Acknowledgments
M any people have contributed in some way to this book and have influenced my life. I dedicate this book to my dear mother, because her life has been of such profound meaning, and of such complexity, that her story is a book in itself. She is by far the most deserving person to whom I can offer my thanks.
I also wish to thank my literary agents, Greg Dinkin and Frank Scatoni. Greg is an accomplished author in his own right and Frank a widely respected book editor. Through their agency, Venture Literary, they recognized the value of what I had to offer as an author of books on casino games and gaming. Without their efforts, this book, and the others in this series, would never have come to exist.
My thanks also to Bruce Bender, the managing director of Citadel and Lyle Stuart Books at the Kensington publishing group, who have published this book and this series. Bruce recognized that this book and this series offer valuable insight into the casino games as they really are, and that this book will enable almost all players to finally realize a happy and profitable casino experience. I thank the staff of Kensington for their help in this processin particular, I wish to single out a lady who has become my friendmy editor, Ann LaFarge.
I also wish to thank my colleagues and staff at the Midwest Gaming and Travel magazine, particularly Cathy Jaeger and Beth. Since 1984 I have published a continuous column on casino gaming in various publications, and for most of these years Cathy has been my editor and friend.
And now I am fortunate to also bring you a list of my friends, and others, who have helped me, and influenced my life in many ways.
I extend my gratitude and thanks to my longtime friend Tom Caldwell for the many things he has done to help me enrich my life. I have had many discussions with Tom about Blackjack, and my thoughts about the game have become more mature because of these discussions. I also send my thanks to Norreta, Sean, and Brentfor reasons they all know.
To the management, staff, and employees of Arizona Charlies Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, in particular those in the poker room, and to all my other friends and associates in the gaming businessfrom owners, managers, senior executives, hosts, and supervisorsyou all know who you are, and I thank you.
My friends in Australia: Neil and his family; Lilli and little MRM (Mark); Ormond College; University of Melbourne; the Governor of Victoria and my former master, Sir Davis McCaughey. Also his Proctorial Eminence R. A. Dwyer, Esq.; the Alumni Association of the University of Wollongong, NSW, Department of Philosophy; and Professor Chipman.
My grateful appreciation I also extend to Laurence E. Levit of Los Angelesmy steadfast friend, accountant, and adviser for two decadeswhose faith in me and my work has never faltered. And also to Michael Harrison, attorney-at-law in Beverly Hills, California, whose expertise and help has always made my life more secure.
To Andrew Hooker and the Cowboys from Vietnam I also send my thanks. And to Edwin Slogar, a good friend.
And finally to all those whose paths have crossed with mine, and who have for one reason or another stopped a while and visited. I may no longer remember your names, but I do remember what it meant to have these moments.
Thank you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
V ICTOR H. R OYER , known as Vegas Vic, is the author of thirty-eight books. Mostly known for books, articles, and columns on casino games and gambling, he is also the author of The Great American Joke Book , as well as several forthcoming titles of fiction. Versatile and multitalented, Royer is the creator, producer, and host of the Web-TV show Great Casino Slots, now showing at www.YouTube.com/LasVegasLiveTV . He also composes music and performs under the names Glenn Diamond, Pappy Jones, and Hans Dorfmann. For more information, please visit him at www.GamingAuthor.com and www.MoreCasinoDeals.com . Sign up for a free casino newsletter at www.AccessVegas.com .
Postscript
E ach time I complete one of my books, I find myself wondering if I have said everything that could be said within the boundaries of what each book is about. It is a very difficult task to consider the content and the objective, and to fit it all neatly into the required number of pages and words. My main concern is always the same: Did I explain what I am writing about in a way that will be useful for the beginner, while also contributing something to the expert?
I was recently playing in my favorite Poker game, at a small off-Strip casino in Las Vegas called Arizona Charlies. Everyone there has known me for a long time, and I them. I often go there to relax and to lose myself among people who wont bother me if I wish to be alone, or who will join me in a friendly game or conversation when I wish to socialize. I like that place and the people who work and play there. During a recent game several of us were discussing my books. I was mentioning that each book in my series is on a different game, some have various strategies, and all are designed to be balanced between information for the beginner and interesting hints for the advanced players. I was asked What is new? Arent casino games just the same? What could you possibly write that would fill a book? I tried to explain how fluid the casino games really are, how they change almost daily, and how the games we first learned to play may look similar these days, but are much different. I also mentioned how different everything can be from casino to casino, and from one gaming region to the other. It turned into a very interesting discussion.
There are really two sides to that discussion. There are those books that tell the story of the casino games and their playing strategies from the established perspective. This is usually the mathematical model of expected frequencies and probabilities. Most books about casino games and gambling are in this mode. Then there are a few brave souls who venture and delve deeper into the issues as they apply to the casino games, the casino lifestyle, and the money. After all, playing casino games should fall into two main categories: having fun and making money. Neither needs to exclude the other. Unfortunately, many books about casino games insists that to make money you cant have fun. I still think it is possible to have fun even when playing as stringently as I have recommended in this book. Some authors write that having fun in the casino precludes the winning of money, other than the strokes of pure luck that often grace our way. I stress the value of gambling as a form of adult entertainment, not necessarily a job. It isnt easy to straddle this fence.
The ultimate outcome of that conversationwhich sparked this postscriptwas the fact that I identified my books as belonging in both camps: entertainment and profit. I dont think that having fun at gambling necessarily precludes the winning of steady profits. At the same time I also dont think that playing professionally, or at least semiprofessionally, precludes having fun at your job. I think the balance that can be struck is the one I have established in all my books, including this one, although here I have taken rather a more severe approach to gambling. I wanted to show you that becoming a professional gambler is not easy, that it most definitely is not that James Bond world, and that to do it well will require a lot of study, practice, dedication, and very hard work. I may have been too hard on you, dear reader, but that was by design. Yes, you canand you willhave fun playing these strategies as a means of making a profit from professional play, but I wanted to make sure that the having of fun doesnt get in the way of first learning the job.