There’s a scandal involving former San Diego mayor Maureen O’Connor in which it was reported that she lost one billion dollars playing video poker. The U-T San Diego headline reads “How to lose $1 billion in video poker.” The problem is, however, that this never happened. It might be a clever headline designed to sell a lot of newspapers, but it is a grossly exaggerated number. Continue reading Losing $1 Billion at Video Poker — NOT
Author: Bob Dancer
Induction versus Deduction
Different people use different types of logic. I try to use “deduction,” whereby I learn the general rule and then apply that to specific situations. A friend of mine, Abe, uses “induction,” which is to look at specific events and then form a general rule that these events will usually reoccur in similar situations. Continue reading Induction versus Deduction
The 2013 Blackjack Ball
For the past seventeen years, a number of blackjack professionals have met annually at an undisclosed Las Vegas location to swap war stories, renew acquaintances, and to challenge each other with various contests. This shindig is called the Blackjack Ball and is hosted by Max Rubin and Barona Casino. Although I’m a couple of decades removed from being a professional blackjack player, I am fortunate to have been invited the past two years. This is at least partially explained because my Gambling with an Edge co-host Richard Munchkin lobbied for my inclusion. Thank you, Munch! Continue reading The 2013 Blackjack Ball
Odd Man Out
This semester in my free video poker classes at the South Point, I’ll be teaching, among other games, 9/6 Double Double Bonus (DDB) (February 12), 9/6 Double Double Bonus Quick Quads (QQ) (February 19), and 9/6 Double Double Bonus Ten Play Ultimate X (UX)(February 26). These games have much in common with each other, but they also have significant differences. I see people playing both QQ and UX using “normal strategy.” That is a big mistake. Today’s column is dedicated to showing some of the differences among the games. Continue reading Odd Man Out
Which Game to Play?
I’ve mentioned many times that on 2x point days at the South Point, I play 9/6 Double Double Bonus Quick Quads. This is a game that returns 99.65% when played well, and 2x points are worth 0.60%, so that gives me a 0.25% edge — plus a small amount for mailers. I play this game for dollar Ten Play where each bet is $60 because it’s a six-coins-per-line game. Continue reading Which Game to Play?
The Eyes Have It
In 2001, I had Lasik procedures done on both of my eyes. Before that, I couldn’t see the big E on the eye chart without my glasses which I had worn for more than 45 years. I received the mono-vision version, which basically meant that I would see for distance with my left eye and close-up with my right eye.
Being free from glasses was wonderful. My vision was not so sharp in the intermediate ranges (say 2-8 feet), but overall, this was an acceptable trade-off. Continue reading The Eyes Have It
How Not to Run a Promotion
Michael Shackleford, my co-host on the Gambling with an Edge radio show, received an email from the slot director at the Riviera Casino in Las Vegas. The Riv was giving away $72,055 over the weekend of November 16-18 based on play from the prior ten days. In addition, play during November 10-12 would receive 5x points. The problem, however, was that there were five hourly drawings from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. Friday; ten hourly drawings between noon – 9 p.m. Saturday; and seven hourly drawings from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday. If you had a lot of tickets and wanted the best chance of winning some of the prizes, you basically had to hang out there all weekend. Continue reading How Not to Run a Promotion
How Do You Convince Somebody?
Let’s assume that I think all video poker machines in Nevada are fair — and when I say fair I mean that each unseen card has an equal probability of showing up next. Now let’s assume that I play 200,000 hands of single line Jacks or Better and do not hit a royal. That’s about five cycles. The chances that I will go the next five cycles without a royal on a fair machine are about 1-in-150.
You then ask me if I still think the machines are fair. My answer is going to be, “Yes, the machines are most likely fair.” My ‘prior belief’ dominates my belief system. Continue reading How Do You Convince Somebody?
Video Poker on Twitter
I have yet to join the Twitter-verse. For those still living in the 20th Century, Twitter is usually sent out over smart phones and is limited to 140 characters. Your ‘tweet’ (i.e., a message sent out on Twitter) goes out to all of your followers. They can then re-tweet and send it out to their followers if they wish. Sometimes tweets go ‘viral,’ meaning that millions of folks see your comments. Continue reading Video Poker on Twitter
Maybe Your System Doesn’t Even Work
More often than once a year, I get emails from people I’ve never met who want me to teach them to play video poker and then bankroll them. They assure me that they’ve always been good students, they’re positive they could do well at this, and they will give me a very fair share of the money they make during this process. Continue reading Maybe Your System Doesn’t Even Work