Bob Dancer

Posted on December 28, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 9 Comments

How Do You Figure?

A well-financed player, “Hal,” hired me some time ago to teach him 9/6 Triple Double Bonus Poker. This is not a particularly good game (98.15%), but it was the best he could find for the large stakes he wished to play.

I warned him, of course, that the game would likely be very expensive. He didn’t care that much. The excitement of hitting large royals and aces with a kicker (AWAK) would counterbalance any losing sessions he had. Okay. It’s not the way I want to play, but I was happy to teach him.

Posted on December 21, 2021September 18, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 6 Comments

Changes in NCL Cruises — Part II of II

A staple of cruising on NCL is the “Washy Washy” people at the entrance of the buffet encouraging everybody to receive a squirt of sanitizer on their hands. On the Bliss, instead of the sanitizer, there were four sinks at each entrance which we were strongly encouraged to use. And they still had the workers singing various songs to get you to cleanse yourself.

A new feature, at least to me, were the self-called “Pastry Girls.” These two ladies, perhaps in their 20s, probably from the Philippines, would go through the breakfast venues singing out, in unison, offering the daily delight of the day. Lemon muffins, chocolate brownies, and banana donuts were three of these. All promised, melodically, to be “Yummy, yummy, to the tummy.” These ladies were infectiously cheerful.

Posted on December 14, 2021September 18, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 10 Comments

Changes in NCL Cruises — Part I of II

Author’s Note: The blog for this week and next will be a trip report about a cruise my wife and I took aboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines Bliss from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera between November 28 and December 5. There were Covid protocols in place, and to my knowledge, no outbreaks on board. At approximately the same time, on the NCL Breakaway (a ship of similar size and configuration), sailing south from New Orleans, at least 10 people contracted Covid — and the ship returned straightaway to New Orleans. That story is still breaking and you may look it up should you like.

In my story, Bonnie and I had a pleasant and safe trip — and returned home to negative Covid tests. Had we been on the other ship, my conclusions would undoubtedly have been different.

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Bob Dancer — 1 Comment

Trying to Go Back Again

From 1974 to 1980, I was involved full-time in backgammon — to the tune of 3,000 hours a year, including playing, studying, and for a brief while running a tournament. I went broke. While I had done well against new players, the backgammon craze waned, and the remaining players were superior to me. Playing against superior players is a prescription for bankruptcy.

Over the next decade, I played or studied perhaps 1,000 hours a year because I had to maintain a full-time job to support myself. And I managed to play for smaller stakes against weaker players. At the end, I was a fairly strong intermediate player, by the standards of the day. There were a number of much stronger players around. Try as I might, I just didn’t have the ability to evenly compete with them. And so I avoided playing them.

Posted on November 30, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 11 Comments

What’s Wrong with Jacks or Better?

In terms of number of hands played, or number of dollars played, 9/6 Jacks or Better has been the video poker game I’ve played most in my career. Not so much recently, but certainly over my entire career.

The major things I like about the game are:

Posted on November 23, 2021 by Bob Dancer — 12 Comments

A Trip to New Orleans

This year, Caesars Entertainment merged with Eldorado. I have Seven Stars status at Caesars and haven’t played at any Eldorado property for several years.

Because of the pandemic, I played not at all at Caesars in 2020. My Seven Stars status was extended to January 1, 2022, and any Seven Stars unused benefits that would usually expire in 2020 could be used in 2021. This was very generous of Caesars/Eldorado.

Posted on November 16, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 7 Comments

Is This a Good Idea?

This incident happened in 1999 or 2000. I don’t think I’ve written about it before.

The video poker world in Las Vegas was much different then. Casinos had been giving away money right and left to knowledgeable video poker players for at least five years, and many of us were becoming financially very well off. Oh, for the good old days!

Posted on November 9, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 3 Comments

New Video Poker Games at G2E

Every fall (except last one because of the pandemic), the world’s largest gaming show meets in Las Vegas for the Global Gaming Expo. All sorts of products directly or indirectly relating to gaming are on display in the exhibit hall, including new slot and video poker games, new table games, new player tracking systems, surveillance products, uniforms, chairs, legal services, architecture firms, etc.

I specialize in video poker and other games of skill. And this always starts with IGT, which still dominates the market for video poker machines.

Posted on November 2, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 8 Comments

What’s More Important than EV?

Not long ago, I mentioned in a blogpost that if the only difference between an IGT game and a Scientific Gaming game was that straight flushes paid 250 in the former and 275 in the latter, I’d choose IGT because I like the feel and touch of IGT games better. I received some pushback for that comment. Some players said going for higher EV is ALWAYS the correct play, while some more thoughtful posters said, “Why don’t you explain, Bob, when you’re willing to give up EV for other things?” Today’s post is intended to partially address that.

The most important starting point for many players should be bankroll. Compare 9/6 Jacks or Better (99.54% and a variance of 19.5) with 9/7 Triple Double Bonus (99.58% and a variance of 98.3). Last time I played at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe (pre-pandemic), both games were available on the same 25 cent Hundred Play machine. (Possibly they were only Fifty Play. It was a while ago). The EV is pretty close to the same, but the swings are much higher on the TDB game. Dealt quads on the JoB game earn you $3,125. Dealt quads on TDB range between $6,250 and $100,000. There were promotions in effect that made these games playable to me

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Bob Dancer — 6 Comments

It’s Not So Easy

I’ve been playing video poker promotions for almost 30 years, and before that exploited blackjack promotions for about five years. I’ve absorbed a lot of “how to do things” over the years that are now second nature to me. When a new promotion comes along, I have enough experience, usually, to get the most out of it.

Recently, though, in another gambling game where they were giving away money, I was really out of my element.

Author: Bob Dancer