The subtitle of this book is “The Pros’ Approach to Beating Today’s Blackjack.” Trust me; this is exactly what this book is all about. 

The book chronicles how a recent college graduate (Colin Jones) took the advice from a friend and learned card counting, and subsequently used the power of team play in today’s casino environment to extract millions of dollars from them over two decades. His experiences and results with card counting that are detailed in the book substantiate that the naysayers, who claim that card counting is dead, are dead wrong. 

I first met Colin at Max Rubin’s Blackjack Ball. Even though he was probably one of the youngest invitees who attended this elite event of blackjack professional players, I was impressed with his demeanor and knowledge of the game. I asked him if I could interview him for my Blackjack Insider Newsletter and he obliged.  This was in 2012, and I (and my subscribers) learned a lot about Colin from that interview. Since then, his blackjack team exploits have become legendary.

According to Colin, his goal for writing this book was “to provide an authoritative guide to what you need to know and more important, how you should think about card counting in today’s casino environment.” Colin succeeds in this. Yes, you’ll find chapters that explain the concepts of basic strategy and card counting; however, what sets this book apart from all other blackjack books is the detailed blueprint on how to train, manage, and implement a team of highly skilled card counters, and their experiences playing in casinos throughout the country. You will be surprised at the technology based tools Colin used to do all this while at the same time keeping his team of players motivated for the very long hours they spent crushing casinos.

Colin’s most famous blackjack team was the “Church Team,” which comprised mostly investors and players (and their friends) who attended churches that Colin went to in the Seattle area. With a bankroll of half a million dollars, they won $3.2 million over a three-year period, and investors were provided with a return that beat the stock market by 500%. (Their exploits were chronicled in the video “Holy Rollers.”)

Here are some of the important points that Colin makes in his book that made him and his teams so successful.

1.    Focusing on E.V., which is an abbreviation for “expected value” (or profit potential). The latter is the amount of money you expect to win over a given period of time based on the rules of the game, and your playing and betting strategy. Colin, and every member of his teams, knew and embraced this concept, namely, it didn’t matter if you won or lost; rather it was the value of your playing and betting decisions that was all that mattered. 
2.    Maximizing E.V. Colin’s teams played in a manner that gave them the most potential profit from any game. This involved making sure the games were playable beforehand; playing every hand perfectly; making every bet perfectly; playing for long hours (10 hours and longer were normal); getting more rounds  per hour (such as playing heads-up against a dealer); and other techniques. 

3.    Maintaining High Standards. Players that Colin recruited for his teams had to go through a vigorous training period and then be tested by him before being considered for a team. According to Colin, the test-out involved three phases: “counting down two or three shoes at team headquarters, with a maximum of being off in the count by a running count of 1 per shoe and no basic strategy deviation, or betting mistakes; an indefinite in-casino test-out where we watched the player in action for as long as it took to feel comfortable handing him or her team money; and 40-80 hours at lower-limit play, followed by a retest. At that point, we continued to test our players regularly to make sure their game stayed at a high level.”

4.    Playing and Betting Aggressively. If the count required a bet of a thousand (or more) dollars on one, two, or more hands, the team players made the bets regardless if they were ahead, behind, tired, or worried about getting thrown out of the casino. Likewise, deviations from the basic strategy based upon the count were expected to be made by each player, even if it meant, for example, splitting tens (a move that often attracts attention from pit supervisors). Their goal was simply to extract as much money as possible from each casino, and they succeeded using aggressive playing and betting strategies.

5.    No Expensive Camouflage. Most card counters employ some type of camouflage (i.e., cover play) either in how they play a hand or bet, simply out of fear of being confronted by casino employees. However, most camouflage plays come at a cost, which decreases E.V. Colin’s philosophy is to “play blackjack fearlessly with no cover. I go after the money. I don’t give them an extra penny of my money.” (Although there is an interesting chapter on “free” cover plays that were sometimes used by Colin and his team.)

6.    Expecting Casino Heat. When playing and betting aggressively for long hours, there is an increased risk of casino heat, including being backed off by the casino. This is why Colin devotes a whole chapter to the different types of “casino heat” he and his team faced and how they handled it. (Colin emphasizes “to try not to sweat it when it comes to back offs.” This chapter should be required reading by every card counter.)

7.    Having Enough Bankroll. Colin does a good job explaining the concepts of risk of ruin, bankroll requirements, and the dangers of over (and under) betting your bankroll. You’ll find advice on how much bankroll you need for different levels of risk of ruin. (For the most part, Colin and his team had enough bankroll for a very low 1% risk of ruin.)  Even though he and his teams had some gut-wrenching losses in the short run, they smartly resized their bets to maintain the 1% risk of ruin. By so doing, they were able to play on to get to the long run where, as Colin put it, “[you] have the math all work out and approach EV. …” 

8.    Detailed Team Management.  Colin was often responsible for managing his teams. You’ll find some excellent advice in this book on what to do (and not do) based on Colin’s experiences. (Includes keeping records of each session, determining how much each player will earn, how to split the winnings amongst players and investors, and lots more useful advice.)

9.    Protecting Your Money When Traveling. Colin and some of his team often carried tens of thousands of dollars with them when they traveled around the country. You’ll get plenty of tips on how to keep your money safe when doing so. (There is also advice on playing abroad, including the all-important currency exchange and declaration of winnings when leaving one country and entering another.)

10.    Using a Big Player. Although most of Colin’s teams played solo on different tables (sometimes in different casinos), he had some experience using the Big Player concept, and he offers tips for players that are considering using this playing technique. 

11.    Tips on How to Form a Team. Colin shares some useful advice on ways to form a card counting team, including the use of Internet message boards.

This book also includes a chapter on techniques other than card counting that can be used to beat the game of blackjack (such as special promotions, comps, coupons, matchplays, free play, loss rebates, side bets, and more). Also, Colin explains his reasons why he believes the Church Team was so successful, and why it ended (the latter might surprise you). In the final chapter, Colin reflects on the life lessons he learned from 15 years of card counting (interesting reflections).

At the end of each chapter, you’ll find motivating interviews and stories from active card counters that played on Colin’s teams, or were trained by him.  Colin gave this reason for including them in his book. 

“Each (player) has a different story about why he or she has approached advantage play, showing the motivations for, and applications of, the principles of this book are as unique as the individuals themselves.” 

(Note: The above was a great addition to the book; there is a lot to be learned from other advantage players who have learned and applied the principles in this book.)

Unlike the very limited resources that I, and my peers, had when we started our card counting careers (circa early 1970s), it’s clear that today’s card counters have superior technologically based tools at their disposal that will make their journey to become  successful card counters much more easy and efficient. As you will learn when you read this book, Colin embraced this technology in how he trained players and managed teams.

Bottom line: This book is a highly authoritative and up-to-date guide on how to beat casinos in today’s world, written by someone that has been there, and done that, successfully. Whether you are a recreational player or a wannabe or experienced card counter, if you want to win (more) money playing blackjack, including making a living playing the game, you need to read this book and then apply the successful principles and techniques used by Colin to get the money.

