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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

Vicksburg, MS Video Poker - Part 2 - May 15, 2008

Vicksburg Casino Video Poker - Part 3 - May 22, 2008

Common Deuces Wild Mistakes – Juan or the Other – May 29, 2008

Figuring Out Quick Quads - June 5, 2008

Breaking Full Houses in Quick Quads - June 12, 2008

A Quick Quads Puzzler - June 19, 2008

Let’s Go Scouting - June 26, 2008

When You're Not Sure of the Game - July 3, 2008

Can it be Right to Play Hunches - July 10, 2008

Good Hearted Woman in Love With a Good Timin’ Man - July 17, 2008

One-Way Versus Two-Way Straight Penalties - July 24, 2008

Effectual versus Ineffectual Straight Penalties - July 31, 2008

Unusual Dealt Royals - August 7, 2008

Learning from a Horse Handicapper - August 14, 2008

When Bad Is Good - August 21, 2008

I Live For These Moments - August 28, 2008

Las Vegas Do It Different - September 4, 2008

Figuring the worth when there are Multiple Progressives - September 11, 2008

Which is the Better Play? - September 18, 2008

How Much is Too Much? - September 25, 2008

Evaluating a Promotion - October 2, 2008

Sometimes the Jack, Sometimes Ace-Jack, Never the Ace by Itself - October 9, 2008

Why I Don't Play Poker - October 16, 2008

What is a Royal Flush Cycle? - October 23, 2008

A Logical Puzzler - October 30, 2008

Another Look at Changing Machines - November 6, 2008

Testing Matters - November 13, 2008

Next Dancer's Answers column coming on November 20, 2008!

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Money Management: What Does and Doesn't Work

This article was first published in September 1999 in Casino Player. The bankroll figure included in the article is quite simplified, but was the type of advice I was giving at the time. With today’s Video Poker for Winners, far more precise bankroll calculations may be made.

One of the legitimate concerns of most gamblers is running out of money. Not being able to play on one particular day is annoying, but relatively harmless. However, many gamblers take desperate measures to stay in action. They frequently do things with unfortunate repercussions. Things like maxing their credit cards at the ATM machine, or not dealing appropriately with their rent or other responsibilities. Drinking too much or eating too much or too little also is common at these times.

To prevent the very real possibility of these problems occurring, many people have come up with "Money Management" rules. The gist of these rules is that if you follow them, you will never get into financial trouble by gambling. This is a very worthy goal. Unfortunately, as we will see, these rules are not workable for most people.

The first money management rule is to never gamble with money you cannot afford to lose. This is real good advice, I think. Except that nobody knows exactly what it means. Almost nobody has their finances organized to the extent that they can tell you: "I can afford to lose exactly $1,432.50. Not one penny more." What they can tell you, after they have lost $25,000, is that they couldn't afford it. It is usually only AFTER you have crossed the line that you examine the rules you SHOULD HAVE FOLLOWED beforehand.

Once you get into a hole, frequently the "double up to catch up" strategy comes into play. This is a "bet more at the end of the trip so you can recoup earlier losses" strategy. The most dangerous part of this strategy is that it sometimes works! Why is this so dangerous? Because it gives you confidence in a system that is fundamentally unsound. Having it work a few times tends to make people assume that it will always work in the future. And leads them to chase further into negative territory, leading to much bigger losses when the inevitable happens.

One point to remember. No money management scheme can turn a losing game into a winning one. If the house has an advantage before money management (as it does for all but a few games like blackjack, poker, sports betting and video poker --- and even then for all but the most skilled players) it will continue to have one after you apply the money management techniques.

I have a money management technique that DOES work --- if your idea of money management is to take some money home with you. And that technique is to NOT BET. That's the entire system. Bring your money. Watch other people play. And take your money home with you. This system works! This system works very well.

Almost nobody, however, is willing to follow this advice. After all, the reason to come to Vegas is to gamble. Although there ARE a lot of non-gambling things to do in Vegas, most people who aren't going to gamble choose other vacation destinations.

But if you are going to gamble, the problem is that you do not know beforehand how the gambling will turn out. That is the nature of gambling. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes a little. Sometimes a lot. The only times you really need a money management system, however, are when you lose a lot. But, as we shall see, these are the times that most money management does not work.

The goal of most money management systems seems to be to make it through the weekend. Typically, money management advice is to divide your bankroll into different envelopes and never go into tomorrow's envelope until tomorrow comes. This will work, IF YOU STICK TO IT.

Most people can stick to it just fine on weekends they are winning, or only losing a little. But I guarantee that a weekend will come along where you lose an entire day's budget in an hour. What then? The rules say that you just go sightseeing and don't gamble any more today. Can you stick to this?

