Since I’ve been reading about playing video poker from the early 1990’s even up through today, it’s been very rare to find anyone who’s ever telling what bankroll they REALLY have and how long they’ve had it. I’m talking about a GAMBLING bankroll here folks, and not any other type of funds. That’s because this is the type of activity where one must first realize it has to be separate from any other endeavor, and where one has to also understand that it just may not work. Taking down other parts of your life because of a gambling bankroll is hardly the choice of reasonable people.

Actually, most of the people I meet with for chatting, training or for any other purpose are just playing with whatever cash they have leftover or have saved up from their paychecks for this trip or session. And the vast majority of them are under-bankrolled to say the least. Their play will usually result in a donation to the casino coffers and they know it, so having fun doing that becomes a more important factor as their play moves on.

I believe a lot of the confusion over proper bankroll requirements comes directly from those who profess to be HELPING players win and understand the game more thoroughly. We have the forum braniacs, who run through all sorts of meaningless calculations to tell us that we need something like a little over $11,000 to play dollar 9/6 JoB successfully – or at least with the best opportunity of not going bust – along with other similarly fashioned determinations that are all obviously created in the clouds. Then we have the famous names who sell this information. We also have the fee-based sites that follow suit, and it’s all just to put more of YOUR money into THEIR pockets. No wonder players are confused!

So the first thing players think of is “Oh my...even if I hit a $1 royal flush that pays just $4000, I’ll still be behind $7000 by the end of the day!” Of course the geeks, in all their inimitable wisdom, always try to cover their butts when that occurs by inputting even further amounts of technical BS into already flawed formulas - which by design is supposed to make everyone feel better by attrition. And you know what? Some do, simply because they want everything about video poker to be about the math, and they want the math to work for them and not for the casinos. Are you beginning to understand why most people lose?

My favorite storyline regarding bankroll has to be about Bob Dancer and his start in Las Vegas as told in his book “Million Dollar Video Poker”, which to me is his only decent offering out of a whole bunch of other gaming paraphernalia. Here we have a famous name who makes money selling the math about the game, telling us he came to Las Vegas with $6000 in his pockets 15 to 20 years ago. Of course, nowadays he does not appear to be living on the edge and he wants the masses to believe it’s all because of his success at the machines. But thinking people would easily understand the part CONSTANTLY WORKING, AND SELLING HIS WARES plays in his making a living. For a reality check on the subject just ask yourself this: Would YOU work if it were you really beating the hell out of the machines, especially with his concept of “the more you play - and play at the higher limits - the more you win”? I certainly wouldn’t, and I certainly DON’T! This is elementary stuff folks.

At the same time, people everywhere are going gaga over his supposedly magical turning of a scant $6000 into a living in Las Vegas for so long. In reality, when he’s trying to make the people believe that he did anything near that WITHOUT GOING TO WORK then all he’s doing is making a dangerous statement. Why? Because most if not all of them will fail at that game should they try to duplicate the feat. THE REALITY IS, BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER WITHOUT ANYTHING CLOSE TO THE PROPER BANKROLL IS, IN AND OF ITSELF, AN EXTRAORDINARY MISTAKE. I believe players everywhere should know this....without needing to BUY something. That's why you see it here.

That type of misconception is why I did what I did, and always try to remind people of BEFORE they make the choice of trying to be successful at professional video poker-playing. The ONLY proper way to both do it and tell others about how it should be done, should not be sold. I saved a GAMBLING ONLY BANKROLL of $171,600 – or three times 400 credits of each denomination I intended to play – and my win goal on every trip was less than 2% of my overall bankroll. And the most important part? My future retirement was already solidly set, so in the event that I did lose my bankroll to the unsure institution of professional gambling, I would be no worse for the wear. To date, every self-proclaimed professional gambler that I have met over the years WHO DOES NOT ALSO WORK, has no such cushion.

So I ask you to read through all this and even do some fact-checking for yourselves on the multiple sites available. Then, see if it’s a very difficult choice as to which path is the right one and which isn’t. Better still: ask yourselves which path is the GAMBLE and which isn’t. Bob’s a hard worker and I don’t take any of that away from him. He’s also the most famous name in the game, and he’s deserved that status from all the effort and time he’s put into it. But the manner in which he’s made his money vs. the general overall perception is the issue here, and incorrect assumptions could have a disastrous effect on the lives of too many players for it to go undiscussed. As Fox News says, I report, you decide.