I’m now 75 years of age. I have mild COPD, which is a lung disorder partially caused and/or exacerbated by second hand smoke. I’ve been in casinos averaging more than 50 hours a week for the past 30 years. Before that, I played backgammon at a smoky club for more than 15 years.
A case could be made that had I chosen a different career, I might be healthier today. While I have been fairly successful, was what I gained worth what I lost insofar as health goes?
This is a question that each person has to answer for himself. I can’t tell you what is right for you. I can only tell you how I answer that question myself. And my answer has several parts to it.
- I can’t say how healthy I would be had I continued in school and become an actuary for an insurance company. (That’s one possible career path. There were an infinity of others.) Assuming perfect health at 75 years of age had I not spent time in casinos is not realistic. Many senior citizens have ailments quite a bit more serious than mild COPD.
- I’m betting I am happier with my career than I would have been working for a big company. Playing well with others has not been my strong point over the years. Being my own boss is more satisfying.
- I’ve had considerable success in this career — monetarily and being relatively well-respected. (Yes, I’m quite aware I have my share of haters. But overall, more people respect my work than put me down for it.)
- I’ve seen much of the United States and the world because of this career. At age 45, before I knew what video poker was, I had been to about five states along with Canada and Mexico. Today I’ve been to more than 40 states and more than 30 different countries. I’ve nowhere near “seen everything,” but I’m closer to that than I likely would have been otherwise.
Some of that travel has come from scouting and playing in casinos all over. Part of that travel has come via cruises, which have come highly discounted via casino play. Yes, I could have paid retail for as many cruises as I like, but paying retail is not my style. If I can’t get a good deal, I probably will stay home.
- The teaching part of my career has served to expand the number of people I know. It’s hard for me to meet people. In the classes, I fought my way through that and as a result have more acquaintances and friends than I otherwise would.
- The columns I’ve chosen to write have allowed me a vehicle to express myself. It is truly a privilege to be able to speak to an audience, or to write for a blog that is read.
- I like the idea of leaving something behind when I die. I don’t know how long the Winner’s Guides will be relevant, but I do know that many tens of thousands of players have been able to improve their gambling experience because of things I’ve said or written. It’s not the most socially useful thing to leave behind, I suppose. Curing cancer would have been a lot better. But there is a trail behind me that many people are not able to leave.
- My wife Bonnie is the most important person in my life. Being a successful gambler had very little to do with attracting her (although gambling trips to New Orleans and Lake Tahoe, along with multiple cruises certainly helped.) Everyone who has found a good partner took an individualized path to do so. I hope I would have found one no matter what my career path was.
Overall, I come up with a resounding, “Yes, it was worth it!” I would love to live my life over again (it’s been fun!), and if I had that chance, I would have made a high percentage of the same choices. I don’t much believe in luck, but it’s a lucky man who can look back on his life with satisfaction. In that respect, I’m very lucky.
Thank you, Bob. That was well said. I respect your life choices and your determination to live life to its fullest in your own way. Thank you for being there and for all you have done for others to make their choices more fun and profitable. I have certainly gained from what you have done. Thanks again.
I was self employed for ten years which were the best years for me. Money was up and down with no insurance, benefits or pension. Took a municipal job for twenty seven years with good pay, benefits and pension that I enjoy now. Being self employed was much better, but the hours were killer and I wasn’t getting any younger. Six of one, half dozen of another. Had five way bypass at fifty five, lost fifty pounds and reversed my diabetes. Dropped A1c of ten to five. Seventy two now and health is good. Always attended your classes since you were at the Silverton, read your literature and study your software on a daily basis. I wouldn’t be enjoying vp and retirement as much without your products. Thanks Bob for choosing your path. We’re both lucky to be in a free country.
Hey Bob, been to a couple of classes at SP, rudely interrupted you at south point while you were having lunch, I told you about my dealt rf in florida . I’ve enjoyed your columns for years as well as you and Richards poidcasts. My best to you towards your health issues.
Hi Bob,
I sense a vague message you are stepping back¿
The tips and sound advice over the years have improved my play.
Go with GODS grace if you must.
Bob, you are the best of the best! You certainly have made me a better player and a happy gambler! THANK YOU!
I am familiar with those short cut expressions, not sure what COPD exactly is. The fact is, however, working or being in a smoke filled surroundings is harmful to each and everybody, period. I have never been a smoker but I suffered heavily while working for years as a casino dealer and inspector while inhaling second hand smoke. Playing poker in a casino where there was smoking allowed at the table was another thing which was very disturbing to me. The worst experience was years back at the Mirage in Las Vegas when they opened and smoking was allowed or for instance at the Concord Card Casino in Vienna where the airconditioning by no means could handle it.
The older you get, the more you realize that it’s not only about the money. And then it was the moment when I decided to change my life completely and change into a new work surroundings. I never regreted that move. When you play videopoker in a casino that is offering a great promotions but the machines are in a smoke filled zone, then it’s tough. You have to make a decision whether it’s worth it for you, or not. You always have the freedom to make a move. That’s what I did as well.
I think videopoker is one of the greatest games that I have ever been playing (for money). There are so many aspects and ways of seing it, and even if you happen to lose a little, in the long run it’s still by far the best game that you can find, as long as you pick the right times to play, choose the right games and know how to play. With all the informations that I have from reading Mr Bob Dancer’s column and by practicing with his software tools I can say that my game has dramatically improved overall. And for that I am grateful. I understand however that there are also negative side effects when playing VP. For instance, the noise, the bad body posture, the irritation of my eyes, back problems, and of course, sleeping problems after playing long sessions. But then, compared to other games, it’s by far the best. Not even live action poker can come just close to what I experience when playing videopoker. There are many advantages and disadvantages, but that would be something for a different column, not for today. Thank you Mr Bob Dancer, you tought me great things that I shall always remember when playing deuces wild games in the future, wherever this will be….
