CasinoGaming.com


	Sundays: Inside Gaming Tuesdays: Video Poker Wednesdays: Off the Shelf Fridays: Richard Eng, Player's Edge Saturdays: Pocket Aces

VIDEO POKER

Columns

• Back to Bob's index

• Back to columnist index

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.

Nov. 10, 2009

Learning Additional Skills

I'm writing this in late 2009. I can only guess what advantage video poker will look like in two years or four years down the road. One thing I'm pretty sure of, though, is it will be different then than it is now.

There are players today who only play Full Pay Deuces Wild. There may be a few of those games in two years. Maybe not. Whatever machines that do exist will likely be busy 24/7 in smoky downtown casinos and you won't get any slot club benefits for playing. Perhaps the machines will be slowed down to a snail's pace. Perhaps not.

Somewhere somehow today's FPDW players need to learn another game, put up with deteriorating conditions, or choose another hobby. Hoping that today's conditions with continue is naïve. These players can get angry and rail against the "greedy casinos" if they wish, but that won't postpone the inevitable.

There are some players who only play 9/6 Jacks or Better. Although these games will undoubtedly last longer than FPDW machines, they will gradually disappear as well.

Players who wish to succeed in the future will need to learn more games. Mastering and taking advantage of slot clubs and promotions will probably be a key part of the winning process.

It's very likely that players will need to put up with smaller edges in the near future. In Vegas today quarter players can get more than a 1% edge 24/7 at the Palms, but it wouldn't surprise me that it will be rare to obtain anywhere near that size of an edge in the future.

This means two things to the players who wish to be successful. First, their level of competence will need to be quite a bit higher to succeed in an environment where their edge is smaller. Playing a 100.76% game with a 99.3% accuracy level today gives you a very small advantage --- but that accuracy level won't be nearly good enough in the future when the biggest edge available is smaller. There are a number of tools to help you play better should you wish to make the effort to utilize them.

Second they will need to obtain a larger bankroll in order to play safely. If amassing a bigger bankroll seems impossible to you, I recommend "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert T. Kiyosaki. It will open your eyes to the possibilities.

Players who know several games will have a big advantage over those who just know one or two. Nobody knows which games will provide the biggest advantage in 2011 and later, but the more you know the better you'll be able to adapt.

Learning takes many forms. Some players take my classes. I have "helpers" who assist me in the classes. These are unpaid positions, except I regularly tell my helpers how I would tackle a particular promotion. These helpers have permission to ask as many questions as they like and I'll do my best to answer them. I'm currently not looking for additional helpers, but there is some turnover and I'll search for new helpers among those who already find the classes useful to attend.

I'm certainly not the only video poker "guru" out there. Developing a relationship with any winning player significantly more advanced than you can be useful. Every winning player has needs to be filled. Perhaps they regularly need computer help or someone willing to pick up free play when they go out of town or maybe they need a housekeeper or a gardener. There are numerous types of "you'll scratch my back I'll scratch yours" relationships that help both parties.

I have relationships with several different winning players --- each of us specializing in a slightly different mix of activities. It may well be that my best casino opportunities in the future will come from the table games part of the casino --- or perhaps the sports book. Having associates who are actively looking to beat the house in these areas helps me be aware of the possibilities.

Even today, players who know several games have more opportunities than those who just play one. A casino offering a higher-than-typical multiplier is only an opportunity if you play one of the games they offer.

There's always the possibility that in a few years there will be few if any opportunities to have a $50K-a-year edge over the house. I don't think this is likely but you never know. Certainly casino managers will continue to try to close such "loopholes" if they can identify them.

I'm going to keep searching for new opportunities. Some I'll share with you after-the-fact and some I won't. But because I'm continuing to search for good deals, I'm confident that I'll be able to find them.

Keeping your eyes open for new opportunities is a key part of success. Being satisfied with your current skills and knowledge is a road that only leads downhill.