IQ of Professional versus Recreational P

[olds442jetaway]

I really tried to contain myself and not post a reply to this insane thread. At any rate, I will keep it short. One could have a genius IQ and still make bad choices in all aspects of life. In fact most geniuses throughout history have done just that. Read up on any of them. I know what mine is and won't blow my own horn here. Do I make bad choices throughout life...of course as we all do. That said, I'm done with this post. By the way, I like what FP wrote and what others have written here.

[New2vp]

This poster should be banned from the Recreational Forum.Really?  I would have thought you would rather he post this on a Forum where you were permitted to respond.What is the purpose of making these statements? 
Does it make anyone a better video poker player?Should I infer that the author of any post that doesn't make someone a better video poker should be banned?  What would be your estimate for a fair duration?  A week?  Or more?  Who gets to judge whether a post improves someone's knowledge?  Or is provably untrue?  What if some see the value while some others are just unable or unwilling to process the information?Your implied request that posts on the forum, even the Recreational Play section, make someone a better video poker player is an interesting one.  Before this reply of yours, I would have thought your opinion would be that it is perfectly fine to post personal beliefs whether they help anyone or not.  It is even ok to endlessly make the same points.  Making inconsistent contradicting posts is also within guidelines, though the latter will no doubt influence some not to take many things that such posters write too seriously. I personally don't think this post of yours helps your side of the argument on this topic, but your disagreement would not be a surprise.  It certainly does not surprise me that people line up in different camps on posts like these.  Some find them interesting, some don't.  Some find them helpful, some not helpful.  Some find them amusing, some take offense.   Some might be so offended every time they see Dancer's name as the author that they will flock to any opinion that is opposed to him (Of course that is probably true about other frequent posters as well).  Contrary to recent popular culture, being offended does not automatically give one the high moral ground in a debate or discussion.By the way, my guess is that a Bob Dancer post on average helps more people's understanding of video poker or gambling in general than does, say, a random recreational player's post.  Or even a non-random recreational player's.I'm sure that in addition to the For and Against positions, there is at least a third camp that takes in all the information and makes a measured decision, pro or con, agree or disagree (or maybe not worth reading).  Of course, some just read more often and simply don't take the time to post on a subject, so we really may never have an accurate measure of their feelings.How would you answer these true/false questions on an IQ test?1.  Having better math skills makes you a poorer video poker player.2.  Having higher intelligence implies that you have poorer math skills.3.  Scoring higher on an IQ test means that you have lower intelligence.4.  Being a poorer video poker player makes you more likely to become and remain a pro video poker player.Of course there are exceptions.  The correlation between any two of these sets is not perfect.  But does anyone really believe that the average Rec Player is smarter than the average pro?  Would you be offended if I said that I thought that belief may lose you about 5 IQ points right there?

[Eduardo]

           Are the
brightest recreational players smarter than the least intelligent
professionals? Of course! There are very bright people who play recreationally
but who put their energies in being good at something else. Having the intelligence
to win is necessary for success, but not sufficient. You need desire and a
number of other attributes to succeed at this game.

This paragraph could be straight out of a recent Florida Phil post!Honestly, I don't know what people are getting so upset about, other than a reflex reaction to the subject.If you don't think there are a lot of idiots who gamble, I don't know what casinos you have been hanging out at. And they clearly aren't the professionals. That doesn't mean people who play for entertainment are all idiots by any means. I think Bob D was referencing some other recent posts about "smart" players, not inventing this subject on his own.Not that it was a good idea.

[Eduardo]

Dentists, on average, have a higher IQ than their patients.I think this is a very obvious point. It doesn't mean all dentists are smarter than all of their patients. Obviously.But a dentist posting such a thing on a medical forum would certainly come off as extremely arrogant. I don't know what purpose it serves, but arrogance isn't against the forum rules (I think) or we'd be short a lot of folks around here. There are plenty of arrogant people in the world, and more so on the internet. You could spend your whole life getting worked up about such things, but I simply let it go and move on. It teaches you something about the person posting it, which is fine.I think the most surprising thing is that Bob D thought it was useful to post such a thing. Oh well!

[FAA]

High road. No traffic.

[FloridaPhil]

This post is not worth further comment. It was made by someone who believes he's a genius and chose to use it by spending his entire life hanging out in a casino. Enough said..

[notes1]

NARCISSISTIC: vain, self-loving, self-admiring, self-obsessed, conceited, self-centered, egotistical, full of oneself.

common traits: grandiosity, lack of empathy for others, need for admiration, arrogant.

[Carcounter]

I have no doubt Bob's IQ is higher than mine, , however even he has commented on how unhealthy his lifestyle is. With his IQ and discipline, he could have done something a lot better for himself and his family. Choices choices.

[markinca]

Dentists, on average, have a higher IQ than their patients.I think this is a very obvious point. It doesn't mean all dentists are smarter than all of their patients. Obviously.But a dentist posting such a thing on a medical forum would certainly come off as extremely arrogant. I don't know what purpose it serves, but arrogance isn't against the forum rules (I think) or we'd be short a lot of folks around here. There are plenty of arrogant people in the world, and more so on the internet. You could spend your whole life getting worked up about such things, but I simply let it go and move on. It teaches you something about the person posting it, which is fine.I think the most surprising thing is that Bob D thought it was useful to post such a thing. Oh well!



This is spot on. I don't know why some commenters seem to be so bothered about Dancer's post.

Was Dancer's post necessary? Probably not.

Was it arrogant/narcissistic/etc? Probably.

Was it incorrect? No - it's probably similar to Eduardo's dentist example.

Was he claiming that his lifestyle is the best and something that people should aspire to? Absolutely not, and yet some people in this thread are making it out as though he did. I don't get it.

[Chicagoan]

Intelligence, common sense, and arrogance are three different animals.

Intelligence can be: You are mathmatically briliant at solving difficult puzzles;

Common sense can be: Deciding not to invest your health, your marriage, and the relatively short years of your life into sitting on your rear end for hours in a smoky casino, plucking away at a gambling device;

Arrogance can be: Posting on a forum that you are way so much smarter than the average person, who may, in fact, be one of your customers.