Slot machine players are among the most valuable players in today’s casinos, both online and offline. Casinos know it, too. They reward slot players with cash back or free play along with meals, free or discounted rooms and other comps.

In fact, modern player rewards systems that track how much you play evolved from the “slot clubs” that sprang up in the early 1980s, starting with the 24K Club at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City. 

Casinos had been comping table players for decades, relying on the pit crew to estimate how much a customer was playing. That’s not practical on slots, with many more players, so the Golden Nugget introduced a loyalty card. 

The amount of information gathered, sophistication of player ratings systems and diversity of comps has been growing ever since. Video poker players are valuable, too, but they receive much less in casino comps than slot players.

It’s common for rating systems to award slot players twice as many points per dollars played than video poker players, meaning slot players accumulate comps twice as fast. In some casinos, the difference is even greater – up to 10 times the comps for slot vs. video poker players.  And some casinos don’t award comps at all on the highest-paying video poker games.

That didn’t used to be the case. In the early days of player rewards for electronic games, video poker players earned points and comps at the same rate as slot players.
Why the change?

 

 

It has to do with the relative payback percentage of slot and video poker games and the amount of profit the players are expected to generate for the casino.
Let’s do a little arithmetic.

Assume one player is playing 9-6 Double Double Bonus Poker, which returns 99 percent with expert play, betting $1.25 per hand – five coins per hand on a 25-cent machine. 

Now assume another player is betting 3 cents per line on a 40-line, 1-cent video slot returning 90 percent to players. That’s $1.20 per hand – just to put two players on about the same betting track at a realistic level.

If each makes 500 players per hour, then the video poker player bets $625 per hour and the slot player bets $600.
What are the average losses?

With a 99 percent return, the video poker player’s average loss is $6.25 per hour. There’ll be winning sessions, even big wins when a royal flush or four Aces with a low-card kicker turn up, and there’ll be sessions with bigger losses, but the average will be $6.25.

The penny slot player getting a 90-percent return sees an average loss of $60 per hour. There are winning sessions on the slots, too, with the occasional jackpot, but the average loss given a nearly equivalent amount of play is nearly 10 times that of the video poker player.

There’s much greater incentive for the casino to tempt the slot player into coming back, so the slot player gets more in player rewards.

Given this explanation, one slot player replied, “But I DON’T bet that much on penny slots. I bet one coin per line. So my bets are only a third of those my husband makes on video poker, but I still get more comps than he does. I’m not complaining, but he sometimes gets a little confounded by it all.”

Let’s run the numbers for slots again, but this time with 1-cent per line bet on a 40-line slot at 500 spins per hour.

Now the total wager is only $200 per hour, but with a 90-percent payback, the average loss is $20 per hour. That’s still more than three times as high as the $6.25 per house loss for a 9-6 Double Double Bonus Poker player betting $625 per hour.

Casinos sometimes offer multiple point days and those can not only boost your comps, they can boost the effective payback of the game you play.

If applied equally to video poker and slots, those multi-point days sometimes could turn some video poker games profitable for players, but can’t do the same on the slots. For many years, video poker zeroed in on multiple-points days to gain an advantage.

That’s led casinos not only to accumulate comps at different rates for slot and video poker play, but to offer different multiples on points.

Let’s create an example of how that can work. Assume a player rewards club is set up so you’re given one point for every $4 in play, and for every 100 points you accumulate, you can redeem for $1. That means $400 in play brings $1 in cash or free play, so you’re getting back 0.25 percent of your bets.

Normally, that would increase the effective payback percentage of 9-6 Double Double Bonus Poker to 99.25 percent – a thinner shave than the casino really likes. The effective rate on a 90-percent penny slot would rise only to 90.25 percent. That’s well worth it to the casino to raise a little goodwill.

What if the casino was having a 5x points day, where you were given points at five times the normal rate.

That would raise the effective payback on the slot for that day to 91.25 percent. Casino operators still get a healthy profit, and the promotional value can generate enough extra play that the casino makes more money overall than on single-points days.

Even on higher-paying slots returning 95 percent and some do online or on dollar level offline, the effective return of 96.25 percent with 5x points still generates profit for the casino.

But on 9-6 Double Double Bonus Poker, those 5x points on a club that normally returns 0.25 percent turn a 99 percent return into a 100.25-percent profit opportunity for players.

On video poker games with higher paybacks the profit opportunity would be even greater as 9-6 Jacks or Better would jump from 99.5 percent to 100.75 or Not So Ugly Deuces Wild from 99.7 to 100.95.

So casinos adjust rewards on a couple of fronts. It might require $8 in play instead of $4 to earn a point on video poker, reducing the basic club return from 0.25 percent to 0.125 percent. It might limit multiple points days to 2x or 3x on video poker while offering higher multipliers on the slots. And it might offer greatly reduced or no comps on video poker games paying 99 percent or more.

By doing that, the operators assure themselves that the greatest rewards will go to the players who generate the most profit for the casino: The slot players. And it prevents turning marginally profitable video poker games into losing propositions for the operator.

From an operator’s perspective, that’s how it must be, with more comps to slot players than video poker players because they are more valuable to the casino.

Over the past 50 or so years, I’ve read my fair share of books containing trip reports written by card counters. But none was as unique, and well-written, as the recently published The Blackjack Insiders. (Publisher: Huntington Press). 

This is not a how to play and win book on blackjack; rather it’s an interesting and thrilling story about how a blackjack dealer decided to turn the tables on the casinos and beat them at their own game.  

The dealer is Andrew Uyal, who was employed as a blackjack dealer (and later a floor supervisor, and pit boss) at the CasaBlanca Casino in Mesquite, Nevada. At age 25, Andrew is an up-and-coming employee who is well-liked by his peers and supervisors, with a lot of potential for advancement. However, Andrew was recently divorced (a costly one), had a young son (B.J.) to support, and because he didn’t earn a big salary, money was tight. He was ready for a change.

His shift boss, Mark Stevens, takes a liking to Andrew. It turns out that Mark has been secretly card counting on his days off, and convinces Andrew to try card counting under his tutelage.

Fortunately for Andrew, Mark spends his days off teaching him everything he needed to know to succeed at card counting. This included learning the basic playing strategy, how to count the cards, how to bet and deviate from basic strategy based on the count, and a whole lot more. This was intense training and practice that continued for weeks until Andrew could accurately play his hands through an entire shoe several times (with Mark dealing) without making any playing or betting mistakes.  

Andrew and Mark began their card counting adventure with weekend trips to Las Vegas. Mark was so confident of Andrew’s ability that he staked him with “five one hundred dollar bills” and smartly told him to “start with small bets.”  Andrew’s first trip as a card counter was successful. 

It turned out that Mark was subsequently let go from his job as casino shift manager so he began playing blackjack full time. Later, after changes in management were made where Andrew was working (not to his liking), he subsequently resigned and joined Mark playing blackjack for a living.

The book chronicles the many subsequent trips the two of them made to casinos not only in Las Vegas but New Orleans, Biloxi, Tunica, Vicksburg, Laughlin, California,  Wendover, Foxwoods, Kansas City, St. Louis, and elsewhere. The chapters explain in great detail how each trip went; places where they stayed, names of casinos they visited, the types of playing conditions they encountered, the casino heat they experienced; the different barrings they experienced, the big winning and losing streaks, and the emotional highs and lows.  

