Along with last week's article, this originally ran in January 2001 Casino Player. The article refers to a big tournament at the MGM Grand and when I wrote it I didn't know whether Shirley and I would be invited back the next year. Turns out we weren't. In February 2001, Shirley and I connected on two royals totalling $500,000 in one evening and we were 86'd from the MGM shortly thereafter. (My autobiography, Million Dollar Video Poker, goes into our MGM adventures a lot more.)

Being lucky usually means that today's result is better than usual. It's normal to be lucky sometimes and unlucky sometimes. Every royal flush is "good luck" and every royal flush drought is "bad luck." Happens to everybody. There are people who believe they're lucky most of the time or unlucky most of the time, but that doesn't make it so. Luck comes and goes.

But "being good" remains. What does it mean to "be good" at video poker? It means knowing which pay schedule and slot club offers you an opportunity over 100%, and knowing how to play the hands to capitalize on that opportunity. I'd also include avoiding the many other temptations in a casino where you don't have the edge, and maintaining the discipline to play only when you're at your best.

But one important aspect to the lucky-good choice is "repeatability." If the situation is repeatable, being good is more important. If the situation is not, being lucky is very nice. Playing two hours on a $5 9/6 Jacks or Better machine is something I am going to do over a hundred times this year. My results will average out. But sometimes you find yourself in a "once in a lifetime" situation. There is no chance to average things out here.

I was invited to the "President's Invitational" slot tournament at the MGM last year. Thirty players only were invited. They were giving out a total prize package of $360,000, with a first place prize of $150,000. How well you do in one of these things is strictly luck. I’ll probably play a lot this year too and maybe will be invited again, but I can't count on it. Being good has nothing to do with this. (Shirley prayed a lot, but that didn't help either!) Our machine died and we received the $2,500 minimum guarantee. That was a time I would have voted for being lucky! But even though I didn't not collect on this windfall, I know I'll be invited to several other rather large events and I will get my share of $10,000 or $25,000 awards. It's a numbers game. I participate in these events often enough and every now and then my number comes up.

And how about our newlyweds? Don't know. Never saw them again. Probably went to try some other game in this casino or perhaps another one. The $50,000 win looks sizable, but it's not. They were willing to bet $125 a hand on a game they knew little about, and willing to play when they weren't thinking clearly. Life was one big game to them (which is perhaps the correct attitude on a honeymoon!), but they were betting big bucks at games where the casino edge was quite large. The odds are high that they they gave a lot of this money back almost immediately. The odds are even higher that their net score over their next several trips to Vegas will have a minus sign at the front of it and several zeroes at the tail end.

So what do you think now? Would you rather be lucky or good? Depending on "being lucky" is a losing proposition. Very few people end up net winners when they play against house-advantage games. Depending on "being good" is a winning proposition, IF you're willing and able to spend the time and energy necessary to get good.

It's different, however, if gambling is merely recreation for you, or you insist on playing slots, keno, roulette, craps, blackjack without being a card counter, or even video poker without limiting yourself to the few games where you have the edge. If you're one of these people, you might as well pray for luck. Minuscule though it is, it's the only chance you have.

If you look at your gambling life as a series of "once in a lifetime" events, then being lucky is more important. If you look at your gambling life as grinding out a small advantage over time, then being good is more important.

Bob Dancer is America's best-known video poker writer and teacher. He has a variety of "how to play better video poker" products, including the software "Video Poker for Winners," Winner's Guides, strategy cards, his autobiography Million Dollar Video Poker, and his two novels, including Sex, Lies, and Video Poker. Dancer's products may be ordered at www.bobdancer.com or by telephone at 1-800-244-2224 M-F 9-5 Pacific Time.