It's 3 a.m. and I can't sleep - partly, I guess, because of some recent threads on this forum that I'm having a hard time getting out of my head.
So I decided to get out of bed and write about some things that I have been thinking about - and then maybe I can get to sleep.
Ever since I slowly switched from BJ to VP in 1990-91, I have read everything I could get my hands on about VP. If I'm not an "expert" in anything else, I can certainly talk with a vast store of knowledge about VP information.
Yes, VP is a math subject - and one may say that the math never changes. True! But the way the math is presented very much mirrors the personality, the experience, and the goals of the author. Sometimes it is not a matter of "right" or "wrong" numbers. VP strategy charts illustrate this very nicely. Compare a simplified chart that has no penalty-card situations to the most complex chart. Is the simplified one "wrong" and the complex one "right." Of course not. The complex chart might be completely "wrong" for a casual gambler who wants to play VP when he comes to Vegas for a few days a couple of times a year.
There is another factor here we must consider. The study of VP has evolved over the years. I am reminded of Lenny Frome, my first VP teacher, who did such ground-breaking research about the game. When he first analyzed full-pay Deuces Wild, he concluded it was a negative game. Only sometime later did he go back to look at it again, found he had made a math mistake, and then published the new and corrected EV. I'm sure there isn't a VP writer who has never made an error and had to correct it later. (That's one reason why I like writing Frugal Fridays - when you write online, you can always go back and change things - once something appears in a hard copy source, it is there for good!)
I have learned that each writer bring a unique perspective to the subject of VP. And this is a good thing! Maybe something we don't understand from one article will become quite clear in another one. This does not apply just to the writings of the "professional" writers. How many times on this forum has it taken input from many members to make a concept clear to all!
In my writings about VP, I lean to the more chatty "practical" side. I am very happy that there are others who are good at explaining the math. This is one of Dan Paymar's strengths. After Frome's early tutoring in the basics, I felt I was ready for more advanced concepts and Dan was the only one at the time that was providing good mathematical guidance. Much of what I learned about the math basics of VP, including bankroll requirements, etc., I learned from Dan's writings. I owe him a great deal, as I know many of you on this forum do. And I appreciate that he has conducted himself like a gentleman. I count him as a good friend.
As other math experts came on the scene, I devoured their writings and practiced on their software. VP has always been a continuous learning process for me and I am as successful as I am today only because I have had a lot of good teachers and models down through the years. (And I emphasize that fact in a new book that will be coming out within a few months - my first one strictly about VP!)
I think I speak for many on this forum. We appreciate all the information, from all sources, that makes VP more profitable and enjoyable!!!!
···
________________________________________
Jean $�ott - http://www.FrugalGambler.biz
Tax time is coming up - groan! "Tax Help
for the Frugal Gambler" can answer many
of your questions!