Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Roulette Systems?

Legions of people are forever devising systems to beat roulette, but if those systems were any good, casino owners would do what it takes in a New York minute so no lamb could ever slaughter the butcher. It’s a gimme that owners of gambling joints don’t spend bazillions of dollars to build mega-resorts so that some system player can come in, beat the hell out of the place, and ask for the keys to the front door.


The schemes I am speaking of, advertised on the Internet and elsewhere with windy but empty 'guarantees,' that they are the sure-shot systems that will teach you to tar-and-feather the casino. Send $10. P. O. Box---.' Now, if their POBOX scheme were that good, would Mr. POBOX be waiting around for your measly $10 to show when all he could do is walk into a casino and pulverize the place? In reality, I do not know a casino owner alive who wouldn’t send the limousine for a roulette system player with a certified bankroll. and load them up with all the comps he could manage, and still make a fortune off him. The casino owner might even consider sending POBOX a thank-you note.


For games of chance, which means most casino games like roulette, the best a player can do is to wager on bets having the lowest casino advantage or find the right type of roulette table. No system can change the fact that all wagers on an American Wheel (this is the wheel that offers both 0, 00) with the exception of the Five-number bet, give the casino an advantage of 5.26%. For an even better value, find a casino that offers single zero roulette tables. A single zero game will give the casino only a 2.7% edge on all roulette bets.


An example of a good wager would be an even-money bet (red/black, odd/even, 1-18/9-36) in Atlantic City, where you lose only half your wager if the roulette ball lands on 0 or 00. These outside wagers cut the house edge down from 5.26 to 2.63%. Keep in mind that this advantage is only in effect for even-money bets.


Finally, look for a true European single-zero wheel that offers a rule called 'en prison.' If you make an even money bet and the ball lands on zero, the croupier doesn’t rake in your wager. Instead, your bet is 'imprisoned' or held hostage, and you are forced to let it ride until the next spin. If your bet wins, you can remove it from the table. What is exciting about this wager is that it cuts the house edge on even money bets in half, down to a very respectable 1.35%. This makes it the absolute best bet on a roulette table.


We also need to chitchat about money management systems. Money management cannot affect the house advantage on any wager, nor guarantee that you will win more money. If the house has an advantage before you apply a money management system, it has that same advantage even after you apply money management techniques. Some NMMS (Nincompoop Money Management Schemes), now being hawked by mail order hucksters, seem to promise you once again, casino proprietorship, but it ain’t so - no way - can’t be.


BIO: As a recognized authority on casino gambling, Pilarski survived 18 years in the casino trenches, working for seven different casinos. Mark now writes a nationally syndicated gambling column, is a university lecturer, reviewer and contributing editor for numerous gaming periodicals, and is the creator of the best-selling, award-winning audiocassette series on casino gambling, Hooked on Winning.

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