So, how did I get started with slots? A wealthy lady seduced and betrayed me.

Romantic, ain't it? OK, now the true story:

Growing up, none of my family gambled. But I loved to play poker. One of the guys I played with had an idea to play BJ in teams, doing some light card counting. It was great. We would go 2 to 4 times a year to Vegas. One of us would sit at 1st base and another one would sit at 3rd base. We would each keep count using stacks of chips, so there were never any code words or the like having to be exchanged, and we would never have volatile swings in our betting patterns that would bring heat down on us.

When we weren't playing BJ, we would play craps.

I never played slots, thinking slots were for women and suckers.

Eventually, DW turned me on to slots and I started reading up on the actual (not theoretical) hold numbers, and saw that in games relying on skill (e.g. BJ) the players did worse, even though in theory they should have done better.

When I got my first HP (an 8 Quick Hit jackpot), I was hooked. I had never won so much money at BJ or craps, and in all likelihood never would.