Bonnie and I traveled to Los Angeles several months ago and, among other things, spent an afternoon visiting Margo, a platonic friend of mine going on 35 years. The ladies got along great and the visit reminded me of a story I wrote about Margo several years ago. Continue reading How Good Do You Want to Be?
Author: Bob Dancer
Churchill was Right
Winston Churchill was the British Prime Minister during much of World War II. Unlike modern politicians and their political correctness, he smoked a big cigar and enjoyed drinking alcohol in public — sometimes too much so. Continue reading Churchill was Right
Life as a Master
The title of this article is somewhat tongue in cheek. A few years ago, someone called me a master because of something I’ll explain shortly. It occurred to me that many players don’t understand the day-to-day activities of a successful professional player — whether that player deserves to be called a master or not. Striving to be a master of video poker is one of my goals. Actually becoming a master is likely unobtainable. Mastery is about something you do, not something you are. Continue reading Life as a Master
Breakeven Point Analysis Leads to Some Strange Conclusions
A version of this article first appeared in 1999, but I haven’t written about it for a long time and many of my readers are newer to the game than that and didn’t see it the first time.
Continue reading Breakeven Point Analysis Leads to Some Strange Conclusions
Knowing When to Quit
I read an article in a poker publication some time ago. It was about a live poker player who recently spent a half-hour run “in the zone.” Apparently there were six major pots, and that writer won five. Then the writer was beaten two hands in a row, determined his streak was over, and left the game up $900. Continue reading Knowing When to Quit
Quitting When I’m Ahead
You’ve heard the expression “Quit when you’re ahead,” applied to gambling. You’ve also heard, “When you’re on a hot streak, keep firing away!” These two bromides give opposite advice on what you should do when you actually hit a big jackpot. The first says go home. The second says stay and keep playing. Continue reading Quitting When I’m Ahead
“Always Do Your Best” is Questionable Advice
How many times growing up were you told to always do your best? How many times have you told it to your own kids or grandkids?
While it has a catchy ring to it, it is basically terrible, short-sighted advice that’s impossible to follow. Continue reading “Always Do Your Best” is Questionable Advice
Drivers, Pilots, Artists, and Perfectionists
Perhaps twenty years ago, I attended a series of motivational lectures by Dr. William Kerley. Near the end of the last lecture, he spoke of the time when he was hired by Continental Airlines to give classes to their non-pilots on how to deal with pilots. To properly understand what pilots went through, he spent many hours in flight simulators for a variety of airplanes. (This happened before 9/11). Continue reading Drivers, Pilots, Artists, and Perfectionists
Going Down in Stakes
More than a decade before I started playing video poker, I was doing my best to make it as a backgammon player. In the 1980s, I regularly played at the Cavendish West, located in West Hollywood, California, right where the Sunset Strip met Beverly Hills. Continue reading Going Down in Stakes
How Do You Figure?
I receive a lot of mail addressed to [email protected]. These are primarily from podcast listeners who hope I can answer one of their questions. Continue reading How Do You Figure?