This is a poll on whether you prefer books, videos, software, strategy cards, etc. for learning a new gambling game. We originally ran it around four years ago and we thought we'd revisit if for two reasons.
First, since the shutdown in March and during the continuing shelter-in-place directives in many places, we've heard from many customers who've taken some of the extra time at home to learn and practice new gambling games or refamiliarize with old ones.
Second, we're in the preliminary stages of producing a pair of new books by James Grosjean, considered by many to be the dean of advantage players, on the poker-derivative "carnie" games, such as Mississippi Stud, Jackpot Holdem, Ultimate Texas Holdem, Criss-Cross Poker, and possibly others.
As a publisher of gambling information, we're always looking for the best ways to disseminate and convey gambling concepts, rules, strategies, and theories. You can select as many choices as you like and as always, thanks for voting and commenting.
| Tutorial software. Nothing is stronger than learning as you play, e.g., the Video Poker for Winners software. |
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| Books. Books are still the best. They give me the most information and I like the process of learning from A to Z. |
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| Strategy cards. Just give me the important information in an easy-to-use format that I can carry into the casino. |
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| Odds. I go to WizardofOdds.com to determine the house advantage and learn about the variants (such as side bets). |
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| Videos. I prefer to watch the types of videos you can find on YouTube, assuming they’re from a credible source. |
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| Dealer. As a recreational gambler, I ask the dealer, watch and/or play a couple hands, and read the rules card. |
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| App. I like to use my phone for as many daily tasks as possible. Learning a new game qualifies. |
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| Blogs. Good blogs that go up often online and are more timely are most useful to me. |
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| Hands-on training. If I really want to learn something, I don’t mind paying for a tutor, taking an online training course, or attending a seminar. |
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| User input. Message boards, along with platforms like Yelp and Trip Advisor, bring together the knowledge of many users. |
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| Audio books. I’d buy them if they were available. |
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We were interested to compare the results of this poll to the one we ran four years ago (which you can see here).
In this poll, software rules. In the previous poll, software came in third at 17%. What changed in four years to enable computer programs to jump 8 points to number one? Your guess is as good as ours. Four years, to us, doesn't seem like an inordinate amount of time for computer learning to take such a commanding lead.
Good old reliable books held steady at number two, garnering 18% and the number-two spot in both polls.
Strategy cards also kept up their standing: 14% of the vote this time and 15% last time. Likewise with videos at 10% and 12%.
The rest of the choices between the polls were kind of apples and oranges, since the two surveys weren't exactly the same (thanks to the input we now receive from the poll preview). But we can see that computer learning is on the rise and will remain so for the foreseeable future, especially given the shutdown and remote education for K-12 and higher.
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Dave in Seattle.
Aug-29-2020
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