One thing that you’ll quickly discover when you read this book is their aggressive playing style. Their goal was to win as much money as they could from each casino they visited so it was common for them to play long hours in the same casino with aggressive bet spreads and some very unusual (but mathematically correct) deviations from basic strategy based on the count (e.g., doubling on soft 20 and a 7 against a dealer’s 6 upcard based on the index number).  They were not too concerned about being backed off at any one casino because they decided early on that they were going to go on the road to play blackjack professionally for only a short period of time (it actually lasted about a year), and probably wouldn’t return to any casino that backed them off until six months had passed.

(As an aside, the above tactics used by Andrew and Mark were different than what I used when I began card counting some 50 years ago. With only a limited number of legal U.S. casinos back then (i.e., Nevada) my goal was on longevity (i.e., playing in a manner that stayed under the casinos’ radar). But times have changed. Today, over 30 states (commercial and tribal) offer legalized blackjack games.  The result: the younger (and probably smarter) card counters mostly use the above “hit-and-run, burn-out, advantage-play technique.” I’m not saying this is wrong; just different.)

Another striking point you’ll learn from this book is the comaraderie that developed between Andrew and Mark. They rarely played together, each had his own bankroll, and they mostly played in different casinos on the same trip. (Sometimes, one or the other would also take solo playing trips.). However, after every playing session or extended trip, they would communicate the highs and lows of their session and trip. Often Mark would encourage Andrew not to worry when he experienced a losing session. (Some of the other benefits of team play, besides the motivational support you get from your team members, especially when you have a really bad session, are the reduction in variance; practicing together and watching the improvement in each player’s skills; and probably the most important benefit, being able to win a lot more money with less risk than playing solo.) 
 
Although you’ll read about the many euphoric winning sessions and streaks that they enjoyed, you’ll also learn about what can happen to a card counter’s emotions when he or she experiences a long losing streak.  (Like Andrew’s long five-month losing streak where he lost $16,000, about half of his bankroll. Chapter 16 describes this losing streak; it should be mandatory reading for any wannabe card counter.)

There are other points in the book that may be overlooked by most readers but shouldn’t be. They include:

• The use of Current Blackjack News to check on the blackjack rules for a casino  before they visited it.
• How they used their experience as dealers and floor supervisors to know what to expect when certain situations arose while they were card counting.
• How to cash out a lot of (winning) casino chips in any one casino.
• Why you should refuse to hand over your ID to a casino boss.
• What to expect if you get a tap on the shoulder when you play.
• What to do (and not to do) if the above occurs.
• How to play independently as a card counting team, track your winnings, and split profits.
• How to use blackjack software to determine your session bankroll and check if unusual events that occur are in the realm of a possibility, even if the odds are long.
• Learning to deal with the solitude, long hours, constant travel, wild bankroll swings, and adversity that come from being viewed and treated as criminals by casino bosses.

What’s in it for you if you purchase and read this book? A great real-life story on how a depressed blackjack dealer having a tough time during his life took the risk to become a card counter, and go on the road to play blackjack professionally for a living.  Andrew ended up winning a fair amount of money over the year he played with Mark. (I’ll let you find out exactly how much he won when you read the book.) But it was more than just the money. When Andrew looked back on his one-year adventure, he wrote the following on the last page of his book.

“I thought about how much the game of blackjack had done for me. It started by giving me something productive and engaging to focus on during a tough time in my life. It grew to help me financially. It afforded me a chance to travel the country … A mere card game had changed my life and put me on the path toward success ... At the end our goal was accomplished. We played. We saved some. Most importantly, we collected great memories during it.”

Note: After their successful one-year journey as professional card counters, Mark planned to take a 9–5 job at a financial advising company, and Andrew made the move to Las Vegas with his son to work in the casino industry. The book ended appropriately with this quote:

“The End Is Just a New Beginning.”

The recently opened Encore Boston Harbor casino is situated just 14 minutes away from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, home of the famous MIT blackjack team. The team has been out of operation for nearly 20 years, but that location begs a question: What would the world’s most famous card counting syndicate have done with a new casino in such close proximity? “We would have played it until we got kicked out and couldn’t play it anymore,” Andy Bloch told 888.com. A veteran-member of MIT blackjack and later a successful professional poker player, Bloch added, “I don’t know what the rules are at Encore, but I am sure we would have figured out a way to beat the game. We did it at a lot of other casinos – including Foxwoods and Mohegan sun, which both opened near MIT.”

While there is no telling what MIT’s current crop of math geniuses are cooking up for the New England outpost of Encore, its opening does present a good time to revisit the groundbreaking blackjack team that upended casinos around the world and revolutionized the concept of advantage play. 

The team was founded by Bill Kaplan (no relation to the author), fresh from managing a group of card counters in Las Vegas. After weathering player burnout there, he relocated to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he planned on attending Harvard Business School. “I was sitting in a Chinese restaurant [in Cambridge], talking about all this, and some MIT kids came over,” he told Boston magazine. “They said, ‘Are you talking about blackjack? We’ve been playing for a few months, trying to make money.’”

Suddenly, a new crew fell into Kaplan’s lap. In 1980, the MIT blackjack team was born. As Kaplan explained it, the team’s success was largely based on intent and organization. “We ran it as a business,” he said. “Training, extensive training, checkout procedures, two hours of perfect play, leaving the table right. It was really run more tightly than most businesses.”

Maybe so, But it can be argued that people who work for most businesses do not casually misplace six-figures worth of said business’s money.  Such was the case when one of the MIT players haphazardly forgot a paper bag loaded with $125,000 of blackjack revenue. He left it in an MIT classroom. A janitor spotted the sack of cash and stashed it away for safekeeping. With the help of Alan Dershowitz (who helped defend OJ Simpson and got tangled up in the recent Jeffrey Epstein scandal), the money (which was originally thought to be drug related) was returned.

Outrageous as it sounds, misplacing $125,000 might be easy when you’re making much more. According to former MIT player Mike Aponte, “MIT won over 10-million in six years. It’s not like everyone became a multimillionaire, but it was a relatively small group of people. I put in $1,500 in the summer. By November, my investment was worth $100,000. Then I just kept rolling it over. “

Beyond the MIT team’s business sense, another important reason for its success stemmed from players operating at peak levels when it really mattered. “There were people who played better in the casinos than they did during practice sessions,” said Jon Hirschtick who played on MIT from 1984 until 1993. “My best play happened in the casino, for high stakes, under pressure. A lot of blackjack players are ADD; so they can focus more [than people without the disorder] but cannot control it. One thing we can do, though, is focus on cards coming out of a shoe.

For all of the focus that is required to win at blackjack – Hirschtick remembers sitting with a fellow player in Atlantic City and discussing the high-end cars they could afford to buy – plenty of entertaining anecdotes did emerge. One of the best concerns John Chang, an MIT blackjack wizard on whom Kevin Spacey’s “21” character was partially based. 

