Tier Topper
by keara22hi, HSM team writer
There may be hundreds of “Tier Toppers” in the Casino. Probably some of them are the same folks who top a leaderboard or two. But one of them is a very special person: rlt1027.
I was wandering around in the VIP Room a few weeks ago wearing The Magician outfit, the award given for reaching Level 2 on every Casino game. Rlt1027, one of the best loved denizens of the VIP Room, asked me where I got it. I told him, and also showed him the Orange Tuxedo and the Elvis Impersonator outfits, which you get for taking each game to Level 1 and 3, respectively.
I think it was the Elvis suit that made the biggest impact. Rlt1027 was alive when Elvis was still singing, and remembers the day that Elvis died. Plus, when he saw the female version of the Elvis outfit that I was wearing, he was amazed to see that Elvis had large, er, frontage.
So, rlt headed off to the Keno board, to work up to Level 1. For the next several days, whenever we passed through the Casino Concourse to the VIP Room, we would see him there, tirelessly punching in bets and random numbers.
A good-natured race to the top evolved. “He can never catch up with me!” I thought. Each day we would message each other about what tier levels we had reached in each game. Then he started passing me. It became evident that he had developed strategies for each game that made it possible to move up the tiers quickly.
In addition to that, he was winning every reward and prize item in the Casino! To take the “featured image” for this article, we stacked all his prizes in a heap (including the heart-shaped bed) with him on top wearing the green-faced “Vegas Entertainer” outfit, which you win for reaching Level 4 for every Casino game. The only prizes he is still missing are the rabbit in a hat companion you get for getting a straight flush in video poker, and the shirt you receive for getting a royal flush.
“How does he do it?” One of the perks of being a writer is that you can ask people personal questions and they think they have to answer. So I set out to learn my pal’s secret strategies for beating me, by scheduling an interview.
Q: Had you gambled online or in casinos before you discovered the Casino in Home?
A: I had an older Vegas Casino game for my PS1. Most games I learned by trial and error. I didn’t know there was a Casino in Home. It was probably about two months before I found out what all was in the Casino. The only gambling I do in real life is playing the lottery.
Do your family and friends support the amount of time and money you spend in the Casino, in pursuit of this dream?
My family has their own entertainment. I get in Home everyday for at least three hours; no one minds. I also play Madden Football online and try to play at least one game a day. I try to keep my Home spending to about $100. a month. That’s not bad for a month of entertainment with friends.
Do you also play other games in Home? And own personal spaces for fun?
I also enjoy Sodium 2 flying jets, Cutthroat Island sinking pirate ships, R/C Rally remote control track racing, playing pool and bowling at the Bowling Alley, and all the carnival games at the Midways. It’s all great entertainment. And yes, I enjoy some great personal spaces. My favorite of course is the Penthouse Suite that I received for reaching one million in overall earnings in the Casino.
I also own the Saloon, Avalon Keep, Waterfall Terrace, Motor Storm Valley Camp, Sunlit Meadow, and Salt Shooter.
Why did you decide to go for Tier topping instead of focusing your efforts on just one game’s leaderboard?
I wanted to do something different. And not that many people seemed to be going that route. Getting the visible ‘bragging rights’ with those award outfits is nice but I would have done it even if the rewards were not wearable. And, I wanted to have outfits that people cannot buy.
Which outfit do you like the best? And which the least?
The Elvis Impersonator suit is great! Really flashy and fun to wear. My least favorite is the Orange Tuxedo. That is just too much orange!
What do you hope to see as the ultimate Tier Topper award?
Something in red, white and blue. Maybe a jacket.
Are you willing to share your winning strategies for each game?
Sure, although I can’t say they are really strategies. They just worked well for me at the time.
Casino War: Put max bets on both the War and the Ties. I made more chips faster with the tie bets.
Keno: Max bet (200) on 20 randoms (numbers picked by the computer). Then, while waiting for the next Keno draw, go to the slots or video poker and play a few times.
