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Dancer's Answers

We publish a brand-new video poker article from Bob Dancer every Thursday in this section. These columns are called "Dancer's Answers". Click on any of the links below for more Dancer's Answers:

Bob Dancer Articles - Main Page
May 1, 2008

Vicksburg Video Poker - May 8, 2008

Next Dancer's Answers column coming on May 15, 2008!

Aces and Eights Video Poker

Video Poker Site Map

Bob Dancer - Video Poker Author

Bob Dancer is the most famous video poker player in the world. His rise to fame and fortune mirrors the rise to prominence of video poker itself. Dancer's rags to riches story is told in his autobiographical work, Million Dollar Video Poker. The book tells of how he and his wife spent 7 years in Las Vegas winning a fortune at the video poker machines, including a six-month span where they won over a million dollars.

Million Dollar Video Poker is the best-selling video poker book ever. Today, Dancer holds seminars and writes online columns about his chosen game. Because video poker is one of the few casino games with a positive expectation for perfect play, Dancer's insight is much sought after and highly respected.

Dancer's path to gaming success took many years. He started as a backgammon player back in 1973, at the age of 26. He played at the now-defunct Cavendish West Bridge Club in Los Angeles. Backgammon, bridge and gin rummy were the games of choice at Cavendish. Dancer was a regular at the club until 1991, where he learned many hard lessons about professional gambling.

Dancer was a professional backgammon player until 1979. He was a subsistence level player, though, and blew through his financial reserves. In 1980, he took a job as a Data Administrator. Dancer would remain in this job until 1989.

Though he could not devote as much time to backgammon while working a full time job, Dancer continued to study the game. He became a skilled card counter in blackjack, though this did not make him a consistently profitable blackjack player. His after hours pursuit of gambling knowledge made it difficult to get ahead in the business world. When his company merged with another firm in '89, Dancer was not retained. He would devote himself entirely to gaming.

From 1989 to 1994, Dancer immersed himself in games of chance. Backgammon remained his chief pursuit, though he continued to play blackjack. It was in these years that Dancer began dabbling with video poker, which was at the time still a marginal game found in the corners of gaming halls. From 1991 to 1994, he began to build a small bankroll which he would eventually use to stake himself.

At the same time, Bob met Ginnie Shen, also known as Virginia Woo. His Taiwanese girlfriend would be his gaming partner from '91 to '94, as he learned more about video poker. The two moved to Las Vegas in 1993 and became serious professionals in the same year.

The two split in 1994, which was the year Dancer met his future wife, Shirley. Not coincidentally, 1994 was the year Bob Dancer would make his move in the casino world. He and Shirley spent the next seven years making millions of dollars at video poker.

What gamblers were learning in those years was that video poker could be profitable. When the game first started back in the seventies, it was thought to be a simple offshoot of slots. Most people thought it was a game for casino novices.

Thanks to the work of men like Lenny Frome, Stanford Wong and Bob Dancer, that attitude has changed. If played optimally, video poker is a positive expectation game. This is the only casino game besides blackjack one can make that claim about.

The problem is that a person needs a big bankroll to make a living as a professional video poker player. Million Dollar Video Poker tells the story of acquiring that bankroll. Along the way, a person has to be able to weather long droughts of losing. Much of Bob Dancer's story is about the ups and downs of a professional video poker career.

The story culminates in the months from September 2000 to March 2001. Bob and Shirley Dancer won an astounding million dollar over that six month time period. This feat is what every video poker player since has aspired to.

These days, Bob Dancer continues as a video poker author and teacher. He has written several manuals on gambling. His guides include Video Poker Reports: Deuces Wild, Video Poker Reports: 9/6 Jacks or Better and Video Poker Reports: 10/7 Double Bonus.

Dancer markets laminated strategy cards for aspiring video poker players. These cards are invaluable resources for novice players.

He also markets video guides for those wanting to master video poker. His most successful video tape is Bob Dancer Presents Winpoker. The millionaire gambler writes for a number of online periodicals, including Casino City Times and Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Bob Dancer is the walking picture of the successful video poker player. His story serves as a gateway into the game for new players. His enthusiastic prose is certain to excite new players, who are likely to continue reading more traditional how-to guides by men like Stanford Wong, Dan Paymar or the late Lenny Frome.

Bob Dancer is a member of the Video Poker Hall of Fame

Bob Dancer's official site can be found here: http://www.bobdancer.com/. You might also be interested in reading my article about free video poker, or interested in this other site about video poker strategies..

Bob Dancer - Video Poker Author

Other Video Poker Personalities