Author: Bob Dancer

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Not as Close as you Think

I recently read that Colin Cowherd was leaving ESPN radio after being a personality there for 12 years. His morning show aired from 7 a.m. – 10 a.m. in Las Vegas. I’m not always up at that time, and I don’t always listen to the radio when I am, but I probably caught 5% or so of his broadcasts over the past few years. I enjoyed them.

Cowherd is not your typical sports radio host. He would often go off on tangents that were thought-provoking. Sometimes related to sports, but often not. Continue reading Not as Close as you Think

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Keeping the Story Straight

If your personal philosophy requires you to tell the truth 100% of the time, and anyone who doesn’t is going to hell, you’re not going to enjoy this article very much.

I married Bonnie, the widow of a career United States Air Force officer, in May of last year. Our planned European honeymoon needed to be scrapped because of a health issue for Bonnie which arose unexpectedly. This year we planned a make-up honeymoon consisting of four days in Paris, France followed by two weeks aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line Jade out of Venice, Italy. Continue reading Keeping the Story Straight

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An Instantaneous Professional

A version of this article was originally published in 2008. As I’ve progressed in my video poker knowledge and experience, I answer some questions differently. Therefore, I’ve changed several things in the article.

Not long ago I received the following email from someone I didn’t know:

Mr. Dancer:

I recently inherited some money. I’ve decided to set $50,000 aside as a bankroll so I can play video poker professionally. What games should I play? Please be specific. (signed) Lucky Heir
Continue reading An Instantaneous Professional

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Risk and Uncertainty in Video Poker

In May 2000 I was a guest in the home of my brother Dick and his wife Lisa, who at that time lived near Houston, Texas. My then-wife Shirley was off on a women’s religious retreat and I chose to spend time with Dick and Lisa rather than being a temporary bachelor in Las Vegas.

Without going into specifics and with me as the exception, my family is largely very conservative, especially when it comes to religion. I’m the only gambler in the group and in many ways have been a non-conformist compared to the others. On the second day of my visit, the discussion got around to video poker and my success — or lack thereof. Continue reading Risk and Uncertainty in Video Poker

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How Hot Do You Like It?

Let’s compare two different games that return almost the same amount — namely 9/7 Triple Double Bonus (TDB) and 9/6 Jacks or Better (JoB).

The percentage return is often considered to be the “bottom line” figure. I intentionally picked two games where the percentage returns were very close. If everything else were equal, I’d recommend picking 9/7 TDB, as the extra 0.034% adds up to about a buck an hour in EV for the 600-hand-per-hour 5-coin dollar player. Continue reading How Hot Do You Like It?

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Would You Rather Be Lucky or Good?

I regularly read “how to win” discussions from a variety of disciplines. I was recently re-reading David Sklansky’s The Theory of Poker and came across the following:

“Any time you make a bet with the BEST OF IT, where the odds are in your favor, you have earned something on that bet, whether you actually win or lose on the bet. By the same token, when you make a bet with the WORST OF IT, where the odds are not in your favor, you have lost something, whether you actually win or lose the bet.” Continue reading Would You Rather Be Lucky or Good?

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Casino Credit — Good news or Bad?

If you can prove to a casino you are worthy of credit, they’ll lend you interest-free money. Frequently you don’t have to pay it back for thirty days–sometimes longer. How smart is it for you to use this casino credit?

First of all, you have to assume that the casinos provide credit to players because it is profitable for them to do so. On average, players with access to credit will play more — and hence lose more. Even allowing that sometimes the casinos have problems collecting the money, they come out ahead by offering credit. Continue reading Casino Credit — Good news or Bad?

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More Tails from the Jungle

I’ve used the “animal versus animal” jungle metaphor to describe video poker in the past. Let’s play around a little bit more with that analogy today.

Some people think of the casino as the lion in the jungle and the players as the smaller prey, but I don’t think of it that way at all. I see the casino as the owner of the jungle, and the players are all animals within that jungle. The bigger animals have an easier time surviving than the smaller animals. Continue reading More Tails from the Jungle

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Should Have Kept My Mouth Shut

I participate in a study group of bright gamblers. You’ve heard of Richard Munchkin who often attends the group. The others are not particularly well known to the general public and even if you’ve heard of them, for the most part they don’t want their names bandied about.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, there were only four of us there (Munchkin couldn’t make it that day.) The other three all graduated from prestigious schools that specialized in math and science. Continue reading Should Have Kept My Mouth Shut