The Dancer Conundrum

I hate to be on the same side of the aisle as Rob "Singer," but here's the logical problem I have with Bob Dancer in 2011.

The games Dancer is playing are, for the most part, negative expectation if you don't factor in promotions dependent on Dancer's highest-level status with the various slot clubs. Without the extra rebates and promos available to the top 1/10 of 1 percent of video poker players, these games are negative.

The only way to acquire the aforementioned slot club status is to play negative expectation games sans the promos until one acquires sufficient status to qualify for the promos that put you into positive expectation range.

For the bulk of these games, there's no current way to acquire highest-level "in-the-black" status without donating to the casinos on negative expectation games enroute to acquiring "Dancer-status." And you'd have to donate a lot.

I could pound the 25 cent FPDW forever, and I'm not going to get onto the top promo list at the Palms.

So what the heck is the use of all this? There are, literally, just a couple of hundred people who currently have "Dancer-status" and can chip away at the casinos. Are these columns written for them? Or are they written for the occasional millionaire who may decide to dive feet first into high-stakes video poker and may need to consult Dancer personally?

For 99.9% of video poker players, the Dancer columns have very limited utility.

I think the idea is to use the concepts to the limits that they relate to your play. Let's face it, when a game is refered to as a 100% game, that's assuming perfect play. I seriously doubt there are many people in the world who play at that level 100% of the time. The idea is to give you the best chance. Another factor is playing a game you like. I like JOB, which isn't 100%, but I can play for extended periods because I like it. Most "human" vp players don't need to take all this info litterally, but rather as it applies to their play.

Good Luck!
Ric at Joes

First, I don't think this is a Singer vs. Dancer issue. I have a feeling Dancer is having more difficulty coming up with articles after writing for these many years. So, what you see may not apply to you personally.

I rarely read anything Dancer or anyone else writes these days. I understand the math so I can make my own evaluation of opportunities. Take everything you read into consideration, but understand the context and decide if it applies to you.

The intent is mostly promotion. By reading his article you may come sign up for a class or visit his website, and then wait for it, wait for it,...........Buy something.

In December he wrote in his column about the move to LVA.

He also mentioned how, after all the years and writings how difficult it is to come up with something "fresh" about VP, so if he could correlate something else to relate to VP he would.