For those who read my column regularly, it may seem as if my columns jump around through unrelated topics.  In one regard, this is essentially correct.  Strategy in blackjack has very little to do with video poker.  Sometimes, I discuss a generic topic about math which is a bit more broad.  And, once in a while, I even surprise myself with how seemingly disparate topics can come together.  Today is one of those days.

          Numerous times I've written about how I consider video poker to be more than a game of luck.  Twenty plus years ago, my father wrote about a court case in which a judge determined that video poker is a game of luck, despite my father's testimony to the contrary.  This topic was the center of a conversation I had earlier today with some very knowledgeable people in the industry. 

            Recently, I got an opportunity to do something I don't do very often.  I played some blackjack.  Most of the time I go to the casino I play video poker.  This time, my son flew in to town to celebrate my big 5-0 with me.  He wanted to play some blackjack.  So we went to one of the larger locals casinos near our house and found a $5 blackjack table. 

            A couple of years ago there was a story going around about a blackjack Player who took the Tropicana in Atlantic City for a lot of money.  While he never admitted it, it was fairly obvious that he was a card counter.  He came in under the radar and by the time it was known what he was doing, it was too late for the casino.  He supposedly won several million, but in interviews he stated that those were his winning trips and that he had some losers in between, so he had not won that much overall.  He stated that his greatest gift at gambling was discipline.  I have to agree that I think this is the most important skill of them all.

            How come it seems that you get an overabundance of Two Pairs when you are playing Double Double Bonus Poker.  For those not familiar with this game, it is a variant of video poker that pays only 1 for Two Pair.  This is because it pays some serious payouts for having certain Four of a Kinds with a particular set of Kickers.  Thus, four Aces with a 2/3/4 pays 400 for 1.  This is half of the payout of a Royal which can definitely make for a good night. 

            Expert Strategy has always been about the long run.  Occasionally, someone has come along and tried to knock it by stating that the long run is so far out there that striving for it is a fool's errand.  Obviously, I disagree.  If it truly took a lifetime of playing, I might agree.  But this is simply not the case.  I can't tell you exactly how long it takes to get to the long run.  First of all, the results depend greatly on the specifics of each game.  Second, the math simply doesn't work like this. 

           Last November, I had the privilege of attending a table game focus group, of sorts, at the Red Rock Casino and Resort.  This wasn't a big gaming company showing their latest innovations, but rather UNLV college students in the university's Center for Gaming Innovation.  The center is supported through a grant from the state's Knowledge Fund and helps students develop gaming concepts into commercially viable gaming products and builds an entrepreneurial spirit within the student community.  The Center is run by Dr. Mark Yoseloff, formerly the CEO of Shuffle Master.