Very few weeks have ever passed in the past 10 years or so where I haven’t been either asked, criticized over or been marveled at for the way I’ve been able to handle my video poker playing since admitting to being addicted to it back in the early ‘90’s.

And it is understandable. People who really don’t play that much and care little about the game - save for the few times they’ve run across it on visits to Las Vegas - think EVERYONE who plays is crazy and has serious problems. On the other end of the spectrum, the “advantage players” and those like them who have never been and never will be able to stay away from playing, just can’t believe my discipline, my ability to stay away from playing at the Indian casinos around here, and my dedication to helping others do the same.

But in the middle of all that lies the majority of players, and while most of them remain silent, I’m sure they feel that if I’m not doing things the same as them then I’m not that much of a player. Sure they mean well, but where they’re disconnected with reality is in the fact that video poker CONTROLS a good many of its players around this country, and I am not one of them.

For instance, you’d think that someone who had a bad problem with the game from 1990-1996, and then instead of quitting (which is extremely difficult, at best) became a professional player after finding a way around all the BS that caused the problem in the first place, would now, in retirement after having successfully surpassed all expectations along the way, be inclined to make multiple visits to the very enticing Indian casinos around here each week.

Not so. You see, a big part of my play strategy as a pro was strong discipline and iron-clad determination to always do the right things when playing. Long ago, I discovered that a gambler not only has to understand, realize and cope with the already challenging odds held by the casinos – but why add to the effort by trying to overcome profit-grabbing machine alterations that the Indians can and have done AND ARE ALLOWED TO DO BY THE STATES since they all self-regulate their own casinos?

The only time I even walk into one of these places is for training and discussions with other players, and I remained banned from the main Casino Arizona from several years ago when I was walked out after the student I was advising kept hitting jackpots. Similarly, uncontrolled playing on-line or in other countries or on cruise ships has no place in the life of anyone who’s successful and wants to remain that way.

Whenever I drive by these casinos around here I always shake my head. First, they’re all so full of smoke. And what class of people smoke most? Yup, the LOWER class, who can barely get by as it is these days. So where do they get their gambling money from? Actually, from any means possible. It’s no surprise that Arizona led the nation in per capita bankruptcy filing increases in 2009. Unlike a cross-section of customers at locations like Foxwoods in Connecticut, almost all casino patrons in this state live in this state. And that translates into FINANCIAL MISERY for this state. Yes, on forums like videopoker.com there’ll always be the Indian casino cheerleaders from Phoenix who every few months post their jackpots that make everyone think they’re making a killing from them – and that site may just have the right number of intellectual midgets to sell that BS to. But everyone knows silence is golden….I mean, RED!

But what about my playing plans for the future now that I’m off the clock? Well, we recently got back from a drive up through Nevada to Oregon, and I did put in about 2-1/2 hours of play that saw me lose $120. Tomorrow afternoon I’m getting in my Corvette and driving up to the Edgewater in Laughlin for a quick turnaround. They sent me a “welcome back” package of 3 nights with $170 in free-play and $100 in food. (I was a fairly high roller there a few years ago). So I’ll play the free-play thru just once and see what I get, I’ll have a great meal at the Hickory Pit Steakhouse, and I’ll be home before the sun comes up Monday morning. There is no need to stay at a casino after you’ve extracted whatever your goal is from them. It is the ONLY method possible of taking from them before they have a chance of taking from you.

I’ll probably take a trip to Nevada once a month or so and put in some play, but not much. I do not expect to make a profit this year or in any others yet to come, simply because I’m playing for fun and am not using my strategies or a large bankroll any longer. Been there/done that….and I beat them good. Certainly a surprise royal might pop up out of nowhere like they always seem to do but on very rare occasions, but I don’t much care one way or the other anymore. What I DO care about is the opportunity to continue helping others have a better chance of winning something through the use of a common sense understanding of what the video poker industry is and has really been all about.

We’re also going on our yearly blast around the country in Sept./Oct. again for the 4th straight year, and I’ve already made comp reservations in 9 Harrah’s. I may break from tradition and give some or all of them some play this time too. For some reason even though I earned very few Reward Credits in 2009, Harrah’s renewed my Diamond Card because of my visiting so many of their properties on last year’s trip. At that time they issued some sort of Harrah’s Passport that they stamped and registered at each casino – whether you played or not.

Note: My e-newsletters will return in early March.