It was yet another typical
Orange County casino party hosted by
Aces Casino
-- It's a weekend in 2011, time for another huge fundraiser in South Orange
County. Hosting this particular evening is Children's Hospital of
Orange County (CHOC), one of the top organizations in the southern
California area when it's time to raise funds for one of the many needy
charities that they support.
The high-octane din of a
fully entertained crowd here to take in this special event is matched by
the clicking of fake casino chips in the background. Everybody's
having a wonderful time, especially the staff here at
Aces Casino....
We love seeing another one of the many organizations that we serve on a
yearly basis fulfilling their fundraising needs with a spectacular
Orange County casino night.
Then, just like casino clockwork, "IT" happens. AGAIN. Just like it does at virtually EVERY
Orange County casino night we put on for our clients.
While
standing at the Roulette table and discussing the current plight of our
totally destroyed NCAA College Basketball Tourney brackets with one of
our top Roulette dealers, a well-dressed man walks up to the table and
says it.
"Hi, guys! I'm here to play some Roulette,
and I'm here on a mission. You see,
I've got this system that I've been
working on in order to prove that this game is mathematically
beatable...."
"Stop right there, my friend," I tell
the well-dressed gentleman. "Such a system does not exist, but you're
more than welcome to try it out. This is the perfect way to test ANY
system that a gaming enthusiast comes up with, to give it a true test
without actually wagering any real money." (I wish I had $5 for every
time I've repeated that dopey phrase at an
Aces Casino event. I'd be sipping Pina Coladas on that private island that
Disney bought for their luxury cruise lines that frequently visit the Bahamas, and taking in the sights. Sip-=Sip.)
Undaunted,
the Well-dressed event attendee plunks down two $100-fake-chips, and
receives his fake Roulette chip change. He's ready to test his
'system.' "OK, here goes," he tells us, and he begins to place chips in
certain spots on the board.
"I'll tell you what," I
say to him. (His name was Kevin.) "Kevin, you currently have 40
red-striped chips in front of you. If you can last 20 minutes at this
table betting your system withour fail, and still have ANY of the $200
in chips you started with, I'll make a $50 donation to the OCSD's
charity that benefits from tonight's fundraiser. But, if you were to
LOSE your initial stake before the 20 minutes expires, YOU can make a
donation of any size you wish to the same charity. You game?"
He was. Game on.
And,
13 minutes later, Kevin was off to the registration table, in order to
make the agreed-upon charitable donation to CHOC Hospital of Orange
County. (He actually couldn't lose. I made my donation later, anyway.
I always do, but, I digress.)
That's when Scott
Percifield, the Roulette dealer for the OCSD event, turned to me and
said, "there goes another system player. How many in a row is that?"
"I
dunno, but better for Kevin to find out at our fake game table that his
system may be a bit flawed, than to test it out on the REAL ones in Las
Vegas, my friend," I respond. "And, it's also good for CHOC Hospital."
And
herein lies the tale, my friends. You wouldn't BELIEVE how many times
we run into the dreaded "system players" at our event; players that feel
they've properly tested their lil' system online, and wish to try it it
a pseudo-realistic casino environment for the first time to give it the
true acid-test it deserves. And, what better place to try this system
out than our very own
Orange County casino party venue?
We've been lucky enough to keep an un-scientific chart at our
Aces Casino
offices as to just how many times we've run into system players at our
tables over the last 19+ years. Our loosely-based count sits at 1265
players that have tested "systems" as we write this drivel. Our record
vs. these "system players?"
1256 wins, and NINE losses.
And, of those nine losses, six of them should be thrown out of the model.
-- Two Blackjack card-counting teams were found to be cheating, by passing cards to each other during their 20-minute test;
-- One Roulette gal bet her entire wad on red for the last spin of the test, deviating from her 'system;'
-- One Pai-Gow Poker player borrowed chips from another player during his testing;
--
And not one, but TWO Craps system players stopped their test with more
than five minutes remaining, when they were up by $5 or less.
So, THREE winners in over
1200 tests. Now we know why the Vegas hotels are so tall.
Bruce Willis was trying a "system" during one of our biggest private parties aboard the Queen Mary at this
Hollywood "Wrap" Party. The Blackjack table he was playing at ended up being thrown over the side. He's one of the 1,096.
Seems like EVERYONE has a system. Just not a good one. So, we here at
Aces Casino
have decided to take the initiative, and try to debunk the three
biggest wastes of time when it comes to "systems" that players try at
our full-sized, beautiful casino tables. Hey, we LOVE systems. just not
THESE three, in reverse order, that seem to pop up more than the
rest...