Chang became overly recognizable as a card-counter and, as a result, drew heat that radiated to his fellow players. “My teammates didn’t want to play with me unless I got into a fantastic disguise,” he said. “My girlfriend told me she could dress me up as a woman. Her shoes were my size and she had everything I needed. I did it three times: in Illinois, in the Bahamas and in Atlantic City.

The first two outings went off without a hitch. Atlantic City, though, was another story. “I was sitting at the table, next to a Chinese woman; I saw her dainty hands and put mine under the table,” Chang continued. “Upstairs [in surveillance], they were looking at my hands and laughing. Then an Asian host came over and whispered into my ear, ‘We know who you are.’ I got up to leave and some security guard said to me, ‘Lose the pearls, Esmeralda.’  It was embarrassing. I ran around the casino to make sure I wasn’t being followed as I made an exit.”

Other times, Chang and his collaborators left on their own accord, before things got too hairy. He remembers another play in AC, one in which they were tracking shuffles, when his partner got dealt a 19 on one hand and an 11 on the other. He knew that the next two cards would be a 2 and a 10. The guy doubled on both, correctly expecting 21s. As Chang remembers it, “I said, ‘Let’s get out of here before they arrest us.’” 

They successfully escaped the casino but MIT could not outrun changing tolerance levels within the gambling dens they frequented. By 1997, the best spot to play was MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The casino took the biggest action and no gender-defying disguises were required. 

That year, on June 28, 1997, the night of the Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield championship fight, things felt particularly promising.  “I was sitting at an MGM table, with all yellow chips [worth $1,000 each], ahead $70,000; the fight had started and there was enormous action in the pit; nobody raised an eyebrow,” Chang said. As blackjack games raged on the gambling floor, the third round neared its end, inside MGM Grand Garden Arena, and a frustrated Mike Tyson chomped off the top of Holyfield’s ear. “Then, after the fight ended prematurely, there was a riot. Tables got overturned, chips got stolen out of racks, people got arrested. This coincided with Kerry Packer winning $26-million and everybody became chicken-shit about taking big action.”

It was not the end of the MIT team. But it was the end of an era for high-stakes advantage players. The real wind down came three years later, in 2000, brought on, at least partially, by an MIT player’s disgruntled girlfriend who identified team-members to key people at the now defunct Griffin Detective Agency. Griffin maintained a database of cheaters and advantage players, erroneously making no distinctions between the two. With most of the team-members made, playing in the casinos quickly became untenable.

Some MIT counters moved on to different forms of gambling. Others found new businesses to succeed in and there are those who continued to plug away at blackjack. Chang falls into the latter camp. While he more or less remembers MIT’s biggest win – “As a team, it was $400,000 or $500,000 on a Super Bowl weekend” – Chang tries to keep from getting too hung up about his own short-term performance. “I don’t think about money in terms of what I can buy,” he said nonchalantly. “I’m just playing a game.”

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At 888 we have a lot of jackpots. As a courtesy, we like to call our players to congratulate them and answer any queries they might have. 

While every jackpot winner is a delight to speak to, this one was particularly heartening. 

Our winner lives in Kent, but is originally from East Africa. Rather down on his luck, E.Y was sleeping on his friend’s couch at the time that he hit the jackpot. 

So what happened?
E.Y opens a new account at 888, makes a £20 deposit to get an additional £50 bonus, and starts playing the slot-game, Millionaire Genie. 

Pretty quickly he finds himself up £80, but it’s a rollercoaster ride and he’s soon down again. At one stage he’s up £200, but Lady Luck is a fickle one. At £70, E.Y decides it’s time to cash-in.

But while walking the dog, he decides to give it just one more spin at £1.5 for good luck and… DING! DING! DING! 
JAAAACCKKKPOOTTTT!!!

At first the coin doesn’t drop. He merely receives a notification and clicks “OK”. But after checking his account balance, he sees he’s been credited with a jaw-dropping 2.9 MILLION POUNDS!

It all sinks in when seconds later he receives our call to confirm his win and to quickly guide him through the next steps. 

How will he spend it?
Overcome with relief and euphoria, E.Y tells us that he’s been volunteering at his local church’s homeless shelter. Inspired by its impact, he plans to open a similar charity, first in Kent and then in his hometown in East Africa. He also wants to invest in expanding opportunity in his local community back home, by opening a school and library there.

A few days later we gave him a follow-up call to confirm that the funds had hit his bank account. E.Y told us that he was surprised by how quickly the funds had gone through and thanked us for the support. “The follow up call and everything you do is superb…you make someone feel valued”.

Before thanking him for his time, we asked the player if he had any other plans for that day. He said he had to go somewhere, as he’d invited someone out for lunch. When we asked, he said it was a homeless chap he was treating to lunch.

It's a hive of activity at the casino with nattily-clad dealers hosting rollicking games of live roulette, live baccarat, and live blackjack. Eager players swarm to these gaming enclaves, ready to place their bets. The unmistakable allure of the casino captivates our attention in ways few hedonistic pursuits can. Words like engaging, immersive, and thrilling come to mind, but they simply don't do justice to the unmistakable pomp and grandeur of the casino. Whether it's a sprawling land-based casino on the iconic Las Vegas strip, or a fully licensed online casino, players cannot seem to get enough of the scintillating attractions on offer.

THE WORLD'S MOST EXCITING CASINO CARD GAMES

The card players among us are instantly drawn to strategy-based games like Blackjack, and Texas Hold'em. These feature-rich attractions come in many entertaining variants. The likes of Side Bets Multihand Blackjack, Side Bets American Blackjack, and 4 Decks Super Stakes Blackjack abound. These casino card games test your mettle, with tactical and strategic plays at every juncture. Blackjack, a classic casino card game, is played against the dealer – not against other players. The objective of the game is simple: Beat the dealer's hand total without exceeding 21. Blackjack is achieved if a player scores 21 with an Ace and a 10-value card (10, Jack, Queen, King). Blackjack typically pays: 3:2, although a growing number of casinos has the less favorable payout of 6:5.

One would be remiss to dismiss the social aspect of blackjack. The game is enjoyed by casual players and high rollers all over the world. From the illustrious Monte Carlo casino in Monaco to the extravagant Macau, from the seaside charm Atlantic City casinos, to the magnetic appeal of Las Vegas, Nevada. Casino card games dazzle the senses; they are the wildly entertaining attractions that pepper our screens in Hollywood blockbusters. The inimitable Texas Hold’em Poker reigns supreme as the ultimate competitive poker game. Players go head-to-head against one another in pursuit of the highest-ranking hand, with two hole cards, The Flop, Turn, and River to boot. From the grand stage at the WSOP at the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to the WPT, ANZPT, Aussie Millions, and beyond.

BACCARAT

The world was introduced to baccarat hundreds of years ago. This charming casino card game is the darling of the well-heeled. Aristocracy, nobility, and royalty have all enjoyed baccarat in all its glory. Players are required to bet on either the Player, the Banker, or a Tie. Baccarat is unique in its execution; players don't compete against one another, or even against the dealer. Players must bet on a hand that scores the highest points total. The magic number is 8 or 9, deemed a natural in baccarat. Here is the kicker: it is impossible to bust in baccarat since every hand total greater than 9 automatically has the tens digit removed. 

