Assume you’re trying to figure out which casino to frequent in Las Vegas. You’ve heard that I’ve played at the South Point and have done well there. Does it follow that the South Point is a good place for you to play?

Some factors to consider:

1. What game(s) do I play there? 
2. Is that (are those) game(s) available there at stakes that are comfortable for you?
3. Do you know that (those) game(s) well?
4. Do I limit my play there to cases when certain promotions are going on? If so, is that promotion going to be in effect when you wish to play?
5. I am a senior, and South Point has senior days. Do I play on senior days and are you a senior?
6. For the right promotion, I can play many hours starting at any time of the day or night. Are you comfortable with playing any shift depending on promotions?
7. Are you eligible to play there? South Point, like most or maybe all casinos, has restricted certain players from getting mailers, and others from even getting slot club points. Are you such a person?
8. I play there as a local. Out-of-towners receive a different package of benefits than locals do. Are you a local?
9. Do you like the South Point? Liking any particular casino is an individual preference. If you don’t like the South Point for any reason, it’s probably not a good choice for you.
10. The casino has removed several of its loosest games recently. There are still plenty of good games — though not as many as there used to be. Is the game you want to play still there?
11. If I lose several thousand dollars playing a promotion where I believe I have the advantage, it’s not really a big deal to me. Are you that sanguine about losses?
12. The promotions at the South Point are much less generous than they were a few years ago. How does this affect the profitability of playing there?
13. They used to have a better selection of persistence slots than they now. While this affects the casino’s desirability from my point of view, if you’re not a slot player, this is irrelevant to you. 
14. The casino recently slashed the cash back rate in half for video poker players — going from 0.30% to 0.15%. Does this change how much, if at all, I still play there?

I could extend this list, but you get the point. Even knowing I play there, there are things about my play that you do not know. I don’t publish exactly how much I play there, on which games, and why I’m playing certain promotions and avoiding others.

What prompted me to write this blog is that I recently read “You’re About to Make a Terrible Mistake,” by Olivier Sibony. This book uses behavioral economics concepts previously explored by authors such as Daniel Kahneman, Dan Ariely, Amos Tversky, Richard Thayler and others to examine mistakes made in business and how to avoid them.

One of the concepts that he spends a lot of time on is that it rarely makes sense to exactly copy what somebody else is doing. Circumstances are always a bit different when you’re trying to follow somebody else’s footprints. It’s usually better to do something similar, yet different.

While it was addressed in terms of Fortune 500 companies, I suggest it applies to video poker players as well — where each of us tries to manage our own gambling business. Those who take it beyond the strictly recreational level make decisions and actions aimed at trying to succeed.

So how should knowing thatI play at the South Point affect your decisions? Probably as a “check it out” type of deal. Even if you aren’t trying to copy me exactly, that fact that I find it a worthwhile place to play (or at least I did before they cut the slot club cash back rate) should indicate that there’s probably something worthwhile there.