More Dancer Silliness

Now he's talking about making a bet to motivate him to lose some of his big butt. The last time I saw him about 5 years ago he looked like a fat slob, and from his most recent LVA article he apparently isn't any different today.

Why write about this stuff when he's his own worst enemy in his battle of the bulge? WTF does he expect when he sits at video poker machines all the time under the guise of 'I'm working"!?

My advice to him--and I really do advise him to heed the word, esp. @ his age--is to dump the stupid "motivation bet" and stick with the only true way to lose the pounds: MOVE MORE AND EAT LESS. And guess what? It's a proven advantage play. It doesn't cost a dime.....

Actually, "Move more and eat less" is better than "doesn't cost a dime" because it will actually save you money.

My very first lose weight diet was the "skip dessert diet" where you would avoid a thousand calories and save the cost of a dessert at a restaurant. you could figures $8-$12 for the dessert including tax and tip on the dessert.

"Move more" sometimes meant keeping the car parked and walking to the neighborhood store or post office.

About a year or so ago I was back up to 202 pounds and my doctor told me to lose weight. I admit that after my transplant I started to eat the foods I couldn't eat for 30+ years including cheesecake and cookies. And I gained 25 pounds fairly quickly. I have now lost that 25 pounds and it was easy to do-- no more cheesecake for dessert, no more bags of Oreos (vanilla cookies) when I go to the supermarket. And that's all it took. I am still enjoying all of the other foods. It was just dessert, really, that allowed me to lose the weight fairly quickly.

Rob, you're an idiot. The blog write-up isn't about him losing weight. It's about getting re-tuned and making sure you're still on (or getting back on) to your A-game.


Every week Rob makes a thread about Dancer's blog write-up.....well, except for last week, when it was hidden from the main page (although still accessible).

Read it again dufus. He stupidly compares trying to lose weight to keeping his state of mind about vp AP. It's what all you clowns constantly do in order to justify your dumb approach.

Dancer doesn't write a blog and I don't read most of his columns.

Wise up.

Interesting how the word "blog" is used so frequently. Some people actually call my website a "blog" and of course it isn't -- it's a website.

Dancer writes a column which is published on the LVA and on his own website.

A blog is a contraction of the words "web" and "log" and is supposed to be a running script of events and thoughts. Few actually write a "blog" these days. What also defines a "blog" is if it uses blog formatting which automatically posts the latest update at the top of the page being viewed. This thread for example can't be a blog because the newest post appears at the bottom.

Didn't know you guys had a soft spot for blogs.


Rob, so you don't even read most of his column entries....but you seem to comment on every single one!

I'm also an old journalism major. Dancer's weekly contribution at LVA is a column. I agree with Rob's assessment -- this week's column is primarily about Dancer's weight loss history with an add-on at the end to make it topical vis-a-vis video poker. He made some interesting decisions while writing this column. For example, if he started it with drawing a parallel between staying in physical shape and staying in mental shape, I think maybe the reader would buy into the idea that maintaining video poker skills requires constant refreshing and re-commitment. But if he did that immediately, he would probably have to admit that good physical health actually contributes to playing top notch video poker, and I don't think he wanted to do that because he has clearly been overweight and not at his best. He doesn't want to say that.

In other words, the obvious direction of a column like this would be to explain how being physically fit enables one to play vp longer and better. Dancer, however, doesn't go there. The fact he doesn't is curious -- it's the line from "Silver Blaze" again, paraphrased :


Inspector: Holmes, is there anything to which you would draw my attention?
Holmes: The curious matter of the dog during the night.
Inspector: The dog did nothing during the night.
Holmes: That is the curious matter.

It's okay to admit you're not at your best playing vp because you're a "slob (as Rob would say)," but Dancer's persona doesn't allow him to admit that.

What's interesting to me is that I wrote a response to this regarding what I do to stay in shape and a recent result, but then didn't send it because it was a bit too personal. But I'm okay with being embarrassed, so I'll post it later.

I also recall reading a thread on vpfree 2 or 3 years ago where Dancer discussed how he rides a bicycle and does a lot of dancing to keep physically in shape at the advice of his doctor, because he admitted that the better shape he was in, the better his vp play was.

As is the case in much of what he writes, a good amount of that was obviously made up. His latest article trapped himself and he rarely catches any of it.

The motivation bet is a wonderful thing Rob. I have a very successful buddy who stopped by my house the other day with some groceries that his wife had him pick up. I noticed when I was grabbing a drink out of my fridge that his bag of groceries was in there and so were his car keys. I was a bit confused at first but he told me that he had put the keys in the fridge so that he remembered to take the groceries. Part of the reason my friend is successful is not that he has a better memory than the rest of us, but he is smart enough to find a way to make up for his faulty memory by putting the car keys in the fridge. I think this is similar to what dancer is doing. If he is smart enough to know that he needs extra motivation to lose weight and is able to give himself that motivation I don't think that this is a flaw. It seems to me like it a sign that he can successfully strategize so as to minimize the impact of his flaws. This is the real lesson of the story.

Good idea with the keys, but betting on losing weight is meaningless because most people will put it right back on, and probably more, after he bet is over.

Let me get back to the basic article. I think it was a bad article. I wish he would stick to writing about video poker and other gaming info. I really don't care about his diet even if he did manage a convoluted twist to somehow link it to video poker.

I agree. But I WOULD have enjoyed reading a little about if Bonnie ever blames his video poker butt on his spending too many hours in casinos.

This reminds me of several articles I read a few years ago in Card Player magazine about the "poker lifestyle" and the article detailed the importance of exercise and eating well since poker players could spend eight hours a day sitting at tournament tables.

