System and Strategies
April 29th, 2009Every gambler has a system. Does every gambler’s system work? The answer is easy–YES. Does it work all of the time? That answer is even easier–NO. If ever a system were devised that could definitely beat the house, all of the casino managers would keep it a great big secret, run off to play at their competition, and try to break the bank. But they don’t. No one has yet come up with the perfect system. There have been many attempts. The following are a few examples.
Vanous Systems
The Martingale System says that you should increase your bet either by the same amount every time, or by doubling your bet until you win. On the surface this system looks very good. After all, you bet $1, lose. Bet $2, lose. Bet $3, win back $3. Where are you? Back to point zero! You haven’t lost a thing.
If you use the doubling system, you would bet $1, lose. Then bet $2, lose. Next bet $4, lose! Then $8, win. You collect $8. But you have already lost $7. Of course, you could hit a losing streak, and in just eight hands or tosses of the dice, be up to betting more than the table maximum. When you exceed the table maximum, you are in trouble. For instance, if you have lost $128, your next bet should be for $256. However, the table maximum could bet at $200. This would leave you $56 short and in quite a bit of trouble!
This Martingale System has been tried in every game that has ever been played. When you are winning, the system makes money like crazy. When you are losing, you can’t keep up with the losings.
There is also the method of betting on both the red and black in Roulette, for equal amounts. This should provide lots of fun playing with absolutely no risk or loss of money. Right? Wrong! The zero and double zero could fool you. When either number appears, in Nevada or the Caribbean, you lose your entire bet on red or black. In New Jersey, with the En Preson rules mentioned earlier, you lose only half your bet, but you still lose!
How about the two crapshooters betting as a team on the pass line and the don’t pass line. Surely, this would be the best way to play. Except when the twelve comes up. The twelve is barred on don’t pass. You won’t win anything on this toss. But you will lose your bet on the pass line.
Blackjack is possibly the only game where, with a very good command of the basic strategy of the game and knowledge of some form of counting system, the player stands a better than even chance of winning. You can still lose–not often, but you still can lose. And to make matters worse, when the casino discovers that you are counting the cards, they will ask you to leave the casino–forever! Counters are barred from playing all over the world.
There are countless stories about systems. Some are ridiculous. Some are almost good. None work 100 percent of the time. If you are prepared to face a small percentage of chance, there are some very good ways to play and have a lot of fun. But you will always be gambling, not playing a ″sure thing.″
Basic Strategy
Many systems are really nothing more than basic strategy methods of playing: To know how to count in Blackjack. To have a working knowledge of when to draw and when to stand. In Craps, to know how often a seven could come up, or an eleven, or even the point number that you want. Is it possible to cover all the bets with a minimum investment?
How can the Roulette wheel be played to the best advantage?
The best way to play Blackjack is to learn to count the deck. As explained earlier, this will give the player the greatest advantage over the dealer. But nothing will guarantee that the next card is going to be the correct one. You might go bust! As an aid in playing, I submit the following table of ″bust percentages.″ These figures are based on a shoe with eight decks of cards. There will be a very negligible adjustment in the numbers when playing against only six decks, or even against two decks.
The following guides have been referred to as a basic strategy for Jeuxcasino. To make them really effective, the player must be more than slightly aware of the conditions prevailing in the shoe at all times. These figures are based on an average deck.