Advanced Strategy – Page 14 – Las Vegas Advisor

Posted on September 20, 2022August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 1 Comment

An Interesting Hand in 8/5 ACE$ Bonus Poker

The cards in ACE$ Bonus Poker (ABP) are just like the ones in regular Bonus Poker (BP) except there are superimposed yellow letters on four cards: “A” on the ace of clubs, “C” on the ace of diamonds, “E” on the ace of hearts, and “$” on the ace of spades. The order of the suits is alphabetical and contract bridge players will also be familiar with this order.

If you get four aces in ACE$ order, either in positions 1-4 or 2-5, you get paid 4,000 coins instead of 400. I’ve written about this game numerous times and have usually said the only changes you make to regular 8/5 BP strategy to play 8/5 ABP perfectly are to break aces full when the aces are in proper sequence for the bonus.

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Bob Dancer — 7 Comments

Why Aren’t You Still There?

I wrote recently in a two-parter about a trip I took where I ended up quite a bit ahead. Sometime after I got back, Bonnie and I were having dinner with her sister, Robin, and Robin’s husband. Robin asked about the trip.

“Bonnie tells me you did pretty well there.”

Posted on August 30, 2022August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 13 Comments

“Doing it Bob Dancer’s Way Can Lead to Bankruptcy”

My son-in-law, or perhaps a more correct term is step-son-in-law, Michael, passed away recently after a long illness. Michael was married to Bonnie’s daughter Joyce. He was more than 20 years older than Joyce, and in fact was a few months older than me.

After a somewhat rocky start, where Joyce and Michael were initially opposed to Bonnie marrying a professional gambler and did their best to sabotage the wedding. Over time we all got to know each other well and became friends.

Posted on August 16, 2022August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 10 Comments

Promotion at Molly’s — Part I of II

I received the following email for the Gambling with an Edge mailbag show:

Hi Bob, how do you calculate the edge on this video poker promotion? Molly’s in Vegas offers “lose $20, get $20” but I’m not sure how to calculate the advantage (if any). Also, if you have played this promotion before, do you literally have to put in $20 and lose it all before you get the $20 free play, or can you just lose four hands at $5 a hand to be credited the $20 free play?

Posted on August 9, 2022August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 10 Comments

Which is the Better Game?

A gambler friend, Al, and I were on the phone talking about something related to vitamin supplements, and then he said he had a video poker question that he was embarrassed to ask me.

“Go ahead,” I prompted. “If it’s too awkward, I just won’t answer.”

Posted on August 2, 2022August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 2 Comments

My Lucky Shirt — Part 2 of 2

I recommend you get started with this article by reading last week’s post first. I’ll be happy to wait for you while you do that.

On Day 7 of my trip, a Monday, I showed up in my lucky shirt, hoping to take another big bite out of the casino’s assets if the game was still around. If it had been removed, I’d go back to the $5 game for as long as I was there.

Posted on July 26, 2022August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 3 Comments

My Lucky Shirt — Part 1 of 2

This true story happened some time ago, but so far, I haven’t written about it. I was playing $25 single line Double Double Bonus (DDB), rather heavily, at an out-of-town casino for more than a week. What casino, pay schedule, slot club, and promotions that made this a good play in my opinion are for another story, another day. Suffice it to say that I believed it to be a play where I had enough of an advantage to warrant playing hard.

If you can figure out where and when this took place (perhaps you saw me — a lot of players know what I look like), please keep it to yourself. There are reasons I don’t specify all the details of the game here, and please don’t undermine my reasons.

Posted on July 19, 2022August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 8 Comments

Adding Triple Double Bonus to WinPoker

I was associated with WinPoker for many years. It was, and is, a good product. Our breakup happened when Video Poker for Winners invited me along and promised to have a strategy calculator — a feature I think is important.

So I left WinPoker. I’ve remained on good terms with Dean Zamzow, the man in charge of all things related to WinPoker, but have no remaining financial interest in that product.

Posted on July 12, 2022August 29, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 8 Comments

How Long Can It Last?

I was leaving the South Point one morning in early June and “Sam,” a man who has attended many of my classes over the years, approached me and said, “Bob, I have to ask you. How long can a losing streak last? I haven’t hit a royal flush since November.” For occasional players, a six- or seven-month royal-free streak would not be that unusual. But I’ve seen Sam in casinos dozens of times, so I assume it’s been several 40,000-hand cycles. Always painful. Always expensive.

Posted on June 21, 2022August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 15 Comments

It Might Not Scratch My Itch

I was walking through Sam’s Town here in Las Vegas on a Tuesday in June. The casino offers 10x points (worth 0.5%) for seniors on Tuesdays and I was scouting the place looking to see if anything might be of interest. Even after all these years, scouting is part of my routine.

I’ve been restricted from receiving mailers for more than a decade at all Boyd properties (including Sam’s Town), so anything I find has to be good enough by itself to be worthwhile, because there won’t be additional benefits coming down the road.

Category: Advanced Strategy