When football season kicks off, there are no breaks until it's over. Numbers shift and change 24/7, and you have to monitor them round the clock and do your work and evaluate teams, and there are only seven days in a week. I need to be sharp and almost on speed to process everything the first few weeks. If I wasn't in reasonably good physical condition, I wouldn't be able to apply my best to it for the longest number of hours each day.

I start getting in shape in March or early April each year, and by late August I am okay. I then take a month off and start back up at half speed until March again, then train in earnest. Usually I'm 190 or thereabouts at the start and wind up at 180 or so at the end. I really need to get it down to 170-ish and maintain it year-round.

Anyway, as an old distance runner, I can tell you the clock does not lie. Unlike other sports, where you can go out and think after an afternoon that you did something approximating what you used to do, the clock is unforgiving. I did a 5K in August, and a nine-year-old passed me in the home stretch. Now, to be fair, he was the fastest nine-year-old (LOL), but geez. That's disturbing. I sat there afterwards and watched all of the splendid cheetah-muscled athletes get their awards, then figured out the times, and realized from the ages of 17-21, I probably would have won the entire race, which seemed somehow impossible, like I was remembering a past that couldn't possibly be true.

Yes, it becomes harder to refresh and recharge, so good for Dancer for trying. Aging is not for the vain, so I'm sure he's having a helluva time

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson

This reminds me of several articles I read a few years ago in Card Player magazine about the "poker lifestyle" and the article detailed the importance of exercise and eating well since poker players could spend eight hours a day sitting at tournament tables.

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A lot of the articles in Cardplayer are garbage. (It's also a scummy company, as they promoted a SCAM poker site called Lock Poker for a year after it was known that Lock wasn't paying anyone out!)

I have always rejected the "Eat well, play well" argument for poker.

That's because, aside from hunger, feeling over-full, or feeling sick to your stomach, what you eat primarily affects you in the long term, not the short term.

There isn't going to be much of a difference in my concentration at the table between eating at McDonald's at dinner break or eating healthy food.

The factor regarding eating during a poker tournament which is often MISSED involves simply avoiding fatigue and short-term stomach problems.

If you are tired, eating a full meal will make you even MORE tired, as your body has to expend energy to digest.

If you are very hungry, that can also be distracting.

If you eat something heavy that is likely to affect your stomach negatively, you might find yourself back at the tournament with stomach pains and the need to run to the bathroom!

Therefore, I suggest eating a LIGHT meal during the dinner breaks of the tournament, and eating the type of food less likely to upset your stomach (soup, fruits/vegetables, etc). And don't eat too much.

When I won my WSOP bracelet in 2005, I only ate a cup of soup during the final day's dinner break.

Dan,

How do you manage caffeine intake? More or less? And do you feel as if certain players do better or worse if they have a cocaine boost during breaks?

Eating well does not mean eating too much.

I probably know as much about nutrition and proper eating as anyone because of my 32 years as an insulin dependent diabetic. I could look at a serving in any restaurant and tell you the grams of fat, protein and carbohydrates that were there as well as the calories.

I can tell you what foods will give you the most bang for keeping you awake and your blood sugar levels steady so you don't doze off.

When one is playing VP it is easy to no eat. The mind is active. Yes, I know some people munch while playing but they are not serious players. Maybe a new book .... the VP diet .... could make a bundle.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by arcimede$

When one is playing VP it is easy to no eat. The mind is active. Yes, I know some people munch while playing but they are not serious players. Maybe a new book .... the VP diet .... could make a bundle.

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Maybe have recumbent exercisers instead of chairs?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by arcimede$

When one is playing VP it is easy to no eat. The mind is active. Yes, I know some people munch while playing but they are not serious players. Maybe a new book .... the VP diet .... could make a bundle.

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In the California Casinos forum I wrote about how I almost passed out at Rincon. It was because I was doing just what you talked about -- NOT eating or drinking. While food is not mandatory, a bottle of water every hour is. Especially in Vegas where the air is dry because of AC and filtering.

I sometimes make the big mistake of not taking a water break.

http://vegascasinotalk.com/forum/showth...ical-attention

Adequate water intake along with alcohol avoidance--and timely bathroom breaks--are the most important administrative parts of playing vp seriously. But if you play regularly you MUST maintain a regular exercise regimen, which also helps keep your mind clear when you play. Any job or task you want to do well is absolutely enhanced by good hygiene, a healthy lifestyle, and a healthy body & mind. People with nagging and/or unsolvable problems should stay away from the machines unless they really do not mind losing and/or enjoy the challenges losing presents. There are the true meaningful advantages in gambling, not all that other silly stuff.

Dancer is certainly overweight, but for a man his age he is in very good health.

Is Dancer in the Gambling Hall of Fame?

He's in the vpfree HoF and I'd say he belongs in the Gambling HoF because of his years of persistence in being involved with VP. He even gave up a wife and a lot of money because of it. That's dedication--wrong or not.

I'm only a few years behind him in age, but our generation should live longer than any other overall. We balance smart eating, most of us stay away from drugs, and we are not neurotic about needing pain medication (opiods) after operations. I refused narcotics when my foot was operated on 5 weeks ago and I just sucked it up. The generations that come after ours will not live as long, for the simple reason that they are growing and living in a pussified world of crybabies, complaining, and love of conflict. That's why the liberals and esp. the younger ones absolutely detest Donald Trump. He has no medical conditions, he doesn't drink or smoke out of nervousness, he eats whatever he wants, and he sleeps 4 hours a day. We will never see another like him. Compare that to these foolish drug-infested weirdo millenials and whatever else the younger age groups are called. The future is NOT good.