The SLS Casino opened up at midnight on a Friday the week before Labor Day, 2014. Half a day later, Saturday afternoon, I visited to check it out. I wanted to see if there were any games worth playing.

In the High Limit room I ran into Scott McDermott. Scott had been some sort of slot department manager or shift boss at the Palms for perhaps 10 years. He knew me well. He had seen me hammer $5 Five Play or $25 single line games for hours and he knew I was “Bob Dancer.” I went up to him, shook his hand, and found out that he was in charge of slots at the SLS. Continue reading My Adventure at the SLS — Part 1 of 2

There are definitely certain skills necessary to be a successful gambler, but in addition to the skills, your mindset is important as well. Playing games well, whether for money or not, requires thinking in a way that the general public usually does not.
Continue reading It’s a Mindset

Not long ago I was teaching a Quick Quads class at the South Point. As often occurs, after the class several students came up to chat. Sometimes they just come up to thank me; sometimes they want to ask about a particular hand; and sometimes people hang out just to hear my answers to questions that others are asking. Continue reading It’s Better to Do It Yourself

When Liam W. Daily and I were devising our strategy cards and Winner’s Guides several years ago, we noticed that in many games, the value of certain 3-card straight flushes was similar. In 9/6 Jacks or Better, for example, KQ9 (two high cards and two insides) is worth $3.21, JT8 (one high card and one inside) is worth $3.20, and 345 (no high cards and no insides) is worth $3.18. In all cases, I am assuming a 5-coin dollar player and the last two cards in the hand provide neither flush nor straight interference. Continue reading Comparing the Values of 3-card Straight Flushes Among Games