Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-02

the table three deep all around it, half of
them. upon AL average, really bet against
the other half. The bank takes the losers
money and pays it ever to the winners.
Thus it often happens that the bank has
not the slightest interest whether red or
black wins, odd or even; though II all
those who had bet upon the black before
should cease to bet the bank would ipso
facto take their place and win or lose. The
interest of the bank Is not in this. how
ever, but in the zero" This is thirty
seventh compartment in the wheel or
disc. Whenever the little ball fails into
U instead of a real number, then the
bank wins all the money on the table ex-
cept that on the even chances. As to all
the bank is in the position of having one
. number in the 81 on which it may win any
turn without the chance OF losing.
AS to the even chances. when the zero
comes, all bets on them are put in "priS-
on" They must stay upon the table till
the next throw: then IL they would other
wise have lost they lose still: If they would
otherwise have won, they OILY get their
money back. This is enough to give the
bank it's profit, though it is liberty. equal
ity and fraternity itself compared with
the workings of the American roulette
wheel, which has two such zeros. and Of
or double zero (OOD, and the Zero's COZ
coming out without the gentleness of put
ting you In prison first. man must be
extremely bored with everything around
to be desperate enough to bet against such
impudence. On the even chances the Mon
tie Carlo banks advantage Is some thing
between one and two per cent 1t is a
trifie higher than the advantage of the
"refait c'split') of the trente-et-quar-
ante. against which the bank itself will
sell you insurance" at one per cent.
And so the game is played. The banks
percentage scarcely seems to touch the
casual player. as the ball falls seldom into
zero (only once in 81 times upon the aver
age) The casual player-everybody is a
casual player who has never played
dozen bets in his whole life-discovers that
the even chance of red and black presents
strange set of phenomena. With r.
for red (rouge) and M for black (noir),
he marks down the winnings and the los
N. r. N. r. r. n. R. N. And they present
themselves to him, not as a set of twenty
single bets. each having no relation to the
other. but as series. to which the ecci-
dental falling of the ball each time, In red
or black. is as nothing in comparison with
something else which he sees dimly, a
subtle symmetry, chain of causes and eff
fects. He sees that black is always tread
ing on the heels of red, and red is always
following after black. Eureka! Wait till
red has won five times without an inter-
mission. and then bet on black. Keep
till black wins.
The players next discovery, however
Induced by his own lack Of capital to
double up to $1,O24 were 1t necessary, or
by the laughter Of his friends or new ac-
quaintances), Is that the doubling system
Is too strong. He ought to bet upon the
final coming out of black or red along an
progression, not a geometrical
progression. Here he strikes the system
Il, 2, g."
If he should lose his first bet, he would
mark down on a card figure a." and put
Town by it's side another '1,-the '1' he
wants to win beside the "1' he lost
|, /. Add them together and bet 2.
He loses. He marks down the g thus
|, l, 2 His next bet would be 3, the sum
Of the two extremes-the '1' and '2'. He
oses-1, !, 2, 3. He bets 4, wins, and
scratches out the first 1 and the last g.