#3 -- Craps Field Bets - 7 Winners, And Only 4 Losers
This
play at the Craps table is the one we like to call, "The Used Car Lot
of Craps." Boy, if those "field bets" at the Craps tables don't look
like a sweet deal.... You mean, I get ALL of those numbers in the
field? 2-3-4-9-10-11-12? SEVEN numbers, and there are only FOUR
numbers (5, 6, 7, and 8) that are losers?
It's just so
easy to understand... Even the novice Craps player can understand this
bet, one we like to call a "one-roll proposition." That means, on the
very next roll of the dice, we'll have the winner (or the loser) when it
comes to the Field bet. If one of the previously mentioned numbers
showing in the Field box is rolled, you're a winner. (If 2 or 12 is
rolled, the Field bet pays double.) If 5-6-7-or 8 comes up, the Field
bet loses.
Yep...Unfortunately, we're talking about a
used-car lot that uses dice when it comes to the Field bet. On a
used-car lot, you can ask to see the "
CarFax."
We suggest that when you consider making a Field bet, that you first
check out the "CrapsFax." If you HAD, you'd find out one very
interesting fact about the Field bet: Every time you place a Field bet
on a Craps table, the house edge against the player is a whopping 5.59%.
Compare
that with the traditional basic Craps system that suggests that you
play the pass line and take full odds on any point number created to try
to get the best of it (only a 1.12% house edge), and you can see why we
like to compare the Field bet in Craps to watching The "
Teletubbies" on TV; Just because it's easy to understand doesn't mean it's any good.
Yeah, I'm the character that says turn it off.
Sorry,
Tinky-Winky. We suggest you steer clear of the Field bet (AND The
Teletubbies). Either way you look at it, there are better places to put
your money, like odds bets and "Transformers." (Ya gotta admit,
Transformers are cool.)
#2 -- "9 straight Black numbers - The next one HAS to be RED!"
We see this one all the time at
Aces Casino.
The number of consecutive spins may be different, but the flawed theory
remains the same. "Wow, ANOTHER black number. That's NINE in a ROW. A
red number is due! Bet it all on Red!"
"Soitenly, the next one's GOTTA be RED!"
Whap. Black 15. 10-in-a-row.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, my
casino party
friends, but the Roulette wheel and the ball that falls into a slot in
the wheel have no idea that they've now landed on 10 straight black
numbers. The odds of a red number coming up on a traditional 38-spot
Roulette wheel don't change because of the previous 10 spins. The odds
are just like always. 18/38.
Forget Faux-
Casino Parties.
We've seen people in LAS VEGAS betting this same way, thinking the
other color is "due." Why else do you think the casinos added those
"Roulette previous spins" tote boards, that show the last X-number of
results? They did it to bring in those "system players" that think the
other color is "due." Nothin' is due but the rent, my friends.
18-out-of-38. Same odds, spin after spin. Don't be fooled.
#1 -- The Dreaded "Martingale" System
This
one is the all-time champion of flawed systems. Time after time, we'll
see players try this. Simply put, the Martingale System states that,
should you lose your original bet, just double up the next time. lose
again? double up again. You're DUE to win one eventually, and that way,
you'll break even+ one bet when you DO win.
Flaws are all OVER this "system."
The
biggest flaw when it comes to the Martingale is when the losses mount
so much that you've hit the maximum bet amount at the table. You can't
continue the double-up system. The bets are over the maximum. THEN
what? Uhhh, BOOM, is what.
THESE guys were Martingale system players.
I
know, it sounds like you'd NEVER hit the maximum table limit on a
regulation casino Blackjack table. You can...either that, or you're
going to be faced with seven losses in a row at a $20 table, and will
need to bet a whopping $1280 on your next hand of Blackjack just to try
to get EVEN. Try and place a $1000 + bet on a Blackjack table, my
friends. It'll give your knees the shakin' of their lives. oh, and
lose THAT hand, and your next bet is over $2500. Pass-a-dena on the
Martingale, my friends. It sounds good, but it's a killer.
(Whew) Well, that's all for the top 3 flawed betting systems....
(Ed. Note: Hopefully.)
Not convinced yet? Hey... Just come on down to the next
Orange County casino party that
Aces Casino
is hosting in your area, and give that Martingale system another try.
We can use another 'statistic' on our dry-erase board. Care to make it
1,257?