Bob Dancer

[FloridaPhil]

I'm a big fan of Bob Dancers.  I've read all his books and listen to his Radio show on the Internet.  I know he visits this forum regularly and will probably read this post. Anyway, it's not his skill that impresses me.  It's his unbelievable commitment.  I can't imagine the guts it takes to lose $100,000 and not waver from your plan.  Even if you had a million dollars in your stash, it's got to be much more than a bad day.  I try to image what it would be like.  The voice in my head would be saying "You just hit the one in a million bad streak and won't get a Royal in the next 10 years!".   I hit 4 Royals in a weekend once and emailed him.  He responded right away and in true Dancer style said "Call me in a couple of years and tell me how you're doing".  I smile when I think about that email.  

[backsider]

I think hes an awesome player, committed to the hilt, but I dont believe half of what he says. He did give you a great response to your royal report though.

[FloridaPhil]

I'm not sure if I believe everything he says verbatim, but I sure enjoyed his book "Million Dollar Video Poker".  I must have read the thing 5 times by now.   I can tell you that if I had attempted his feat, my wife would have had me committed (or worse).  I can see how he could have had such a run, especially with the help of the over generous point calculations.  I would give anything to know if he's still a winner after all this time.  I think we all know what he would say.  I love his attitude, just enough smart ass to be irritating mixed in with enough talent and commitment to be worth listening to. 

[BobDancer]

FloridaPhil wrote:  I would give anything to know if he's still a winner after all this time.  I'm glad you feel that way. Please send me a check for $1 million and I'll be happy to send you my tax returns for the past 10 years. Bob

[FloridaPhil]

Ha Ha!  Thanks Bob!  

[tnottke]

My wife and I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Dancer a number of years ago when I first started filing poker patents and all I can say is he was a pleasure to work with, informative, and very classy.  We even had a chance to sit with him and his wife over lunch and had a chance to listen to him talk about video poker.  I must say we walked away extremely impressed with him and it's one of those great experiences we will never forget. In regards to his dedication to playing poker the way he does, I can't begin to tell you how hard it has to be to maintain that high level of correct play time and time again.  As hard as I try, I'm a long ways away from being a 100% player.*Also loved his response to FloridaPhil!!!

[FloridaPhil]

I agree.  From his books and his radio show, you can tell he's a nice guy and very focused.  I've thought about going out to Vegas and taking one of his classes just to meet him, but never had the chance.  I wonder if he would ever consider having a quarter player on his radio show?  Video Poker is very popular, but it's rare to find a 100% payback opportunity on a quarter machine.  I don't know how many recreational players like me listen to his show regularly?  I enjoy the show, but he gets way from video poker often and I don't have any interest in other kinds of gambling  I suspect it's hard to have a weekly show just about Video Poker.   You kind of run out of topics after a while. 

[BobDancer]

I suspect it's hard to have a weekly show just about Video Poker.   You kind of run out of topics after a while. 

 Exactly correct. Discussing how the correct play for an offsuit KJ versus a suited JT differs between games is not the stuff for riveting radio. Another reason I talk about lots of different gambling subjects is that video poker opportunities are disappearing. Many of today's video poker players will need to expand their skill-set to other games if they wish to maintain an edge. On this site, however, there are relatively few advantage gamblers. For players who just like to play video poker and don't mind playing games where the house has the edge, those games will always be there. But for the few of us who insist that we have the edge before we play, it's unclear how long enough video poker opportunities will be there to earn a decent living. Bob

[FloridaPhil]

Thanks for the reply.  Casino gambling seems to be expanding around the country at an incredible rate and there doesn't seem to be any leveling off.  At the same time, the odds seem to be getting worse.  Florida is a good example.  At the Tampa Hard Rock, they've quadrupled the size of the place and the players keep coming.    Most people don't care about the odds, they just want to play.  In Florida, we have uncontrolled slots parlors called "Internet Cafes".  They are a total ripoff and people line up to give them their money.   If you have to play negative expectation games, at least try to cut your cost of playing to a minimum.  

[rascal]

Bob Dancer, I used to believe that if enough VP players would boycott bad paytables it would pressure the casinos into reforming themselves. However, as FloridaPhil wrote, people are lining up to give their money away. I posted a comment sometime back about the terrible paytables at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi -- horrible -- and yet that place is always packed. As long as there are people determined to write blank checks to the casinos, there will never be any pressure for decent paytables. Like Bob, I see VP opportunities virtually disappearing in front of my eyes. Each week yet another casino has lowered its paytables. I no longer recommend casinos to people, because you never know if the paytables will be dropped before they can visit.