Customer Reviews

The Undeniable Truth About Video Poker

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Whether you believe the author of this controversial book is a misguided fool or a innovative genius, I believe most readers of this rambling treatise will be disappointed if they pay ...for something so short on content or useful advice. Certainly anyone new to video poker will find it useless, since most of the work is clearly aimed at people already familiar with the game, primarily those who use mathematical strategies to try to "beat" video poker (VP). And those "in the know" will probably disagree with most of Mr. Singer's main conclusions. In fact the book is mostly a rant against VP gurus who promote use of mathematically proven strategies to win. It also strongly touts the message that luck is a primary factor in winning and that anyone can be lucky playing any sort of VP machine in the short run. While I found myself agreeing with many of Rob Singer's individual statements, I disagree with his conclusions. I definitely believe in the usefulness of mathematically-derived strategy decisions while playing VP. While some people see a glass as half full, others see it as half empty, and this seems to be part of why Mr. Singer's views appear diametrically opposed to those of knowledgeable players and experts. Mr. Singer's glass is certainly half-empty. Besides belittling the advice of strategy cards and VP gurus, this small book also promises to tell the reader of Rob Singer's own winning strategy. However Mr. Singer actually gives very few details of his strategy. He briefly advocates some good advice such as playing progressives, quitting when ahead, having enough bankroll, being physically prepared, and being prepared for the IRS, however most of this is quite general in nature and not specific enough to be of any real value to a serious player. He also seems to indicate that he uses some sort of progression system of play if he loses, apparently going to higher and higher denomination machines. Again, he fails to go into any details and neglects to inform the reader of the dangers of progression systems, such as requiring huge bets to win small amounts or running out of high enough bets to cover all the previous losses. ... The main premise of this book is that strategy cannot help with VP play. I believe that premise to be [wrong] and misleading. The good advice that is included with the bad is too general to be useful. I don't think that novice VP players will find anything useful. Knowledgeable players will find many of his points obvious and his conclusions invalid regarding VP strategy, gurus, luck, and using progressions to win.

It's easy to be a contrarian, and do a rip job on others. That's what Rob Singer has done in most of this booklet. It's a simple attack on video poker analysts. It's more difficult to design workable alternate strategies, and here he fails totally. What's Rob Singer's solution if you lose money at a video poker machine? Go to one that takes higher-denomination coins and make larger bets until you recoup your losses. And what if you lose there, too? Then you make even larger bets. Betting more when you lose is a good way to go broke, not a way to win. There are many very good video poker books on the market. This isn't one of them.

This book is a ridiculous exercise in disputing the indisputable. Video poker is a game based on math and not luck. In the long run you will win or lose based on the strategy you use and the type of machine you play. That is a fact.

Singer really is an amateur in this area. I recommend you read Jean Scott's "Frugal Gambler" and leave Singer's book in the warehouse collecting dust where it deserves.

I play video poker at least three times a week and I can tell you that if I applied Singer's ideas I'd be broke now.

This book is worse than worthless, it is dangerously misleading. If there were a zero stars category, that would be an appropriate rating.

In a ridiculously short ..., the author expends an inordinate effort attempting to discredit video poker experts. As opposed to Mr Singer, most of these authors have published works which accurately explain how to win at video poker. This author's alleged system seems to be predicated on widely discredited theories of positive attitude and money management. I say "seems to" because he never really explains exactly how he plays video poker to win.

It has been proven for centuries that it is not possible to produce consistently winning results in a game where the individual bets have negative odds. Authors who say that it is possible are in the same category as those who sell machines to turn lead into gold or who sell snake oil to cure your illnesses.

The author recognizes that people who gamble want to win but usually do not win. They will want to believe that there is an easy way to reverse this result. This book is not the answer and one would be better off to take the twenty buck price and just gamble it away. At least you would not be misled in the process.

This book has some good ideas, philosophies and strategies at it's core. Unfortunately, that core only makes for about 20% of the content of this book. The other 80% is fluff and filler. It reads like an info-commercial and at times you wonder if the author is a professional gambler or motivational speaker.

Don't get me wrong, the core of this book is fantastic. The reason I bought this book was because I came to some of the same conclusions as the author. I was browsing this book at a bookstore and was amazed that I had come to the same revelations, but here they were in print! It was like finding a kindred spirit.

Alas, these revelations and strategies can be summed up in a book about 1/5 this size. There is only one chapter of real information and value here. Thus, the 2 star rating.

The publishers should be ashamed of themselves.
The author may have written the absolute worst gambling
book EVER! Lacks even a basic understanding of gambling
math and resorts to attacking those who do.
The Undeniable Truth About This Book is that it is
just horrendous.

He essentially espouses a progression system and has constantly and consistently slammed knowledgeable and respected gambling professionals in many realms. If you want to get better at video poker, this book isn't the book for you. But if you want to feel better about yourself playing video poker, all the while losing your shirt, by all means, this is the book for you.

Jean Scott is right about this book, it is a waste of time and money. The only way to win at video poker is to play the mathematically correct way on the right machines. Singer is selling snake oil.

If somebody told you that 2+2=5 would you believe it? Singer argues against proven mathematical facts and encourages extremely dangerous gambling habits. He obviously has a vendetta against certain people and as a result made up a bunch of stuff for the book. I wouldn't trust Singer any further than I can throw him.

If the author had any critical thinking skills, nay, common sense, the book would never have been written. He offers countless worthless advice that is dangerous to the gambler's bankroll. Regardless of what he says, many short term sessions DO equal a long term session. People CAN play at perfect or near-perfect skill levels, with proper strategy (not to be found in this book). There are many other, more worthy books on video poker by reputable authors. My advice? Skip this book and buy the others.