Therefore, the only thing that's required is a rudimentary understanding of odds and probabilities with Banker hands, Player hands, and Tie hands. Certain casinos are even prepared to reduce the 5% vigorish on the Banker hand to make it more player friendly. As a rule, when playing with an 8-deck shoe, the house edge on the Player hand is 1.24% and the house edge on the Banker hand is 1.06%. The true house edge, excluding ties, on the Player Hand is 1.36%, and on the Banker hand is 1.17%. Leading aggregator platforms like Uonlinecasino provide players with many entertaining baccarat options at reputable online casinos. It's always best to practice baccarat in demo mode before playing for real money. The game features additional side bets such as the Player pair and the Banker pair, both of which pay out 11:1 Tie bets pay 8:1, or 9:1, depending on the casino.

ROULETTE WHEEL

Roulette is French for Little Wheel, but there's nothing small about this game's popularity. Invented centuries ago by a French mathematician named Blaise Pascal, roulette has evolved into arguably one of the most riveting casino table games in the world. It is peerless among its fans, and rightly so. This enthralling game features a free spinning wheel with numbers 0, 1-36 for European and French Roulette variants, and numbers 00, 0, 1-36 for American Roulette. The inclusion of the additional 00 dramatically changes the RTP (return to player) in roulette games, increasing from 2.70% to 5.24%. Players are utterly gob smacked with the electrifying appeal of roulette. It's a fascinating betting game with all sorts of bankroll management options available. These include the Martingale system, the Reverse Martingale, D’Alembert, Fibonacci, and James Bond.

While many players swear by various betting systems, truth be told there are none worthy of mention. Every outcome on a roulette wheel is 100% independent of every other outcome. Numbers may appear to show trends and patterns, but these are easily debunked as nothing more than coincidence. Every time the roulette dealer spins the wheel, anything is possible. Red, black, odd, even, first 12, second 12, third 12, 1-18, 19-36, 2:1 bet options, 0, 00, or any other range of options can easily be conjured up on any spin. Certain roulette games will feature French wording like Tiers, Orphelins, and Voisins off to the side of the roulette betting deck. These neighbors bets are easy ways to bet on sections of the roulette wheel without placing chips on individual numbers.

POPULAR SLOT MACHINE GAMES

Nothing says excitement more than slot machine games. These interactive entertainment options are filled with feature-rich elements like wilds, scatters, bonus rounds, free spins, collapsing reels, expanding wilds, in-game animation, and much more. The beauty of slot machine games is their ability to cater to a broad range of players. Whether you’re an action-adventure fan, a romantic at heart, a superhero aficionado, or you prefer the horror genre, you're in good hands. Popular slots providers know exactly how to tap into our collective psyche with the most entertaining slot machine games imaginable. From the Book of Ra, to Lord of the Ocean, from Valley of The Gods, to Arcane Reel Chaos, and Game of Thrones to Rome Rise of an Empire, players are never wanting for world-class entertainment.

With thousands of popular slots games available, players are spoilt for choice. Fortunately, Uonline casino real money slot games feature a treasure trove of world-class casinos where players can enjoy demo-mode games or real money mode games. Slots typically attract the most attention at casinos, with an estimated 60% of floor space allocated to these money spinners. Whether you're playing Bonanza, Wheel of Fortune, Luxor, Lucky Leprechaun, or Monopoly slot, the fun never ends. These jingling-jangling games are festooned with bright lights and authentic casino sounds. Many popular slots feature progressive jackpots games, with Millionaire Genie, Rise of the Pharaohs, Oktoberfest Spins, and Noche De Los Muertos ranking right up there among the best of them.

Whatever your passion, whatever your preference, casinos stand ready to deliver a tour de force in entertainment. These fun-filled establishments are designed to delight. Players need only answer the call for a world-class entertainment extravaganza.

Joker’s Wild is a fun variation on video poker, one that has carved out its own niche of loyal players. Like all video poker games, Joker’s Wild comes in a variety of pay tables and payback percentages. 

Unlike the rest, it comes with a basic divide: Some games start the pay table at two pairs, and others start it at a pair of Kings.

And beyond that, there’s an intriguing variation. One version of Joker’s Wild Kings or Better puts the top payback on five of a kind instead of a royal flush. 

Four of a kind plus a Joker to make the set five pays 4,000 coins for a five-coin bet. With expert video poker strategy, five of a kind appears an average of once per 10,994 hands, meaning players hit the top jackpot nearly four times as often as they draw a natural royal flush in most video poker games.

Each Joker’s Wild game requires its own strategy to get the most out of the game. Let’s take a look at pay tables for three variations.

JOKER’S WILD KINGS OR BETTER

With expert play, this version returns an average of 99.29 percent. There are higher paying versions that return in excess of 100 percent – one raises the five of a kind return to 3,000 coins and another raises four of a kind to 100.

But the 100-percenters have mostly disappeared from offline and online casinos. Even this 99.29-percenter is not common, but it’s available in some casinos, while others reduce payoffs on anything but the bottom four hands.

 
JOKER’S WILD TWO PAIR 

With expert play, this one returns 99.08 percent, in the same ballpark as the Kings or Better version above. As with other games, there are higher and lower pay tables. Be pleasantly surprised if you find a higher one, but beware the low-payers.

You don’t get your money back on King or Ace pair and payoffs are lower on Joker royals and straight flushes. But you get a little extra on natural royals and there are higher returns on four of a kind, full houses, flushes and straights. 

The overall effect is a more volatile game with a similar overall return to the Kings or Better version above.

JOKER’S WILD, TWO PAIRS, FIVE OF A KIND JACKPOT

With expert play, the five of a kind jackpot game returns 97.19 percent. A 99.12-percent version with enhanced full house and flush pays seems to be out of circulation.

Note that natural royals, joker royals and straight flushes all bring the same return. With the emphasis on five of a kind, the others essentially are all just straight flushes.

For a time, this was the most popular video poker game in Atlantic City, but its popularity and availability have waned.

JACKPOT FREQUENCY

One of the main attractions of video poker is the royal flush jackpot, with 4,000 coins being the most common offering. On a 25-cent machine, that’s $1,000.

On non-wild card games, royals come up an average of about once per 40,000-plus hands, depending on specific game and strategy. Cards are dealt randomly, so it’s your strategy that makes the difference in royal frequency.

In the Joker’s Wild Kings or Better game detailed above, royals pay 4,700 credits, or $1,175 on a 25-cent machine. With expert video poker strategy, the average yield is one royal per 38,477 hands.

The first of the Joker’s Wild Two Pair games above pays 5,000 on a natural royal, $1,250 on a 25-cent machine. The average yield is one royal per 49,270 hands.

The Two Pair version that pays a 4,000-coin top jackpot on five of a kind gives a player betting five quarters $1,000 for those quints. Five of a kind comes up once per 10,994 hands – more than three times as often as royals on the Kings or Better game and more than four times as often as the Two Pair game with the jackpot on a royal.

