of catching up on you.

Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 1:37 pm
by cool
For truncated menus dont forget the pub pod , the Q Zones with only a few games and the gm units with only one page mpd 100-1 dond and pub quiz.

Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 1:45 pm
by cool
Standalone games are unlikely as most standalone games tended to involve TV driven games and as there are so many channels now viewing figures for the big 5 are lower and consequently the pull on the pleb.
I approached a major manufacturer with many ideas to revitalise the industry and initually they were keen but nought has happenned.My best idea was to link certain games within a pool of machines to have a linked jackpot. If for example you could win by getting enough points to enter the final prize round individual to each site and the stations were linked being tweaked being harder to obtain the game would be a lot more attractive to the average punter .As it stands nothing seems to change

Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 1:48 pm
by cool
Im talking about monopoly struggling with my samsung! Greater throughput bigger station money.look at how quickly the linked bingo games went up on itbox

Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2013 4:08 pm
by grecian
I'm certainly at the stage now where I scarcely play at all - machines are more "something I used to do" than "something I do currently".

I never played machines for anything other than monetary reasons so when the money dried up it didn’t take me long to cut down my play, first to a few hours a week and now pretty much to zero. I miss the good times not because I missed the money (which was only ever pocket money in the context of my day-job earnings) but because it was nice to feel one was making money from being smarter than most other people. I also have an (almost) one year-old son now, so much less free time, although it is surprising how much time I did use for machining I have been able to spend more profitably doing other things.

All told I will look back on my time machining with pride and enjoyment: even though SWPists by their nature are a secretive bunch I have made several good friends through it and met three or four of the more remarkable intellects I have had the privilege of meeting. I have had quite a number of exceedingly profitable periods on particular games and the thrill of trying to get a profitable title nailed on more and more units is something I’ll not forget. I’ve explored lots of new areas and been in pubs I never would have gone into: it’s been fun.

I can vouch for both Nil Satis and cp999 as being truly excellent players, having met them both, although as one would expect, cp999 being a full-timer is performing at the very highest of levels which NS being a part-timer has not been able to equal other than on occasional titles. For me that illustrates what has happened: the very best full-timers have been able to survive this downturn fairly easily, but the cut-off mark for profitability, which was previously low enough to allow talented part-timers to make decent amounts, has risen sufficiently high to make life very tough for talented part-timers. I’m not in NS’s league so I expect he’s doing better than me, but I’m not surprised if it’s a struggle for him.

I expect to be on here infrequently in future so PM me if you want to stay in touch (for those who don’t already stay in touch on Facebook).

Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 12:11 am
by cp999
Thanks for that post. It's quite eloquent and has much that I agree with.
grecian wrote:I have had quite a number of exceedingly profitable periods on particular games and the thrill of trying to get a profitable title nailed on more and more units is something I’ll not forget. I’ve explored lots of new areas and been in pubs I never would have gone into: it’s been fun.


Yes, that moment where you sense you've reached critical mass on a particular game is quite pleasant..
grecian wrote:I can vouch for both Nil Satis and cp999 as being truly excellent players, having met them both, although as one would expect, cp999 being a full-timer is performing at the very highest of levels which NS being a part-timer has not been able to equal other than on occasional titles. For me that illustrates what has happened: the very best full-timers have been able to survive this downturn fairly easily, but the cut-off mark for profitability, which was previously low enough to allow talented part-timers to make decent amounts, has risen sufficiently high to make life very tough for talented part-timers. I’m not in NS’s league so I expect he’s doing better than me, but I’m not surprised if it’s a struggle for him.
Nice of you to say that, as to this day I thought I played pretty badly (unable to distinguish between Juppe and Jospin - never forgotten that - can even still visualise the bar we were in)! I was still slightly in learning mode. It's a shame I didn't get to show you that Gamesnet empty - you would have understood it within five minutes and been bored out your skull after 2;) I agree the bar has been raised; it's a tough world out there now and in the context of what is a "normal" existence it is quite understandable if most people have neither the time nor requisite monomania to get very good at anything. Anyone currently starting out in the SWP world and thinking about making a "career" out of it needs their head examined. I probably need mine examined too :)

Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 9:15 pm
by paragoon
It's all very well saying "the bar has been raised" but the fact is pubs are getting rid of their machines. That said, I managed to JP a game on a Gamesnet today for the first time (ie that particular game). I'd still be very surprised if there were any quiz machines left this time next year.

Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 9:23 pm
by paragoon
Let's face it - this board would be dead if it wasn't for the fruit machine lads - that must tell you something.

Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 11:08 pm
by wires74
what particular game did you jackpot on gamesnet today paragoon ?

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 12:21 pm
by grecian
paragoon wrote:It's all very well saying "the bar has been raised" but the fact is pubs are getting rid of their machines. That said, I managed to JP a game on a Gamesnet today for the first time (ie that particular game). I'd still be very surprised if there were any quiz machines left this time next year.
Yes, I agree the amount of pubs with machines is declining, certainly in London, and has been for a while. Although I do think the difficulty bar has been raised considerably as well.

Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 10:33 pm
by cool
'That said, I managed to JP a game on a Gamesnet today for the first time (ie that particular game)'
As usual somebody posts something of interest then does not elaborate.Why mention it then?

Prize knob.