by Bryan Belrad

Created on: April 08, 2008

Professional Gambling 101 How to Win

As a (retired) pro gambler, I've come across a number of interesting systems that are designed to help would-be high rollers turn the tables on the casinos. Here, I will detail for you the best of the best. By that, I mean that there is one, and only one, best system of all.

Every casino game depends on raw mathematical probability. Craps is literally a roll of the dice. Roulette is a spin of the wheel. Even poker is a game based on randomness that could come out any way at any time, regardless of the skill of the player.

The sole exception to this unyielding rule of random probability is Black Jack. Unlike every other game, the cards that land on the table now depend on the cards that have gone before: there is only one Queen of Hearts in a deck, and once she's gone, she's gone.

It is because of the random nature of these games that progressive systems don't work. Certainly, luck is always a factor in random gambling, but luck can run either way. You might win a lot, but you might lose a lot too.

Progressive systems depend on the concept of cumulative probability. Consider: what are the odds that any given coin toss will come up heads? 50/50 (better odds than being on the player side of any casino game). What about twice in a row? 25%

The idea with a progressive system is that eventually that coin has to come up tails. You start with the minimum bet, and, if you win, great. If you lose, you double your bet. Eventually, you will win right? Wrong.

No matter how long a string of probability you put together, there is always a chance that that coin will come up heads every single time. It may be slim, but it is always there.

Suppose you're playing Craps; betting on the Field at a $5 table with a $500 maximum bet. For easy math, we'll just say that you've got a straight 50/50 shot of winning every roll. We'll even be generous, and say that your progressive system will work 99 times out of 100. If that's the case, you'll win that $5 99 times, for a payout of $495, but you'll lose once a staggering $635 in total when you run into the table's max bet limit.

Now, it is true that there are other factors in play. You have a 1 in 18 shot of hitting a double' payout on a high-bet roll, for example. However, when I said we're being generous with our scenario, I meant it. The best cumulative probability system in the world only pays out 85% of the time. In short, systems like this only work passably well if 1) you are playing at a table with no

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