Civil Discussion About Religion

[724Skinsfan]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Finally a post I don't have to repeat myself over.

First off, whether you're betting red, black, or a single number on the board, when you weight your payout against the odds of winning, the house will take 5 cents of every dollar you bet.

The doubling your bet concept is a simple one, and often does work. Bet $5 on red, if you win, pocket it and bet $5 again. If you lose, double your bet to $10. If you lose that, double your bet to $20, and so on. But at the same time, eventually you are going to hit a cold streak where you lose 8-10 bets in a row. You have to have really really deep pockets to get 8 losses in a row. The chances of losing by betting red or black for 8 times in a row is 0.25%. But if you're doubling your bet, you need to have pockets holding 5+10+20+40+80+160+320+640. That comes to $1275.

You keep doing this long enough, you're going to encounter one of those 0.25% of the times when you're going to lose $1275. Chances are, that's going to offset whatever you're walking away with by winning on the $5 rolls.

No matter how you cut it, the game eventually bites you. They don't call it a house advantage for nothin.

It's still not a terribly ineffective system as far as gambling goes. You're taking a chance of losing only 0.25% of the time. What are the odds of geting into a car wreck on your way home from work? (<---rhetorical)

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by 724Skinsfan

It's still not a terribly ineffective system as far as gambling goes. You're taking a chance of losing only 0.25% of the time. What are the odds of geting into a car wreck on your way home from work? (<---rhetorical)

Yes but you still have a negative expected value. There are betters odds to be had in a casino.

[onlydarksets]

Originally Posted by 724Skinsfan

It's still not a terribly ineffective system as far as gambling goes. You're taking a chance of losing only 0.25% of the time. What are the odds of geting into a car wreck on your way home from work? (<---rhetorical)

That's assuming the table limit is $640. IIRC, most table limits are well below that, meaning that, after just a few spins, you can no longer bet high enough to recoup your losses.

[724Skinsfan]

Originally Posted by onlydarksets

That's assuming the table limit is $1275. IIRC, most table limits are well below that, meaning that, after just a few spins, you can no longer bet high enough to recoup your losses.

You're right, $500 seems about right. That's still good for 7 rolls! Whoo-hoo!

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by 724Skinsfan

It's still not a terribly ineffective system as far as gambling goes. You're taking a chance of losing only 0.25% of the time. What are the odds of geting into a car wreck on your way home from work? (<---rhetorical)

First off, you'll hit the table limit before you get to that point, so you'll bottom out more often than .25% of the time.

But there will be times when you'll win, but you can't win big by betting $5 at a time on either red or black. The only way to win big that way is to play long enough. But if you play long enough, the chances increase that you're going to run into one of those bad streaks, hit the table limit as you try to double your bets, and take a HUGE loss.

There's no way to beat the system over the long haul. It's mathematically impossible.

It doesn't mean playing roulette isn't fun. But if you play, you should realize the odds are stacked against you.

[724Skinsfan]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

First off, you'll hit the table limit before you get to that point, so you'll bottom out more often than .25% of the time.

But there will be times when you'll win, but you can't win big by betting $5 at a time on either red or black. The only way to win big that way is to play long enough. But if you play long enough, the chances increase that you're going to run into one of those bad streaks, hit the table limit as you try to double your bets, and take a HUGE loss.

There's no way to beat the system over the long haul. It's mathematically impossible.

It doesn't mean playing roulette isn't fun. But if you play, you should realize the odds are stacked against you.

And that should be the only reason to gamble. I think people who gamble to strike it rich are exactly the people that "Vegas" thrives off of. Gambling can be fun recreation as long as you're conscious of how easy it is to get caught up in the illusion of easy money.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by 724Skinsfan

And that should be the only reason to gamble. I think people who gamble to strike it rich are exactly the people that "Vegas" thrives off of. Gambling can be fun recreation as long as you're conscious of how easy it is to get caught up in the illusion of easy money.

Truer words have never been spoken.