Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1905-06-15
GAMBLING SYSTEMS.
Why THEY WILL NEVER BREAK THE
BANK At MONTE CARLO.
The rereeataEs Il Always Against
the Player. and che Maximum Limit
Nuiiine. the oniy sure scheme,

lIuiy uOpt hpEiuks etrfnal IN the
human breast.' How many inventors
have gone to Monte Carlo with InfallI.
bic systems IL Is impossible TO say,
but probably they are TO be numbered
by millions, aud not one OF them has
returned the victor. II Is the ambl-
ton doubtless OF every visitor to the
fascinating tables OF Monte Carlo TO
break the bank" Any player with an
/ extraordinary run OF good luck and the
nerve TO press II Is liable 20 break the
bank" as the expression Is commonly
understood. but no one will ever break
the bank" az Monte Carlo In the true
sense OF the phrase.
At the famous gaming rooms there
Is not one. but many tables at which
players may stake Each table starts
play FOR the day with capital OF 100.
600 francs. and when that sum is ex-
haustcd the bank at that particular Ia
bic is broken. ana play IS suspended
until fresh bank OF 10000 francs Is
brought by the attendants-a matter OF
a minute or two
But 10 break the bank In the true
sense would be to exhaust the entire
capital OF the casino. and that viii
never happen. for three simple reasons.
The first IL that the bank lays unfair
odds TO the player. This ! viii Illus
trate as simply rs possible.
At roulette. the most popular form OF
gambling, there are thlrty-seven num-
bers-from 20 30 inclusive and 0, OF
zero. II Is plain that the fair odds
against player correctly picking one
OF these thirty-seven numbers are 30
TO /. But the bank only lays 80 10 /.
Hence the bank has always, roughly
speaking. a per cent advantage over
the player. To put II another way, II
a player backs the same number thir-
ty-seven times he ought. according TO
the fair odds. 10 come out exactly
square, but at Monte Carlo he cannot
do so. He must lose point
This advantage OF the bank applies
20 all the other chances besides the
numbers on which the player may
stake.
Take, for example, the so called
even" chance OF red or black. OF the
thirty seven numbers eighteen are red.
eighteen black. the thlrty-seyenth. zero.
having nominally no color.
IL Is obvious that II player backs
red there are nineteen chances (elght-
cen blacks and zero against his being
correct. The fair odds are nineteen to
eighteen against him. but the bank
only lays even money.
The advantage 10 the bank does not
end here, for when zero turns up the
bank takes all stakes except those on
zero and the even money chances. The
latter are put asIde-"en prise" Is the
technical term.
II on the next turn OF the wheel the
player on these even chances wins his
stake is released. and he may pick IL
up. but he wins nothing
To win he must stake again. and
thus when zero turns up il Is at least
two to one against a player on an
even money" chance.
The second reason why the bank
must always win In the long run Is the
/ existence OF the maximum
The maximum 5000 francs. or f24Ol
Is the highest amount a player can win
on any one chance. II a player with
unlimited resources could 90 on play
ing double or quits with the casino
indefinitely he would eventually break
the bank In the full sense OF the term.
But you cannot play double or quits
with NJ. Blanc for long.
Starting with the minimum stake al
| lowed-yiz. > francs-and doubling
your stakes each time. your eleventh
stake supposlng you 10 win or lose
consecutively. would be over 1000
francs. and you could double no longer
In other words, you would have come
to n point az which you could not on
one turn OF the wheel either double
your winnings or recoup all your losses.
All systems are designed TO nullIfy
! tie effects Of zero and the maximum.
| II one could be certain that zero would
turn W, as II oughs 20 tutn up. once IN
eyaFysTlalrty sseyen turns, 1t could be
| provided agGlnst, ana the casino, even
viii. Hiia help Of the maximum, would
5e 5a 4 bad way.
But no such certainty is possible,
and therefore every system splits on
this rock And 80 with the maximum.
Perhaps the most fatal systems OF all
are those based upon the theory that
IL red has come up a certain number
OF times running black will follow To
illustrate the folly OF this theory, take
the following example: II you toss a
penny in the air 1000 times and IL
comes heads 900 times II Is OF course
only even money on It's being tails the
next time. .... no
The third reason. II. Indeed. another
be needed, why the bank must always
win is that the human and falllble play
er Is always playing against an in.
fallIble machine. ..
The slightest mistake in calculation.
the least inattention, and the system
breaks down. And TO err Is human.
so Monte Carlo nourIshes and always
VIII flourish so long as the law allows