That makes the five of a kind game a prime jackpot hunter’s game, even though those looking for the best overall payback will invest their money elsewhere.

STRATEGY DIFFERENCES

There is very little you can do to make five of a kind come up more often. If you have four of a kind, you’re going to hold it. Because of the chance at five of a kind, you’d rather start a hand with three of a kind than a straight, while in the other games you’d rather start with a straight. That doesn’t affect your strategy, however, because no hand can include a straight and three of a kind at the same time.

Instead, the strategy differences among these games are driven by the bottom of the pay table, where King and Ace pairs don’t always bring payoffs Other pay table chances make differences, too.

Here are a few sample hands to illustrate the differences. For the sake of clarity and brevity, let’s refer to the Kings or Better game as JWKB, the Two Pair game with a top jackpot on natural royals as JW2 and the Two Pair game with the top jackpot on five of a kind as JW5K.

**10 of clubs, 9 of clubs, 8 of clubs, 7 of clubs, Jack of hearts

In the JWKB, where straights pay only 15 credits for a five-credit bet, and in JW5K, where straight flushes pay 500, the best video poker play is to hold the four consecutive clubs. But in JW2, with 250-credit pays on straight flushes and 25 on straights, it’s better to hold all five cards.

Average returns per five coins bet are 20.8 on the clubs and 15 on the straight tin JWKB, 25 on the straight and 23.33 on the clubs in JW2, and 36.98 on the clubs vs. 20 on the straight in JW5K.

**King of diamonds, King of spades, 9 of diamonds, 7 of diamonds, 5 of diamonds

The Kings are a paying hand in JWKB, but it’s better to hold the four diamonds in JW2 and JW5K.

Average returns are 6.92 credits on K-K and 5.42 on the diamonds in JWKB, 7.29 on the diamonds and 3.69 on K-K in JW2, and 5.21 on the diamond and 3.74 on K-K in JW5K.

**King of diamonds, King of spades, Queen of clubs, Jack of hearts, 10 of spades

This is a similar to the previous hand, only with four parts of a straight instead of four parts of a flush.

Average returns are 6.92 on K-K and 3.02 on the four parts of a straight in JWKB, but 4.69 on four to the straight vs. 3.69 on K-K in JW2 and 3.75 on four to the straight vs. 3.74 on K-K in JW5K.

**Ace of hearts, Queen of spades, 10 of diamonds, 7 of clubs, 6 of spades

In JWKB, you’ll hold a lone Ace in hopes of pairing it up for a paying hand. The average return is 2.29 on the Ace alone, and the next best options are Ace-10 or Ace-Queen at 1.65 each.

On the others, it’s better to hold a card closer to the middle of the deck for a long shot at a straight or straight flush. Even there, the reward potential is so small many players discard all five cards. In JW2, average returns are 1.29 if you hold the 10, 1.29 on the 7, 1.25 on the 6 and 1.22 on a complete redraw – all better than 1.18 on the Ace. Similarly in JW5K, numbers are 1.22 on 7, 1.21 on 6, 1.20 on a redraw and only 1.11 on an Ace.

**Joker, King of hearts, Queen of hearts, Jack of hearts, 3 of hearts

In JW2, the strongest play is to hold the flush at a flat 35-credit return instead of the 26.56 average on four parts of a Joker royal.

The other two games have higher Joker royal paybacks and lower flush paybacks, so it’s better to hold four parts of  a Joker royal. Average returns are 36.04 on four to a Joker royal vs. 25 on a flush in JWKB and 40 on four to a Joker royal vs. 25 on a flush in JW5K.

Joker, Ace of spades, 9 of hearts, 6 of diamonds, 4 of clubs

The Joker plus the Ace for a winning two-Ace hand in JWKB, so the best play is to hold Joker-Ace with an average return of 8.47 credits vs. the 6.90 on holding the Joker by itself.

On the other two, the best play is to hold Joker-9. There are no high pair plays, and Joker-9 maximizes chances for straights or straight flushes  Average returns on JW2 are 6.56 on Joker-9, with Joker-Ace well down the strategy table at 5.78. In JW5K, averages are 6.41 on Joker 9, with Joker-Ace farther back at 5.64.

The main lesson is that if you’re playing Kings or Better versions of Joker’s Wild, you need to be aware of potential high-pair paybacks. In Two Pair versions, there are no high pair paybacks, so high cards that would be automatic holds in other games often are just discards.

 

*Credit for the cover photo in this article belongs to Joel Ryan/Invision/AP Photo*

Slot machines continue to ride a growing wave in popularity – they’re the most popular games in American casinos. And the most popular slots of all are penny games.

THE BASIC PENNY SLOT TIPS ARE: 

1. Bet on all available paylines
2. Find out how the bonus rounds work before you play.
3. Decide if you want the increased volatility.
4. Make sure you make the bets required to be eligible for the jackpots.
5. Don’t stay at a penny slot you think is due to win.
6. Set a bankroll for the day’s play.
7. Try a system of floating win goals and loss limits.

The basics of penny slots are the same as in any other video slots or online slots. They have multiple paylines, bonus events and random number generators to determine what you see on your screen.

There are differences to fill player needs and expectations.

Penny players need more volatility in the games. A 200-coin win brings $10 on a nickel – 5-cent – slot, which goes a long way toward buying lunch. On a penny slot, 200 coins is a mere $2 that might leave you with some change after buying a bag of potato chips.

To give players wins that are worth their time, penny slots need to be more volatile than higher denomination games. Big wins at slots have to be offset by the chance at fast losses to keep payback percentages in balance.

Slot designers have accomplished that by putting more paylines on penny slots, by making free spins the main bonus events on most penny slots, and by incorporating multi-level progressive jackpots on many new games.

How should you approach the penny slots? Here are seven penny slot tips:

TIP #1: BET ON ALL AVAILABLE PAYLINES

One common configuration for penny slots is 40 paylines. Some games have more. Some games, especially older ones, have fewer, with 20- and 30-line games still available.

Newer penny games usually require players to bet on all lines, so that on a 40-line game the minimum bet is 40 cents.

But some games give players the option of choosing a number of paylines as well as a number of coins to wager per line. 

It’s possible to bet one line at a penny a spin on such games. But unless your goal is to risk a minimum amount of money while watching the wheels spin with rare wins, one-line play is not the way to go.

Penny slots already are designed with high volatility in mind. Betting fewer lines takes the volatility to the extreme. Betting only one line eliminates the chance of winning on multiple lines at once. You’ll win only if matching symbols line up down the middle line. 

The result is many fewer winnings spins and an extremely volatile game that few players find fun to play.

One additional point: On some games, advancing to a bonus event requires trigger symbols to line up on an active payline. If you’re betting on only one line, you’ll miss out on bonus fun and profit.

TIP #2: FIND OUT HOW THE BONUS ROUNDS WORK BEFORE YOU PLAY

Touch the screen to call up a penny slot’s pay table or help menu. Page through and find out all you can about the bonus events.

Nearly all penny slots include free spin bonuses. Some also have pick-a-prize bonuses, in which you touch icons on the screens to collect bonuses.