Some people can. But most people can't. If people could follow simple rules like these, there would never be anybody overweight. There would never be anybody with a drinking problem. There would never be anybody who smoked. There would never be anybody who didn't exercise regularly or who cheated on a spouse. Most of the social problems in the world would disappear overnight. But people who live in the real world know that people DO have these problems. Just because people have a rule about what they SHOULD DO is no guarantee that they WILL DO what the rule says.

So where are we now? I tell you that money management is a legitimate concern, but that money management systems don't work. I'll tell you the rules I live and gamble by. You are welcome to use them. They will work if you apply them, but will significantly restrict your gambling opportunities. Whether or not you can live with these restrictions is up to you. And many of you will want to do the necessary study and practice that is mandatory to make this system work.

Rule 1: If you don't have the advantage, don't bet. This rule eliminates most casino games, and for many people, eliminates ALL games. Limiting our discussion to video poker, you need to learn to identify the profitable opportunities. And you need to do whatever it takes to learn to play these games accurately.

A common question at this point is: "How can the casinos possibly survive if everybody followed these rules." Good question. The simple answer is they can't. But don't worry about it. Few people have the ability or discipline to follow these rules. But there is room for a few more winners without bankrupting the casinos, and there is no reason why you cannot be one of them.

Rule 2: Have an adequate bankroll going in. If you do not have "half a royal" on hand, you probably do not have enough to play for several hours. That's $500 on hand to play a quarter game. You won't need this much usually. But sometimes you will. Even if you are playing a game where you have the advantage. Even if you are playing perfectly. And for playing for several days in a row, you will need more.

More precise bankroll amount definitions require a much longer discussion. Liam W. Daily and I will be addressing how bankroll requirements vary by player edge, volatility, number of hands and casino cash back in a series of articles in Strictly Slots. For purposes of this article, we will assume that we all know what it means to have enough money to play a game. This assumption obviously isn't entirely justified, but will have to do for now.

Rule 3: Play as long as you like without regard to winning or losing. Another way to say this is "today's score doesn't matter." If losing for several hours in a row unduly upsets you, you are not cut out to be a gambler. Emotional control is a significant part of being successful at gambling.

But "today's score doesn't matter" only works when you follow the first two rules: Have the advantage and have the bankroll. If you are going to play such things as slot machines, roulette, keno, or less-than-100% video poker, you're on your own. I know no system that works well on games where the house has the advantage.

Let's look at these three rules one at a time. To find the beatable machines and learn to play them requires considerable study. Read what the experts say enough times so you know the points well. Practice many hours before you attempt a game in a casino. Using a computer is best, but even using a deck of cards to deal hands and try to play them according to a printed strategy works pretty well.

Having enough bankroll is a simple concept, but impossible for many. Managing your finances is an art many people do not have. Getting a second job and spending less are two good ways.

Insofar as the emotional control concerning winning and losing goes, I do not know how to advise you. Everybody's relationship with money is a little different. Some people get very annoyed at losing $20, and others do not care if they lose $10,000. This is somewhat related to how much money you have now, but not very much. This is probably more related to the way you were brought up --- including nationality, religion, and whether your family had money when you were young.

I do believe that the most psychologically successful video poker players come to the point that winning or losing today is relatively unimportant. They know they will lose more often than they win. They know they will to through relatively long losing streaks, and they plan accordingly. Hitting royal flushes is great, but a relatively small part of the jackpot is spendable. The rest should be saved for the next dry spell. If you are not this way, and cannot learn to become this way, gambling at video poker for more than just recreational amounts is not a good idea.

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.

Click here to visit River Belle Casino and play video poker games, including Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild.

Classic Dancer

We republish a classic Bob Dancer article every Sunday - often these articles are updated with new insights from Bob Dancer, the master of video poker writing.

Video Poker Questions and Answers - May 4, 2008

More Answers to Questions About Video Poker Machines - May 11, 2008

Losing is a Major Part of Winning at Video Poker - May 18, 2008

Video Poker VS Blackjack - May 25, 2008

The Art of Tipping Slot Personnel - Part 1 - June 1, 2008

The Art of Tipping Slot Personnel - Part 2 - June 8, 2008

Putting Your Ducks In a Row - June 15, 2008

Luck and Skill in Video Poker - June 22, 2008

Strategy Adjustments in Video Poker - June 29, 2008

One Coin vs Five Coin - July 6, 2008

Video Poker Progressives - July 13, 2008

High Pairs versus Three Cards to a Rolal in Kings or Better Joker Wild - July 20, 2008