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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bilow who wrote (83012)	8/17/2000 12:27:49 AM
From: pater tenebrarum	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

roulette trivia: the longest recorded streak of a single number was 22 six times in a row in Monte Carlo. the longest streak of a single chance was black 26 times in a row, in Monte Carlo as well. roulette is a game that can't be beaten by a system, no matter how sophisticated, due to the zero on the wheel (i won't even discuss double-zeros,that's outright robbery). all systems in roulette are based on the single chances, and if one wins with one of the many systems that exist, one got lucky. Black Jack is different. a card counter can actually attain an advantage over the dealer, due to the peculiarity of the rules (dealer must stop at 17) . furthermore the mathematical probabilities are fixed and well defined, and the card counter mainly tries to evaluate if the pack gets loaded, i.e. if an inordinate number of cards of the value 10 is concentrated at the end of the pack (that's not the only aspect)or if they were concentrated at the beginning. basically it's a method of gaining an advantage by finding out how cards with different values are distributed in the pack, and then adjust one's betting strategy accordingly. most BJ players play 'mathematically correct' BJ, i.e. they play in a manner that reflects the percentages of various card values in connection with the rules, regardless of how they are distributed. the casino has the advantage in that case (a simple example: since most cards - 40% - have the value of 10, a player holding 16 vs. a dealer holding 7 will ask for another card). mathematically correct play without counting cards is a losing proposition, and is not only tolerated, but encouraged by casinos - as it makes it easier for them to catch the counters, because their strategy forces them off the 'correct' path...as soon as someone begins to deviate and starts winning at the same time, it's adios... good night...