IQ of Professional versus Recreational P

[rascal]

I don't believe in tooting my own horn, but this thread calls for an exception. I spent 34 years instructing medical students in emergency medicine, and I spent almost 4 years attempting to save the lives of wounded servicemen. While I don't claim to have the IQ of a VP professional, I would venture that my career choice has been more valuable to society than if I had decided to devote my career to playing video poker in a casino. Bob, I respect your VP skill, but I regret that you decided to waste your high IQ and your talents, and perhaps your life, on something as silly and as meaningless as an electronic poker game. And then, to get on this board after wasting so many years on a casino-based profession and to brag about your IQ --- well, that offends my poor little IQ.

[FloridaPhil]

I have no problem with Mr. Dancer's intelligence. It's his lack of common sense that's the problem. Constantly having to remind the world how smart you are is a sign of insecurity. He should talk this over with his shrink and leave us out of his problems.

[Carcounter]

Phil, Hope your trip to AC has started off well. Trying to get some time off to get down there. Made promises to clients that I would get their reports done this week. Working on it.

[advantage playe]

hey rascal you have a good heart,much more important than intellect esp on the day of judgment where we all need Gods mercy through Jesus!!!!!!!!

[Eduardo]

...

Guys.... Bob made a career out of playing a game, doing well at it, and teaching people how to play it. I say good for him. Are there more noble causes in this world? Sure. But he made his own way doing what HE wanted, and I can respect that.Ripping him for spending time in a casino is fairly laughable coming from some people here.Having said that... I'll reiterate that this thread was probably not the best idea ever.

[New2vp]

It is interesting to see the direction that this thread has gone with people lining up to back their favorites or criticize those they feel less good about.  Words mean something, don't they?  I guess I am not amazed that many don't like Bob for various reasons, but I want to point something out about this and other posts.  Bob Dancer did not say he was smarter than anyone.  He said that a group that he belongs to has a higher IQ than a group he doesn't belong to.  Additionally he provides some evidence to that effect.  Most believe he is correct, but somehow this affects their sensibilities as not being sufficiently polite.Well, I belong to the group that Bob asserts has the lower IQ on average.  Maybe I bring that average up, maybe I don't, but that is not the point.  I certainly can read one side of a debate on such an issue without being offended and without blaming the messenger.Ok, is Bob also lampooning a frequent poster who has dogged Bob's posts for years?  Sure.Let's do a little research to see if we should dislike someone who may be correct, but takes a chance and believes he has something of interest relating to video poker on this forum.  Let the test be that the person is not to brag about his own intelligence.  Why?  Well, if someone is too much of an egotist, it offends us.The forum Search tool doesn't let one search for two-letter words, so trying "IQ" is out.  I searched for uses of the word "smarter" over the last year with the author being "BobDancer."  Here is what I found (1 instance):28 Apr 2018 at 6:25pm

Are the brightest recreational players smarter than the least intelligent professionals? Of
course!Wow, that quote was meant to hurt people's feelings, right?  And of course, that quote is from this very same thread.Ok, how about the same search with one difference.  This time let's change the author to "FloridaPhil" (7 instances; the search engine brought them up in reverse chronological order):



















26 Apr 2018 at 5:16pm

I do not like the inference that one
player is smarter than another because he/she is
willing to risk playing $25 a hand and another is not. 

26 Apr 2018 at 3:44pm

High rollers are not smarter, they just have more money.

These two were from a thread in which another poster asked about games at a casino that Phil frequents.  Phil and Bob offered different opinions as to the nature of the games.  I'll offer the statements from either of them.  One of them is right and one is wrong, but I'll offer no opinion so you can choose on your own.Phil:  The VP odds in Cherokee are better at higher denominations, but still
negative.  I don't think the odds are worth the risk of playing bigger
than quarters.Bob: Cherokee has excellent
$5 games --- and the promotions definitely make them positive. Not
everybody is capable of figuring out how to do this, but a number of
very smart players do quite well there.If you wish to win, probably the worst games to play there are for quarters.08 Jan 2018 at 7:08am

I made the decision to stick with
quarters in 2018 for all the reasons above.  It doesn't make me feel less
of a person to play that way and in fact I
think I'm smarter than the people I see as I
walk by the High Limit Room.

Excuse me, is this the type of arrogance that everyone is so offended by?  Who knows, I imagine Phil is smarter than a lot of people that he sees.  Is writing this a shot at those who play higher limits in the same vein as Bob comparing two groups.  Phil didn't say lower limit players were on average smarter than higher limit players.  He said he thinks he is smarter than higher limit players.

05 Nov 2017 at 6:43am

What was gained by making this
derogatory comment?  Was it to make me look stupid or make the person
posting look smarter?

