Here is a short review of Victor H. Royer's new VP book Powerful
Profits From Video Poker. Let me say up front, I don't recommend
the
book, even as a beginners guide.
I found many errors but have decided not to mention any of them in
this review. Instead, I'll focus on a more basic
"problem" I have
with the book, which can be traced to Royer's own words on page
26
"The information I offer in this book is designed to benefit
you in
the short term, and under the kind of playing conditions and choices
most people are likely to encounter when visiting a casino for a
short period of time, rather than being there every day as
professional players".
I doubt if many readers have this goal in mind when they buy a VP
book. Most readers, I would think, would like to become skillful
players
more like the professionals. People who spend $14.95
for a
book, and read it, aren't the kind of people who play VP casually
for
a few hours during a rare visit to a casino. It's unfortunate
his
objective isn't mentioned on the cover because it
"colors" a lot of
what he says, and what he doesn't say.
For example, he doesn't delve into many important topics. He
totally
ignores comps, never mentions strategy tables, and does not refer his
readers to the best VP books, websites, and publications. He uses
confusing and faulty VP terminology. But the worst part is the
strategy advice
it's grossly oversimplified and flawed.
To illustrate, in the "Strategies" chapter Royer introduces a
strategy concept he calls the "workability principle". Royer
says
it's important to know the correct play for every hand dealt, but
recommends deviating from it in various ways and in certain
circumstances. He justifies this, in part, with his opinion that the
RNG has a flaw that results in Aces being dealt non-randomly. But he
never mentions that IGT and Nevada Gaming Authorities have never
found this flaw in the RNG! In other words, his opinion is
unsubstantiated.
The only part of the book I can recommend is the table on page 316, a
list of the detail pay schedule of 29 different games and their
payback percentage. This table makes it easy for beginners to
identify the best games (based on payback) when they are in a casino
and trying to decide which game to play.