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Bob Dancer writes a video poker column for beginners to experts. He also writes a column with Jeffrey Compton, "Player's Edge", featuring information on promotions at various Las Vegas casinos. Player's Edge is published each Friday in the Neon section of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Click here to send Bob Dancer an e-mail.

For more details and a schedule of Bob's free classes, visit www.bobdancer.com.

June 24, 2008

Playing With Real Money

A friend of mine, "Paul," has it made. A 45-year-old man, he is worth perhaps $5 million now and stands to inherit another $10 million when his mother dies. His mother is in reasonable health for an 83-year-old, but the odds are good that she will die before he does.

Paul is a smart guy and likes video poker. He reads my writing but frankly can't find a way to get too excited about learning all of the obscure plays where the best play is a half-cent better than the second-best play. "As long as I don't go on tilt," he says, "I can't go broke. Whether I win or lose $20,000 a year from video poker is largely irrelevant to my lifestyle. So why should I sweat the little stuff?"

A friend of both Paul and me, "Randy," is in a much different position.

Randy is 55 and psychologically is really bothered when he loses $200 in a day. Although video poker isn't as easy for him as it is for Paul, Randy studies hard and attempts to squeeze every penny out of every play. He definitely sweats the little stuff.

It could be said that Randy plays for "real money" and Paul plays for "play money." The choices they make reflect this difference.

Paul has been known to take a flyer on Double Double Bonus on occasion. "It's really fun when I get one of the kicker quads," he says. He knows he has the advantage at 10/6, the house has a 1% advantage at 9/6, and nobody with a clue ever plays 9/5 or lower. But he's been known to play all of these.

Not Randy. He avoids even the 10/6 game. Although he knows he has a small advantage, the size of his losses when they come really bother him.

What prompted this discussion was an offer from the Hard Rock. On Mother's Day 2008 they opened up a new restaurant --- and several of their best players got free invitations.

Paul got an invitation and decided this was something he wanted to do. He cares a lot about fine dining and this sounded like fun to him. As far as he's concerned, he can gamble any day but new culinary adventures come around rarely.

Randy, on the other hand, also got an invitation but decided to let it go unaccepted. Why? Because on Mother's Day he got multiple points all over town. He was already trying to decide how to split his time between South Point, Gold Coast, Green Valley Ranch, and a few other places without "wasting" two hours for dinner. He has plenty of food comps all over town, but holidays are excellent days to play video poker. Since he plays for real money, gambling on such a day is too important to pass up.

Playing for real money or playing for play money is more of a mindset than a circumstance of wealth. In today's example, it happens that Paul has a considerable bankroll and gambles for play money and Randy has a more modest bankroll and is very careful about his gambling decisions. It doesn't have to be this way. There are people who have a considerable wealth and yet watch every penny rather closely. There are other people who are always in debt but aren't very cautious about how they spend money.

I'm someone who gambles for real money. Fortunately for me, so is Shirley. Partly as a result of this mindset, we've accumulated a nice bankroll. And we'll very likely keep it "for the duration." How about you? Do you gamble for real money or play money?