Why I am special

29 May 2018

By Frank Scoblete

FROM DONALD: What makes gambling writers so special? Do you guys and gals go to a school to learn how to give everyone advice? I doubt it. Therefore why do you think your advice is so special that the rest of us should follow it?

Seriously how many gambling writers actually play the games they pontificate about? I would say almost none of them do. Do you? You have a lot to say but what actual experience do you have in the casinos? I’ll bet almost none.

I go to the casinos twice a month. That’s 24 days a year! Almost a month of playing so my experiences have greater meaning than people who rarely go to the casinos but write about the games as if they do.

Now I am quite sure that you will not publish this letter since it is critical of your profession. But I ask your readers, who you going to believe, me or the so-called professionals?

FRANK RESPONDS: I’m glad you got that out of your system. Anyway, you do have a subtle wit. One way to attempt to get a letter published is to say the writer won’t publish your letter or is afraid to publish it as it holds up the status quo to ridicule.

Any mathematically trained individual can research the games and come up with the best methods to play them and the best money management methods to use to limit losses. Or writers can study the math and get help from mathematicians. If an individual can write fairly well then that helps get them published.

During the 1990’s my wife, the Beautiful AP, and I often spent about 130 days in the casinos. Those dozen years were labeled “tuition runs.” From 2002 to 2012, my play went down to about 90 days a year. Now I am playing 30 days a year.

My profession? I don’t know. I’ve been a teacher, an actor, a director, a producer, an editor, magazine owner, radio personality, advantage-player and, of course, a writer. I do not just write about casinos and gambling but I also write about my experiences in and out of the casinos. I am even a birding enthusiast and I have started writing about this field. So take your pick.

Most of the top writers in the gambling industry have excellent knowledge of the games and usually good ways to play those games. Some of these writers are actually damn good writers. Yes, there are some disagreements among individuals in the group but these are usually trivial.

So there it is Donald, my short resume. You might not think I am special but my grandchildren do and that’s all that counts to me.

Visit Frank’s web site at www.frankscoblete.com. Frank Scoblete’s latest books are I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps, Confessions of a Wayward Catholic and I Am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack. Available from Amazon.com, Kindle, Barnes and Noble, and at bookstores.