Recent Questions I Have Received

In the video poker world, I am somewhat of a public figure. Between the classes, articles, and radio show, lots of people ask me questions all the time. Some of them are in the “none of your damned business” category. And some aren’t. I thought I’d answer a few of them publicly that I haven’t addressed recently.

1. Do you ever give up on a good game just because it doesn’t work for you?

I’ve given up on many good games because I was too tired to focus competently. I’ve left casinos because they were too smoky, even though the game was worth a lot. I’ve stopped playing an excellent game because my wife “strongly suggested” we do something else together.

If something is going on that doesn’t allow me to be at my best (could be my health, could be concern about loved ones, could be a disagreement with somebody I’m not able to ignore for the present, could be music that’s too loud) I usually skip playing, no matter how lucrative the promotion is.

Usually my score doesn’t affect my decision to stay and play. I’ve hit two $100,000 royals within an hour and kept playing. I’ve lost $40,000 on a good game, and kept playing. But if a casino is relatively small, I’ll leave after one $20,000-or-larger jackpot — just because a small casino needs time to recuperate after big hits.

2. How long can you play perfectly without resting?

There is no set number of hours — and it’s a smaller number than it was ten years ago. I can play longer on slant tops than uprights. I can play longer in smoke-free environments than in more toxic locations (which is a primary reason I prefer playing between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. than between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.)

Some games (like Jacks or Better) are so simple I can play a long time without being exhausted. So long as the stakes are large enough that it hurts a bit when I lose, I can keep my concentration even if the game is not really challenging. Other games (like Joker Poker), are so complicated that it’s a constant mental challenge to play. I don’t last as long on those games. If there is someone obnoxious next to me, it takes away from my willingness to put in long hours.

It depends on how much sleep I’ve gotten recently. I’m not a guy who goes to bed and gets up at the same time every day. If a good promotion starts at midnight, I’ll be there — as well rested as I can be. But sometimes I also have daytime appointments or evening events, so I often take naps at odd hours. If I have enough warning, I can be ready to play well for long hours starting at any time of the day or night. If I don’t have that warning (such as walking by and seeing a REALLY juicy progressive or promotion when I was just planning on going to sleep), I can’t put in the hours.

3. Have you ever made a mistake that you know cost you money?

Of course. Probably thousands of times. I play fast and sometimes notice an error in the split second after I’ve already hit the “Draw” button.

Although everybody “knows” that making errors is bad, I disagree that this is such a terrible thing. If you’re on a good game, it’s far more profitable to play 800 hands-per-hour at 99.9% accuracy (that is, one mistake every hour and fifteen minutes) than it is to play 500 hands-per-hour at 100% accuracy. Occasionally making small errors is simply a cost of doing business.

I usually don’t beat myself up for errors. I rarely make a really big error because if the hand is worth a lot, I take an extra second or two to be sure my selection is held. I don’t think I’ve ever been dealt AAAA2 and played it so quickly that one of the cards “unheld.” That’s the kind of hand for which I slow down.

But I have recently played both the regular version of 8/5 Bonus and the version where all quads pay 175. There are hands like 2♥ 3♥ 4♥ J♣ A♠ where it is slightly better to hold AJ in one of the games and slightly better to hold ‘234’ in the other. (If you don’t know which is which, you can look it up!) Do I know the difference and could I get the correct answer on a test if I thought about it? Absolutely. Have I ever been playing fast and gotten confused about which game I was playing? Certainly!

4. Would you ever scale down your play in retirement?

“Ever” is a long time and who knows what the future holds? I’m 69 years old now. I play less than I did previously because the opportunities aren’t here — but I’ve replaced that somewhat with the radio program and a time-consuming square dancing hobby. (The radio show itself is an hour a week. It takes me MUCH longer than that to prepare for it.)

How mentally competent will I be in five years or ten years? I can’t know that now. It’s not a trivial thing to accurately measure my competence now. I don’t expect it to be any easier to measure in the future.

I know many people older than me who still seem just as sharp as they were before — and many more who clearly have lost a step or two. I’ll be somewhere in that mix — but exactly where, who can say now?

Having vast experience can partially compensate for not having quite the number of active brain cells that one used to have.

I already know that it’s harder for me to remember strategies than it was ten years ago — and it’s harder to play six hours straight. Will this “downward” trend continue? Probably, but I can’t say for sure exactly when and by how much.

I also don’t have a crystal ball as to the future of video poker. I assume it will be harder to make a living at it in five years than it is now — but the best few percent of players will still be able to do it. Will I still be near the top mentally and skillfully in five years? I expect so, but I can’t say for sure.

I’m doing a lot of what I think are the right things in order to stay at the top — regularly exercising, reading and participating in study groups, and having other people in my life. Even writing helps so long as I write about new things and not the same thing over and over again, because I have to have my thoughts in a row to write something down. Will that be enough to be successful in five years? I don’t know.

I also assume that the ones who can’t cut it anymore will not be happy about it — and will whine about it. Complaining about things not being like they used to be has been happening forever. These people will blame somebody (frequently me) for their lack of success. That’s how it goes.

My goal, whether I can be successful or not, is I will never be one of the whiners.