Big 6 Wheel: Stay away from the long shots! Bet 100 on 1 and 100 on 2. Every time. It is tedious but it works and you should end up with about as many chips as you started with.
Roulette: I played 100 on green 0 and 100 on green 00 plus 100 each on 5 other numbers each spin. And I used the same 5 numbers over and over again.
Slots: I stick with the five line slots. Although the payout is less, you also lose less. And you can steadily build that total.
Craps: I just play 200 on 12, every time.
Poker: Move up to the VIP Room as soon as you can qualify. The payouts are huge for wins compared to the regular Poker Room. And you will make some great friends in there.
(Note: HSM does not officially support these recommendations. This is what worked well for rlt1027. You gamble; you take the risks.)
Would you do it all over again? Change anything?
Yes. Only change I would make is no more Joker bets in Big 6!
What’s the best part of doing all of this?
Meeting so many people and making new friends.
Somehow, this last statement by rlt1027 doesn’t surprise me. Those of us who know him as a gamer know that he personifies the old saying: “A good life is when you assume nothing, do more, need less, smile often, dream big, laugh a lot, and realize how blessed you are.”
So, if you feel daunted by the huge leaderboard scores and are tempted to give up, try Tier Topping. And let us know when you get that Elvis suit; our next fun event being planned is an Elvis flash mob on the stage in the Casino dancing “gangnam style” and probably on roller blades.
November 21st, 2012 by keara22hi | 9 comments
Keara is also known in Home as DarthGranny. She is a wicked little old lady with a wild sense of humor.
I totally agree w ur slots and craps strategys. U can play 5 line slots for hours and break even.
as far as recognition for topping out on tiers idk I’m maxed too so Idk y ur getting recognition for something so easy to achieve?
r u even on any boards?
“Digital Leisure found a way to give ‘bragging rights’ to those of us who will never amass enough earnings in one game to make it to the top of a leaderboard. For those of us who try it, we call it Tier Topping. It means maxing out *every* game in the Casino to the top tier. Keara conducts an interview with one such strategist”.
That is the opening paragraph to this article, weasel. This is why the recognition and why it was important to feature someone who is NOT on the leader boards.
Maybe 1% of the people who play in the casino would try to challenge YOU; but most would leave, discouraged, and not even try. For the Casino, that means a huge loss of opportunity to sell chips.
This article, however, points out that there are challenges in the Casino that anyone with enough perseverance can achieve. In short, creating visible Tier awards is a stroke of genius on the part of Digital Leisure.
i think it took 2 days to tier up on craps
and yes that was betting 200 on 12 lol
House edge is on betting 12 is 5.56%. House edge on Pass Line with full odds is very low, close to zero. Just saying.
I really hope this kind of ‘tips’ article will inspire others to share their own strategies for winning. Please post more comments, Sealwyf, and others, to help those of us who love to play in that Casino.
I gave extensive craps tips in my recent article on the game. But this does bring up an interesting point.
As a real-life casino gambler, I’m concerned with statistically proper pay and bankroll maintenance. But the kind of play that would eat up tens of thousands of dollars in real life takes less than a hundred dollars in Paradise Springs. I’m only on my second $20 buy-in, and I’ve racked up over 1.6 million points in total win (the important stat in Home’s casino), and am edging toward the Tier 4 marker for all games.
The bottleneck is craps — with what I consider proper play (Pass Line and Come bets with full odds), and a 200-coin total bet limit, my total win stat grows very slowly. I’m lucky if I can add a thousand points a night. So I’m forced to wonder whether statistically proper play is the best strategy in Paradise Springs, if what one is really after is a rapid climb up the Tiers and leaderboards. Perhaps throwing a few more PSN cards into the hopper and betting wild-and-foolishly is a rational strategy, given the environment.
Habits die hard, and “proper play” can feel more like a moral judgement than a money-management strategy, if it’s been drilled into you by the risks of real-life gambling. I can’t see myself tackling the proposition bets any time soon. But I can certainly see why some people choose to do it in Home.