From Switzerland
Boris
Courage and consideration are not words associated with casino management or ownership, it take legislature and the law to stand up for the people, unfortunately… There are rumors that Bill Hornbuckle at MGM will do the right thing at more than just the one casino, Park MGM, and ban smoking at others his company manages, if he does this he becomes immortal, he becomes an icon of courage, someone people remember. Smoking in card casinos in California has been banned for decades, without denting their bottom lines, the fact that tribal casinos allow smoking is astounding to me and keeps me out of them. Do it Hornbuckle, a few unfortunately addicted people should not be allowed to make it toxic to breath in any indoor setting…
Hi Bob,
Thanks for all the stories and tips but most importantly stay well!
@Michael , one of the few good things about the Pandemic was when Pechanga (So Cal tribal casino) reopened it was non-smoking and has stayed that way till now. Will just give up on the place if it ever returns. Place of course is packed as ever.
1997 was when the Poker rooms in Cali had to go non-smoking and of course business was never better after a little adjustment period. Smokees now just go outside where they belong to do their thing for a bit and return, with no harm done
Amazing LV cant move to these rules, in the end business would be unaffected, if not go up.
Bob, everything you wrote was good and fine except for one thing (yeah, I’m being picky). You wrote “I don’t much believe in luck.” Well, no matter what you want or don’t want to believe in it, luck is a fact, period, unless you want to claim that gambling results are predestined/predetermined, and I don’t think that you believe THAT. When you are dealt 4 parts of a royal, you can call it a “no-brainer” that you hold only those 4 cards and discard the other card; we don’t need to exercise much skill to do that hold. But which card we receive on the Draw is ENTIRELY luck; we cannot control or even influence which of the 47 cards [48 in Joker games] gets dealt to complete the final drawn hand. That previous sentence that I just wrote is a fact, and we all know it. So there’s no reason for you (or anybody else) to not believe it. That reality does not in any way conflict with the fact that we should learn perfect or near-perfect strategy to maximize our result; it’s just part of the game. Concomitantly, it’s also luck as to how many times out of N trials we will get that royal. If we have 470 trials [in non-Joker games], “average” says that we should get 10 royals, but that is not guaranteed, and we cannot force that to happen; how many we get (9, 10, 11, whatever) is entirely determined by luck. And it is not true that all people will get the same number of royals in 470 trials; they will get varying numbers of royals, and those varied results will plot as some kind of bell curve, with 10 slightly as the most common result, but someone could get 15 or only 5 (or any other possible result). I’ve read your columns and reports of results over the years, and I don’t think I’ve ever read you saying that you got an extreme result; your results seem to almost always land in the middle 1/3 of the bell curve. If you’ve never been skunked with a really horrible result over time, then you should consider yourself lucky to have been spared the misfortune. Some of us HAVE been plagued with bad results over time. Who gets hit with that, and who doesn’t, is also entirely luck.
Note For Don Zack:
[This would ideally be written privately, but I don’t have your email address.]
If your doctor has actually told you that you no longer have diabetes, then dropping your A1c from 10 to 5 is totally fine. (One doctor told me that if my body’s weight could drop from 250 to 180, my diabetes might totally disappear.) But if you are still classified as diabetic, then it would be better for you if your A1c were at least 6.0, while being less than 7.0. A recent study showed that diabetics whose A1c was under 6.0 had a higher incidence of early death due to a cardiovascular incident than diabetics whose A1c was between 6.0 and 6.9. Studies have not shown that A1c’s of 5.x are better than those of 6.x; but in this one way, an A1c of 5.x is actually worse. A1c’s are not considered to be bad at all unless they are over 7.0, and of course the higher they are above 7.0, the worse they are. Being between 6.0 and 6.9 does not cause anything bad.
Al: Great to hear Pechanga has remained smoke free! Chumash went back to allowing smoking, unfortunately, I wrongly assumed all did. Pechanga is the very best casino I have ever visited outside Nevada, Morongo is second…
Al, drawing the Jack of Clubs while holding AKQ10 of Clubs is NO MORE “lucky” then drawing the 3 of hearts. Just because one outcome pays 4000 (or more) credits and the other pays 0 credits doesn’t change anything. Both cards have exactly the same probability of being drawn as the other. Hence “luck” doesn’t exist.
Retirement is very nice, but be aware of what is missed: Friends/close associations made at work; the good feeling of accomplishment, or at least that you gave it all you had on this/that particular day; your value to the organization which becomes clearer to you and to them when you retire. If one has other opportunities to move on to after retirement, then that is a plus. Otherwise just be aware, and consider whether the positives of the job (including income) outweigh the daily aggravations on mind and/or body. If this is a farewell kind of post from Bob, we’ll all miss him and wish him the happiness that retirement can certainly bring.
If this is a farewell kind of post from Bob, we’ll all miss him and wish him the happiness that retirement can certainly bring.
Thank you, but I’m not going anywhere. I’m still playing video poker. Still looking for an edge. Still looking for interesting things to write about.
The only thing that is changing is now the focus of my column is perhaps 50% video poker rather than the 90% video poker it was in the past.