Payment Method!
Recommended Links
About our Site
Languages
Section Systems
Dear Mark, I know that there's no casino in the world that would purposely allow the odds to favor me, the player. However, when I was a young lad, I once discovered a roulette bet that, for the life of me, has fooled me and anyone else I've asked into believing that the odds are now more than 50% in my favor of hitting a number. I'm hoping you can find the error of my logic, so I don't fool myself into betting my life savings into something that I can't help but think is nothing short of a sure thing.
Take your average 38-number roulette table (1-36, plus the 0 and 00 squares). The table will not only allow you to bet on individual numbers, but also on large chunks, as the table can be split up into thirds, each third giving you 3 to 1 odds. If the table is numbered 1-36, and you bet on two of these thirds, you're betting on 24 of these 36 numbers, giving you a 66% chance that it will land on your choices. Even factoring in the additional 0 and 00 blocks, you still have a 50/50 chance of hitting a number.
Now, if you walk in the casino with £20, bet £10 on each of the two thirds, and you hit, you'll walk away with £30. So not only do you have the odds in your favor, you also profit!
Blimey, when I went to Vegas last November, I tried this out on a couple of bets, and even the dealer there commented, "Nice bet!" Now, sir, what are we all missing here? Robert M.
What's missing was possibly your gratuity to the dealer after the croupier's compliment, "Nice Bet." Seriously, Robert, your syllogism has a flawed premise: you are wrong in assuming a 3-to-1 payoff when betting sections, rather, the actual payoff is 2-to-1. Furthermore, you say that you factored in the 0 and 00, but did you? If either of those two numbers moons its ugly face, you lose both of your wagers, as neither (0, 00) occupies any section. Consequently, the player's failure to competently consider the 0 and 00, lifts the casino advantage automatically to 5.26%.
Here's the "rithmetic." If you bet a pound on any section, every 38 spins you will win an average of £24 (12 wins at 2 to 1 payoff odds) and lose an average of 26 spins for a net loss of £2. This gives you an average loss of £2/38 = 5.26 pence per pound bet, paralleling the house edge of 5.26%. No "section system" can muster any chance of survival against that hefty casino advantage.
Gambling thought of the week: "A gambler is a man who will pay his gambling debts even when he knows he has been cheated." Leo Tolstoy
Casinos Articles
Online Casino Payment Options »
The paying information that can be found at online casinos can be found by new online players a little intimidating. However it is a very simple procedure to play at an online casino. There are may persons that do not want to fill in all the paperwork from online casinos, and they would want to go directly playing. If you want to play and win at the online casino, you must take a few simple steps in order to ensure the smooth sailing of the payment procedure. The first thing on the list is...
Most played numbers in roulette »
Dear Mark, What is the most played number on a roulette wheel? Brian P. Ask roulette dealers and a majority will tell you the number 17, followed by the zeros (0, 00). Foremost reason for 17: It sits right in the middle of the layout and everyone can reach it. Watch movies on gambling and another number emerges. In three movies where roulette plays an integral part, Casablanca, the Sting, and Lost in America, the only number depicted was 22. Gambling thought of the week: "It's not luc...
Dear Mark, I believe in your theory that each spin of the roulette ball is an independent event. So betting streaks is futile. But leaving common sense behind for just a moment, is there any minute reason to bet a streak? And if so, with it, or buck the odds? Harry C. You know me well, Harry. You‹and, I hope, most readers‹recognize that no amount of past history (looking backwards from a streak) on a random, non-biased wheel predicts the outcome of the next spin. Each spin is, as you s...
Slot Machines Leaving Credits In! »
Dear Mark, If a slot player walks away from a machine leaving credits in it, and someone else walks up and plays those credits, is that okay? Are credits fair game for everyone else? Nancy G. According to them, and we all know who them is, 'taint yours. Luckily, if you are caught, there is no soundproof room with a glove-vice waiting. In fact, I have never heard of any leftover-credits-playing culprit being shown the door. But that doesn't mean there are not naughty charlatans who make ...
Casualties of the Progressive Slot Machines »
Dear Mark, Every month or two I take a discretionary £20 and play the Progressive quarter slots, hoping to hit the big jackpot of a few hundred thousand. (Would like to leave my kids something). I have frequently won a few hundred but put it back in, hoping for the big one. Am I being realistic or foolish? Dick M. Dick, granted that there's no law against being foolish, there are still two significant deficiencies in your playing strategy, and in view of your familial aim, one of the...
Does the size of a bet effect the odds? »
Dear Mark, Does the bet size ever influence the house advantage? For example, does in make any difference if you bet £5 on red in roulette or £500? Clay S. None whatsoever, Clay. Every single casino game has a built-in edge working for the house. This house edge does not discriminate against the size of a wager. With your example, the casino will hold the same 5.26% advantage on a red wager in roulette whether you bet £5 or £500. Friend of mine invented a game in which the dealer could...
Is Card Counting Allowed in Casino Blackjack? »
Dear Mark, Is card counting illegal? Frank K. Frank, is using your brain illegal? No. Unfortunately, when it comes to card counting, the casino would prefer you check your brain at the front door. So though not illegal, what the casino can and will do is bar the counter from playing and back you off the game. If you're going to play this cat and mouse game to gain a one percent plus advantage, expect a pit bull (boss) to come and pleasantly say, "Frank, we appreciate your patronage but ...
Betting Strategies for Casino Blackjack »
Dear Mark, For the past two years, I have been learning blackjack on free Internet games. Now I would like to try my skills with the "real deal." No pun intended. Any helpful tips would be appreciated. Joyce H. Most players never learn the game before they sit down and play their first hand. You¹re different, Joyce. You cultured the game on the Interent. Before bellying up to the "real deal" blackjack table, a few pointers. o YOU CAN WIN. Always remember that. You didn¹t bring a bank...
Keep your emotions under control. The dealer is only the messenger of fate. Don\\\'t take you\\\'re losses out on him.Always remember you can win. You didn\\\'t bring $100 to a casino to play with and lose. If you are losing at a particular table, set a three-losses-and-you-move routine.Focus on the dealer and his up card, not your neighbor\\\'s cards. If other players at the table are upsetting you with their playing strategies, you can move.Drinking and gambling do not mix. Players have bee...
Blackjack tournaments are likely to be the next big thing in the world of gambling, as the popularity of blackjack as a strategic and beatable casino game has been seen to soar in recent years. Whereas poker has dominated the world of online gambling of late, blackjack is poised to steal at least some of the limelight away in the years to come. The new wave of blackjack as a popular tournament sport on a par with poker started with the launch of celebrity games screened on cable and satell...