Question for a Professional?

[FloridaPhil]

I have a question for a professional player.  We all know video poker is a game with huge swings.  I wonder if you have ever had a long dry spell so bad that you were beginning to doubt the whole idea of playing video poker for a living?   I guess if you have millions in the bank already, a $100,000 loss wouldn't faze you that much?   I know you guys like to talk about wining all the time, but how bad can it get?  Just curious...

[DaBurglar]

I have a question for a professional player.  We all know video poker is a game with huge swings.  I wonder if you have ever had a long dry spell so bad that you were beginning to doubt the whole idea of playing video poker for a living?   I guess if you have millions in the bank already, a $100,000 loss wouldn't faze you that much?   How bad can it get?  Just curious...Good question Phil, but let's be honest.....who besides Bob Dancer would this question really be directed upon?    He is the only person remaining today that i am aware who MIGHT play at the level you describe above, whereby he is not "fazed" by a $100,000 loss!Now< i am sure there are additional people in the Vegas Area who, like Bob, try ("TRY") to squeeze out a living playing video poker and residing in and around Vegas and its many casinos (and becoming regular fixtures at all the advantageous card programs)....whether or not they have the alleged "millions" you talk about, or whether they too are UNFAzED  by bad days where they lose large amounts is another story....Bob's made it clear how much WORK he actually does and how his life choice is definitely not for everyone (which is important for BOB because if a LOT of people woke up one morning and decided to devote their lives to Video Poker, and TRULY followed and performed the things they NEED to do in order to make a living, it might actually put Bob in a tough spot, maybe even out of business, because I am certain one of the reasons Bob can do what he wants is the fact VERY few other people are doing it, and/or doing it right!    Notice in the previous sentence I state "IF people truly did the things they  NEED to do" in trying to play VP for a living.....this means discipline discipline discipline, and playing ONLY when it is truly advantageous to do so.    These are things BOB just does automatically, but for most other people it is either a struggle or simply not possible......IF, IF there were suddenly a lot of people doing what Bob does (and doing it properly) it would put Bob and his kind in a very precarious spot indeed......

[alpax]

I believe Mr. Dancer has already answered this question if you have been following or comprehending the responses over the past few months.

Most of the high theoretical returning games that payback better than jacks or better carry a very high variance factor. They are confident that they will play enough (several rounds and hours) to reach near the long term return of the game. This is not for people who want to just play for a few hours at a time during a vacation, it is for people who will dedicate their lives for it.

For those that are not able to or be willing to endure such swings, grinding out Full Pay Deuces Wild for 2000 hours each year (the average person works this much during his/her career) for $15,000. To Mr. Dancer, his definition of a professional is anyone who comes out ahead each year.

[alpax]

Great post DaBurglar regarding the mentality and lifestyle of the professional player.

[DaBurglar]

Great post DaBurglar regarding the mentality and lifestyle of the professional player.gee thanks alpax!  lol  I assure you it was an accident, I do not claim to know everything someone like Bob knows, but I am nonetheless pretty intuitive and have known other professional GAMBLERS (not video poker, but plain LIVE poker, and a couple table games and craps players.....)   The principles and mindset is very similar.....I just cannot stomach having my life centered in and around casinos.....I love to visit them, just would not want to "STAY" indefinitely.......the longest I ever spent in and around casinos for consecutive nights was nearly 2 weeks, and believe me, the few times I did that I was more than ready to return "home" by the time the stay ended. Casinos are like JUNK food for the senses.....a modest amount every now and then is a quilty, but enjoyable pleasure.....anything more than that and it really becomes unhealthy.Bob has stated he takes all this into account, and he somehow manages to get his exercise and somehow does not gorge on the generally unhealthy god awful food that most casinos tend to have.....I salute him for all this if that is the case......I believe however, that for MOST people, long continuous exposure to casinos is generally toxic and unhealthy, and add to it the stress of gambling (and gambling for a living like professionals do) and it could go bad real easy.And like it or not, unless you are wearing a gas mask, even in today's casinos with air filtration and non smoking sections, you are still getting a heavy amount of second hand smoke.....it does not matter where I sit or where I play, when I spend more than an hour in any casino I come out smelling like a pack of KOOL.