Look for how those rounds are launched. Do you need to land matching bonus symbols? Can they be anywhere on the screen, or must they be on the same payline.

You also might want to check how many spins the free spin round brings and whether there are special features such as extra wild symbols during free spins or more high-paying symbols. 

More free spins give you extra chances to win without betting extra money. Adding high-paying symbols while eliminating low payers such as A, K, Q, J and 10 means your have a better chance at bigger winners.

There’s a risk in free-spin bonuses that you won’t win any credits at all. That’s needed to offset big wins. Pick’em bonuses usually guarantee you’ll win something, but also usually have lower maximum awards than free spins.

TIP #3: YOU NEED TO DECIDE IF YOU WANT THE INCREASED VOLATILITY

Increasingly popular on penny slots, stacked symbols add an extra element of volatility.

With stacked symbols, a reel contains several of the same symbol in a row. It’s possible for a stacked symbol to fill a whole column.

When you have matching stacked symbols on every reel, that’s when you really have something. On a 40-line game, you get the same payoff 40 times over.

The downside is that when you don’t match the stacks, they can get in the way of other wins. If you have a stack on the second reel, you can only win if you have symbols that match the stack on the first and third reels.  The stack blocks all other possible matches from reels 1 and 3.

The effect is to increase your chance at big wins, but decrease your chance at smaller wins. When you encounter a game with stacked symbols, you need to decide if that’s the route you want to go.

TIP #4: MAKE SURE YOU MAKE THE BETS REQUIRED TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE JACKPOTS

Many penny slots include multilevel jackpots with labels such as mini, minor, major and grand, or bronze, silver, gold and platinum.

Jackpots can be as low as a few dollars at the lowest level, and can run into the thousands of dollars at the top level. 

The mini jackpots occur often. If you play penny progressives very often, you’ll hit your share of minis. They’re designed to keep you in credits for play. Each level up is a little less common than the one below.

Some penny progressives make all players eligible for the jackpots. Those who bet more have a better chance at winning a jackpot, but even if you’re betting only one coin per line, you have a chance.

However, some penny slots require an extra bet to be jackpot-eligible. Instead of 40 cents to cover 40 lines, a bet might be 55 cents to cover 40 lines plus a 15-cent bet on the jackpot.

Usually, one of the buttons will say, “40 lines + feature” or something similar, signifying that part of your bet make you jackpot-eligible.

The base game of progressive slots usually pays less than non-progressives of similar types. The difference is made up on the jackpots.

Don’t settle for lower payback percentages by playing progressives without being jackpot eligible. If a jackpot bet is required, either make it or move to a non-progressive game.

TIP #5: DON’T STAY AT A PENNY SLOT YOU THINK IS DUE TO WIN.

Slots are never due. The odds of winning are the same on every spin, regardless of what has happened on previous spins.

If your slot has been on a cold streak, that tells you only that it has been cold. It doesn’t tell you anything about what results are likely to be if you keep playing.

The same thing is true if a machine has been on a hot streak. That tells us nothing about whether it will be hot or cold in the near future.

The numbers that translate into slot images are determined by a random number generator. Results are as random as humans can program a computer to be. 

The RNG does not know what past results have been. The only thing it does is generate numbers. It does not collect or keep information on previous results.

The result is that the odds of the games do not change. Hot machines don’t have to cool down, cold machines don’t have to heat up, and no machine is ever due to win.

TIP #6: SET A BANKROLL FOR THE DAY’S PLAY

As in any casino game, you should never gamble with money you can’t afford to lose. And in penny slots, there’s a mental hurdle to overcome: It’s easy to risk more money than you think you are.

The name “penny slots” suggests inexpensive play. On a per play basis, risking 40 cents on a penny slot is a lot less expensive than $5 a hand on a low-minimum blackjack table.

But slot play moves rapidly. It’s easy to get in 500 spins per hour, and a really dedicated player might spin 800 or more times in an hour, while a blackjack player at a full table plays only 50 to 60 hands per hour.

A little arithmetic tells is that 500 spins per hour at 40 cents a spin totals a $200 risk, and at 800 spins that becomes $320. That’s in the same ballpark as the $250-$300 per hour for a $5 blackjack table at a full table.

Penny slot players need to understand there will be times they go through several $20 bills without winning much at all. 

If you’re going to play, you need to budget accordingly. There will be winning times, but when the wins don’t come, if you haven’t budgeted $100 or more, you might not last an hour.

TIP #7: TRY A SYSTEM OF FLOATING WIN GOALS AND LOSS LIMITS

Imagine you’ve brought $100 with you to an offline casino or loaded $100 in credits online, and don’t want to dig any deeper for money to play. 

At the same time, if you have some nice-sized wins, you want to make sure you leave with at least part of your money.

One way to accomplish that is to set an initial limit of $100 in losses. If you reach that, you’re done for the day. Log off the online casino or leave the offline place, and choose another activity.

At the same time, set an initial win goal of $20

If at any time, you’re $20 ahead, then you adjust your goals. You raise your loss floor from $100 to $80, so that you’ll bring home at least $20 no matter what. In an offline casino, you can even fold up $20 and stash it away, not to be touched for the rest of your casino stay.

At the same time, you let your win goal float up to $40.

Then, if you reach a $40 profit level, you again raise your loss limit to $60, meaning if your bankroll dwindles to $40, you leave, no matter what. And you set a new win goal.

You don’t have to stay until you reach your loss limit. If you decide you’re a few dollars ahead and want to keep it that way, you can leave. Or if you decide $50 in losses is enough for the day, you can cut it short any time you want.

But the goal when the wins come is to make sure you don’t lose them all back, and one way is to keep adjusting your loss limits and putting more and more of your stake away for the day.

BONUS TIP: ABOVE ALL, PLAY FOR FUN

Penny slots are not a big money-making opportunity. The house has an edge on the games, and you can’t change that.

So play the games you enjoy. Keep track of your bankroll and stay within your limits, but have fun. That’s what the games are for.

 

I see the thrilling Martingale strategy being used a lot in casinos, though undoubtably many Roulette players use when betting online too. 

If you’ve ever used the Martingale strategy, you’ll know it involves doubling down on your wagers, chasing the excitement of trying to secure a one-unit profit. For example, bet $10 and win, return is $20 thus the one unit is $10. Lose $10 and double down betting $20 and win, return is $40 thus you win one unit given that your total outlay was $30. Of course, many Roulette players continue to double down when losing. 

The experience begins when Roulette players notice an opportunity to bet on an even money chance outcome that they hope will end a streak. 

Of the three outside 1:1 options, Red/Black, Odd/Even, High/Low, most players tend to bet on the Red or Black options. I think it’s the visual attraction of seeing a streak of one colour that catches their attention as they get ready to implement a popular Roulette strategy, such as the Martingale.