Phil was referencing a Bob post that was sarcastic at Phil's expense.  It was directed at another poster questioning Phil's decision to hold AT suited. Phil had also posted a Royal Flush after holding AK suited in a Deuces Wild game (Note:  FP showed no posts of the expected 16,214
other attempts holding AK suited that failed to hit a RF):Bob:  Don't be too tough on FP. Yes it was a
mistake, but, depending on the other three cards, could have cost him as little
as 2 cents EV simply because drawing five new cards on a 97% game has a pretty
low EV. He's a player who ignores small mistakes.
Of course if there was a flush penalty and a straight penalty it would have
cost a lot more. But we can't expect FP to be cognizant of such things.

At least he was smart enough to be playing 5 coins rather than 10...

07 Aug 2017 at 6:26pm

Single coin players could be smarter than you think.

This was Phil praising the intelligence of a group he belongs to.  Arrogant?  I don't think so.  Misguided?  Well, you decide.

12 Jul 2017 at 10:54am

If you're going to make a living
playing VP you need to be smarter than that. What
do I know? Billy's the expert here. I hope he has a rich Daddy.

This was Phil taking a shot at Bill Ryan, when Bill, in a self-deprecating post, lamented that he hit quad deuces shortly after switching games from Deuces Wild to Bonus Poker.  Sensitive, right?Ok,here's the last one and I apologize in advance for its length.  It had a subject titled Final Words, originally posted in the Strategy section moved by Webman to Chit Chat.  Lest anyone worry that FloridaPhil didn't post anymore after advertising a swan song, I believe he took several victory laps, posting a dozen more times in that thread alone.Well, I almost forgot I interrupted a thread about Bob's insensitivities.  Well, carry on, good luck, and I wish for you many royals.

04 May 2017 at 2:12pm

I have been a member of this forum
since July 2008.  I have played video poker long enough to remember the
good times.   In recent years, video poker has changed.  It
started soon after the monetary crisis and continues to this day.  
Casinos have continued to downgrade their games and the odds, but the change
has been deeper than that.    Something has changed in the
programming and operation of these games that has lead me to believe they are
no longer fair and random.   For this reason, I can no longer
continue to support video poker as anything other than a lottery.The gaming industry is very adept and has practically unlimited
resources.  They understand human nature and are profiting from addicting
players to their games.   Through paid consultants and high profile
individuals, they perpetuate the false truth that players can beat these
games.  At one time this was true.  Those times are gone
forever.   If you look at the profits of the casinos you will find a
steady increase since 2008.  Today, even bankrupt casinos have returned to
profit.  Is there any correlation between the return of profits and the
negative returns we have seen in our games?  I believe there is.
I will make a prediction to everyone on this forum before going my own
way.  I guarantee if you play these games big, you will lose big. 
You will be allowed to win once in a while as the machines are programmed to
keep you hooked.   Unless you never return to the casino, you will
give it back at least three times over.   The only way to play these
games is to play them ultra cheap.  Some members of this forum will call
me a "crazy old man" for saying these things.  Just so you know,
this crazy old man is a pretty wealthy
and successful guy and I didn't get that way from being scammed.  Just
remember when it happens to you that I told you so.

I have made some good friends on this forum.  Most  were smarter than me and left video poker
years ago...Hey, this is not a hit piece on Phil's intelligence.  It is not meant to extol Bob's intelligence or sensitivities.  Or the choices that either of them has made.  I'm sure they are both very smart.  That doesn't mean that they have equally valuable advice as it relates to video poker.   I'm also sure we can all be more tolerant of one another.  And I get that people are offended if someone seems too self-important, but that doesn't make it wrong.I'm anxious to see if you think my comparisons have not been even-handed.

[DaBurglar]

I weep for the future...

For those of you with five and a half days to kill, research the entire concept / topic of "iq" and see just how amorphous, esoteric, nebulous and completely useless it CAN be and often is in predicting or evaluating just about anything people attempt to use it for...

There is sooooo much more involved, and vital, to success in just about any field of endeavor.

I have to believe Bob was either mocking Phil with this thread, or suffered a recent setback and felt like venting. IQ debates are about as relevant as contests comparing the size of people's....uh, er, feet? Sorry I was overcome by a wave of propriety.

[Eduardo]

It's not the size of your feet, but where you decide to walk with them.-Famous Philosopher Eduardo on VideoPoker.com

[Eduardo]

Having said that, shoe size matters when you are shopping for shoes.-Famous Philosopher Eduardo on VideoPoker.com

[New2vp]

There is sooooo much more involved, and vital, to success in just about any field of endeavor.

I have to believe Bob was either mocking Phil with this thread, or suffered a recent setback and felt like venting. IQ debates are about as relevant as contests comparing the size of people's....uh, er, feet? Sorry I was overcome by a wave of propriety.Wow, I find myself largely in agreement with DB.  I just wanted to mark the day!