A few years ago, for several days in a row, I was hammering a $5 Five Play 9/6 Double Double Bonus game. This game returns 98.98% and it is very un-Dancer-like to play so much on a game that bad. I received an email from somebody I didn’t know asking me why I was playing […]
Posts tagged Bob Dancer
Chasing a Progressive
There are hundreds of video poker progressives in greater Las Vegas. As a general rule, I avoid these games. Progressives are not my bread and butter. Still, I occasionally do sit down at a progressive that catches my eye, and recently there was such a case. A $2 9/5 DDB progressive at the South Point […]
A Matter of Perspective
I had a trip to take not related to gambling. There was a casino nearby. I knew that if I gave them some action, I could get a comped room and possibly a meal or two. I figured if they had at least 8/5 Bonus (99.166%), I was money ahead by staying at the casino. […]
Safety Precautions
I usually play by myself and sometimes will eat a meal at the casino. When I do, I always bring along a book to read while dining. Sometimes the book is a novel. Sometimes it is non-fiction – perhaps a book by a future guest on the podcast. But eating by myself without a book […]
A Look at the Blackjack Apprenticeship Boot Cam...
Colin Jones is a former leader of the “Holy Rollers” blackjack team and has founded blackjackapprenticeship.com as a way of helping players learn to play. He’s been a guest on GWAE a number of times. Several times a year, Blackjack Apprenticeship runs a two-day “boot camp” in Las Vegas. This is a $3,000 intensive training […]
It’s All About the Quads
In February, I was playing 25¢ Five Play Multi-Strike 9/6 Jacks or Better at the South Point. This is a 99.79% game, played for 100 coins ($25) at a time. With the normal 0.30% slot club, the knowledgeable player has a small advantage all of the time. In February, however, there were always two casino-wide […]
An “Advantage Play” I Detest
What is an advantage play? While I have never heard a precise definition, generally it is when you use your intelligence, knowledge, or guile to gain an advantage over some other person or group. The term is most often used in discussions about beating a casino. Counting cards at blackjack is a common advantage play. […]
Two Cards or Four? When Does It Matter?
Consider the following two hands in games where you get your money back for a pair of jacks or better: A♠ K♠ Q♥ T♦ 5♣ and A♠ K♠ Q♥ T♦ 5♠. There are games where the correct play in both hands is AK; games where the correct play is always AKQT; and games where in […]
Ed Thorp’s Wife
Ed Thorp is one of the fathers of blackjack card counting. Recently he made a nice donation to the Blackjack Ball, which ensures the continuance of the ball even after it’s founder, Max Rubin, passes away. As a partial thank you, Max told Thorp that he could invite his entire family to this year’s Blackjack […]
The Twenty-Third Annual Blackjack Ball
The Blackjack Ball is an annual institution where about 100 of the world’s best gamblers meet up, socialize, drink too much, and compete against each other. The 2019 version occurred a few weeks ago. The first order of business after two hours of drinking and socializing was to vote for the newest member of the […]
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