Roulette players using the Martingale strategy lookout for a streak of at least six Reds or Blacks. However, a sense of urgency tends to begin when a run of ten consecutive same colour outcomes is seen. Players will then bet AGAINST that streak based on the theory, the longer the streak, the more likely the next outcome will be an opposite one that will end the streak. So, when they lose at their first attempt they continue to double down until they win or run out of money. 
The more occasions you bet hoping for a streak to be broken using the Martingale strategy the more likely it is that you’ll encounter a streak long enough to wipe out your casino bankroll. If your first bet results in an outcome that ends a streak, then you’ll double your wager. If you lose and continue to double down trying up to six times, you’ll be entering the danger zone where the build-up of risk versus reward in my view just isn’t worth continuing.

Example:
1st bet 1 unit to win 1 (total outlay 1 unit)
2nd bet 2 units to win 1 (total outlay 3 units)
3rd bet 4 units to win 1 (total outlay 7 units)
4th bet 8 units to win 1 (total outlay 15 units)
5th bet 16 units to win 1 (total outlay 31 units)
6th bet 32 units to win 1 (total outlay 63 units)

The problem with most Roulette players who get into the Martingale bubble is they don’t want to stop. The adrenaline kicks in and the prevalent question in the minds of players asks, what if the next outcome happens to be the one that ends the streak? They don’t want to lose out on recovering their increasing outlay and the prize; that small one-unit profit. It’s a mixed emotion of excitement, fear and a drive to stay in the game, betting until the end, whether all is lost or little gained. Though of course a win feels big given that the true reward isn’t the one unit but the recovery of their total outlay.

Certainly, this isn’t my cup of tea of a Roulette system, but it got me wondering whether there’s a way of tweaking the Martingale so that the risk can be minimised and consequently the reward secured sooner? I believe I’ve developed a method that improves on the Martingale approach. I write approach because this really is the key to solving what I see as the Martingale problem. 

Long streaks can lead to Roulette player’s bankrolls being wiped out. Even if they add more funds to top up their dwindling bankrolls the Martingale strategy can prove to be totally brutal and is the casinos best friend. Most players will either run out of money or in rare cases want to place a wagers that surpass the casino’s maximum betting limit. 

It’s not uncommon for casinos to recoded streaks of 20x plus of the same colour occurring in a row. In 1943 a casino in America recorded Red occurring 32 times in a row. I once saw 25x Reds occur in a row on live online Roulette and I recall there had been a dealer change during that streak.

On the other hand, if you have deep pockets and can afford to take the chance to secure a one-unit win, over the long term you’re more likely to succeed given that most streaks don’t end up being long ones. However, there are two aspects to this assumption. 

The first is that the shorter the streak (under six in a row) the more likely it is that the streak will end. And longer streaks (ten or more in a row) is a strong indication that the streak may prove to be a long one. 

TIP #1

It thus follows that you should avoid betting when you see a long streak. Therefore, since shorter streaks are unlikely to form into a long streak you’ll win at more attempts when betting to see streaks end. 

TIP #2

If you follow the advice in tip 1, it’s a good idea to have a stop loss just in case the streak does continue. If you make three attempts in a row, from say the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th stage of a streak and stop you’ll only be losing seven units. E.g. bet 1 lose, bet 2 lose, bet 4 lose: total wagered =7   
It’s better to lose seven units than to -63 or more units should you continue to double down.

For example:
Let’s say you bet to see a streak end from a run of 3 in a row. You’d be trying three times starting from the 4th outcome. You place 1 unit (whatever amount that maybe for instance $10), as your first bet for the 4th outcome following the run of 3 wins and if the streak ends, you would’ve gained your one unit win thereby recovering your $10 plus winning $10. 

If you lose you’d place a $20 bet prior to the 5th outcome. If you win you’ll be paid $40 whereby deducting the $30 that is your total outlay, you’d be winning $10. If you lose you would try one more time, this time wagering $40 and a win will pay $80 of which $70 was your total outlay thus you’d be winning $10. 

But if you lose $70 and stop trying you’d only be 7 wins away from recovering your losses which is better than had you gone on trying and lost a lot more. 

Earlier in this article I wrote that my method involves a different approach to the Martingale strategy. At whatever stage of a streak you begin to bet against it continuing you should be aware that the Martingale strategy in an of itself doesn’t suggest when or where you should bet. The assumption is that a Roulette player bets against a streak by doubling his or her wagers upon each loss. But when it doesn’t work out before you’ve run out of money or exceeded a casino’s maximum bet limit the key to winning remains in the decisions on what you bet on. 

When a Roulette player sees a streak of Blacks, my tweak of the Martingale maintains the doubling down element, however if my first bet on Red results in a loss, I’m going to assume that the streak will continue therefore my next bet will be on Black. If my assumption is correct, I win upon my second attempt not to see the streak end but to, if you like hedge my bet just in case I’m wrong and it continues.

In the worst-case scenario where my 2nd bet fails, and the result is Red I’ve only lost three units having doubled down on my first wager. I believe I’m in a stronger position than the Roulette player who continues to bet against the streak by solely backing the other option. 

My approach has more power when a possible streak lingers at the point of not knowing the next outcome. For me 3-in-a-row is the point at which streaks will either continue or not. 

Either BBBR or BBBB clearly the former pattern ending in a R outcome has gone in the direction that ends the possibility of a streak forming, whereas the latter pattern has clearly favoured the formation of a streak. 

If the streak continues as such BBBB assuming I lose upon the 4th Black outcome when betting on Red then my next bet will therefore be Black, and I’d win if the streak of Blacks continues BBB (this 4th outcome I bet Red but the outcome was B indicating the likelihood that the streak might continue) (this 5th outcome I bet Black and won) B. 

I’m only going to lose, if and only if, the forming streak ends upon the 5th outcome like so BBBBR. But I’d rather lose twice which involves a single unit and a doubling of my unit (total three units lost) than continuing to double my wagers hoping that a streak ends by only betting on the opposite colour of it.

Using my tweak of the Martingale strategy sees a Roulette player betting only twice when trying to profit from a streak. This means you only stand to lose three units (1 and the double 2) therefore the risk it controlled.

In using my teak of the Martingale strategy, the possible outcomes are: 

1. A win upon your first opposite bet. 
   BBB / you bet R if the result is R an opposite you win. If lost move on to the next bet.
2. A win upon your second same type bet. If you lose you stop betting.
   
   BBB B / assuming you lost your first bet going opposite you now bet ‘same’ as the streak, so B. If you win there will be 5x BBB BB
   
   If you lose both attempts, you’re only losing 3 units and if you win upon your first or second attempts, you’ll be gaining 1 unit. Thus, it’s a 1:1 bet on the first attempt and risking 3 in total (first bet 1 and second bet 2) to win 1 unit upon your second attempt. Bet 2, win 4, less your 3 outlay = 1 winning unit.

You have two chances to win versus both failing ending in a loss. 

To break even you’d need to win three times for every -3 lost but let’s not forget you have two chances to achieve a win with your first bet being opposite should the streak end and your second bet being the same type as the streak, should the streak continue.   

The next time you consider using the Martingale strategy, betting against a streak of the same colour shouting “Any Red number!” / “Any Black number!” in the hope of recovering your previous wagers, let alone the small profit you hope to gain, remind yourself of my approach to the Martingale strategy.