A friend of mine, “Paul,” is convinced he’s being cheated at a casino. He played 25,000 points the other day to earn a gift card. He then took a picture of the card reader with his points displayed. He pulled his card and re-inserted it and a total of 24,986 points appeared. He had been short-changed 14 points. Continue reading Concentrating on the Wrong Little Stuff
Category: Video Poker
When Do You Quit?
There is a slogan by a major beer manufacturer that says, “Know when to say when”. A slogan by one state’s Council on Problem Gaming says, “Winners know when to quit.”
The attitude expressed by the two slogans is virtually identical — that is, to drink and gamble responsibly. And there is no doubt that problem drinking and problem gambling are both serious problems today and anything that can be done to reduce these problems is a good thing. Continue reading When Do You Quit?
A Difference in Perspective
On the November 24, 2015 Gambling with an Edge radio show, our guest was surveillance expert Willy Allison. Willy provides consultation to casinos, helping casinos protect themselves from a variety of “threats” including strong players. One of our questions for Willy related to the lawsuits involving Phil Ivey. We suggested that however the cases work out in court, the executives at the casinos involved probably admitted to themselves that it was their own fault for not protecting the game better. We asked Willy how much he thought the surveillance departments were to blame. He basically said, “extremely little or not at all.” Continue reading A Difference in Perspective
Can You Count Drawings?
Sometimes I post on the www.videopoker.com forum. Compared to the players who frequent the vpFREE forum, on average the players on the videopoker.com forum are more recreation-oriented. They typically aren’t as knowledgeable about video poker. Still, everybody has to start somewhere. Continue reading Can You Count Drawings?
A New Experience
I was planning on playing Quick Quads at the South Point. The four machines were full. I knew two of the players and one told me she was leaving in fifteen minutes. Continue reading A New Experience
How Not to Do It
I have a friend who works at a casino in another state. He called and asked me if I knew of a player who lives in North Las Vegas named “Sam Hill.” I asked why he wanted to know and he said the player had come to his casino and the casino wanted to know if he was an advantage player. I said I wasn’t interested in giving my opinion of a player’s abilities to casinos. I then asked what made the casino think he was a good player. Continue reading How Not to Do It
“Should I Be a Gambler?”
I was recently teaching a free video poker class at the South Point. One of my students was accompanied by his 28 year-old son who normally lives near Cleveland. The son was considering moving to Las Vegas to be a professional gambler and wanted my opinion/advice as to whether or not he should. Continue reading “Should I Be a Gambler?”
We Make Too Many Wrong Mistakes
A version of this column originally appeared several years ago in Casino Player magazine. Since the title refers to a quote by Yogi Berra who passed away in late September of this year, I thought I’d resurrect the column as a tribute to him. Rest in peace, Yogi. Continue reading We Make Too Many Wrong Mistakes
Bonnie’s Freeroll
As I’ve mentioned previously, Bonnie and I married in May of last year. Bonnie has no interest or ability in gambling, but she accepts that this is what I do.
Continue reading Bonnie’s Freeroll
It’s a Matter of Money
Money is an integral part of gambling at video poker. Some people can probably enjoy the game just as much when playing at home on a computer program, but most of us want money involved in the equation. The chance to win or lose is part of the excitement.
Continue reading It’s a Matter of Money