Page 24 - December 2009 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Bob Dancer: Video Poker
WIho Do You Compete With?
’m writing this article on the weekend of the National Basketball Association All Star game. Some of the best basketball players in the world are putting on a display. Many of these players (Kobe, LeBron, Shaquille, Dirk, Dwayne, etc.) are constantly trying to improve their
skills. ey spend their time at the weight room, at the gym, working on agility exercises, etc. ese guys know they only have a few years to compete at the highest level and make the big
bucks, and many of them are very serious at trying to make the most of their opportunity. Very few of us ever get the chance to compete with these superstars. If we’re going to play, we might join an over-40-year-old league or an under-six-feet-tall league. Most of us can nd an appropriate league to play in if we want. However good Kobe and LeBron get, we can enjoy it as
spectators. We never have to try to beat either one of them one-on-one.
Video poker is di erent. ere are no special beginner A casino is in business to make money. If it loses too
machines set up that the good players can’t play. All machines are open to all comers—except in the relatively rare situation that a player is restricted from playing in a casino because of his skill.
To be sure, there are nickel and quarter and dollar machines that I will never play. It’s just not interesting for me to play for those stakes. But you can bet that if the games are good enough, there are some very good players that will be playing. ere are some highly-skilled players who choose to play these stakes for a variety of reasons.
ways to become competent before you ever step foot in a casino.
Some players might ask
what I mean by competing
with other players. After
all, they argue, all of us
are against the casino
and we’re not competing
against each other. I disagree with this argument.
If you are a beginner, you might nd this to be bad news. After all, you have to compete with the best players right from the get go! How frightening! While that is true, it’s also true that video poker is the casino
Wade or one of the other superstars. Video poker, like basketball, is a game that favors the well-prepared.
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 his new book, Video Poker for the Intelligent Beginner, Winner’s Guides, strategy cards, his autobiography Million Dollar Video Poker, and his two novels, including Sex, Lies, and Video Poker. Dancer’s products, may be ordered at www.bobdancer.com or at 1-800-244-2224 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Paci c Time.
“A casino is in business to make money. If it loses too much money on particular machines because good players always win there, the casino will remove the machine, usually
by reducing the pay schedule. Although too-good-to-last games periodically are found and are played until they are removed, for the most part the games that are in a casino are tight enough so that the best players in the world can’t clean
game that’s the easiest to beat. And there are good
My Video Poker for the Intelligent Beginner book teaches you how to nd the best machines in every casino. It identi es which games you should be trying to master and it includes a strategy which shows you the correct way to play every hand.
up on them too badly.”
much money on particular
machines because good
players always win there,
the casino will remove
the machine, usually by
reducing the pay schedule.
Although too-good-to-
last games periodically
are found and are played
until they are removed,
for the most part the
games that are in a casino
are tight enough so that
the best players in the
world can’t clean up on
them too badly. Strong
players can make a nice
living at the game, but it
will never be easy street. as if you tried to compete at basketball with Dwayne
Video Poker for Winners software allows you to duplicate playing in a casino on a video poker machine—without the wins and losses (or the cocktails). Whenever you make a mistake, the program corrects you. If you practice at home on the computer before you go to the casino, you’ll never be a real beginner.
You don’t have to go this route, of course. You can go into the casino, pick any machine you like, and sit down and play as best you can. It’s possible you will win. More likely, however, your result will be the same
Page 24
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
December 2009
Video Poker with Bob Dancer