Page 22 - April 2005 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
The Value of Practice by Bob Dancer
Shirley and I have been to a number of “High Roller” events over the past few years. Although each one is di erent, the casinos invite known players to come in for a weekend and play, and at the end of the weekend the casino will give away quite a bit of money. is article isn’t about these events (because this is an article for beginners, and beginners aren’t invited to these events until after they have played for awhile), but it is about some things I
have observed while playing in them.
To be invited to play these events, you need to play $5 and higher machines. To do that
requires a lot of bankroll and/or con dence. Although there are some people who earn their money from non-gambling sources and play at this level just because it just feels comfortable to them, most of the better players got to play this high over time. We started for quarters and did well. Eventually we moved to dollars and now we are at $5 and higher.
e game of choice at these events is usually 9/6 Jacks or Better. is game only returns 99.54%, but with the slot club bene ts (at least .33% cash — sometimes more) and an expected share of the weekend booty, this can be a good deal.
9/6 Jacks or Better is probably the easiest game to play perfectly. (Deuces
It takes a lot of time to practice, and, frankly, most of us nd practicing rather boring. So over time, most players’ skills deteriorate. And so even among professional-level players, mistakes happen frequently.
My personal experience has been di erent. I can play perfectly. (Although when tired, I sometimes don’t play as well as I can.) But, truthfully, practicing isn’t any more fun for me
than it is for anybody else. And in my mid- fties, my memory isn’t what it used
to be.
back and forth among several games) is still another. Read everything you can nd about video poker. But however you do it, you must do it if you wish to be successful.
I know that when I moved to Las Vegas to be a blackjack counter, I was pretty good. at was 11 years ago and I haven’t played serious blackjack in over 8 years. I remember some of the matrix numbers, but not all of them. When I walk through a casino, it sometimes feels like I could sit down and play as well as I used to. But I know better. e edge I had in that game has evaporated. And it would have happened to me also in video poker had I not decided to teach others and write about the games. I do stay sharp because I have to. If I gave up teaching or writing, my game would likely deteriorate dramatically.
And if that happened, I would not be as successful and would likely have to go out and get a job. And I don’t want that! When I married Shirley I promised her I would work very hard so I never had to go and get a job. And I intend to keep that promise!
Bob Dancer is America’s best-known video poker writer and teacher. He has a variety of “how to play better video poker” products, including Winner’s Guides, strategy cards, videos, and the award-winning computer software, Bob Dancer Presents WinPoker, his autobiography Million Dollar Video Poker, and his recent novel, Sex, Lies, and Video Poker. Dancer’s products may be ordered at www.bobdancer.com
Wild is probably easier
to play almost perfectly,
but it has an annoyingly
large number of special
cases that require
involved charts to
play accurately.) e
surprising thing to
me was that most
of the professional
players, who have been
successful at video
poker for years, do not play Jacks or Better game perfectly.
It is not at all obvious why this should be. ese players are certainly capable of learning the game at a very high level. And most of them knew the game at that level at one time. But not anymore.
Most of us studied very hard to get to the professional level, but few players continue to study.
“It takes a lot of time to practice, and, frankly, most of us find practicing rather boring. So over time, most players’ skills
deteriorate. And so even among So what makes me di erent? What makes
professional-level players, mistakes happen frequently.”
me di erent is that I teach the game to others. I have taught 9/6 Jacks or Better classes maybe 200 times.
Every time I review the rules on 3-card straight ushes. And I continue to teach the class every three months or so. So I cannot and will not forget.
How this relates to you is that to get sharp and stay sharp, you have to nd your own way to practice. Teaching others is one way. Spending regular time on the computer is another. Limiting yourself to one or two games (so you don’t get confused going
Page 22 April 2005
Column: Video Poker with Bob Dancer