No system can overcome a house edge. You can minimize your losses by playing
wisely on games of skill, but systems make no difference to games of pure
chance like roulette. Those who use systems in roulette are fooling themselves.
Don’t believe otherwise.
Expect to lose in the long run – if not right from the start! Remember the
basic rule - the more you play the more likely you are to lose.
Winning streaks and losing streaks can happen by chance
Think about it. When you toss a coin fairly you will get an even number of
heads and tails in the long run. Every now and then you will get a run of four
or five heads or tails, just by chance. After all, every time you toss there is
a 50:50 chance of a head or tail coming down – and this doesn’t change
depending on what the tosses before have been. If runs of 4 or 5 heads happen,
it also means that runs of 10 or even 20 can and will happen. Not very often at
all, but they will happen.
So winning and losing streaks are what you can expect occasionally, just by
chance. They do not need to be explained by ESP, magic or superior betting
skill.
Beware the gamblers fallacy
In the section above I wrote “and this doesn't change depending on what the
tosses before have been.” In the coin tossing example above a head or tail is
no more likely after a head or a run of 10 tails. Remember this.
An event (like a number coming up in roulette) is no more or less likely if it
has not happened for a long time. Thinking that something is more likely to
happen if it has not happened for a long time is called the gamblers fallacy.
Set limits and keep records
For gambling to remain fun, you need to know that you are not spending more
than you can afford. Gambling operators are trying their hardest to get you to
play for as long as possible – so it is very easy for you to spend more than
you can afford.
Setting a limit for your turnover (or losses, if that is easier) and keeping
records help you to know how much you are spending. Use the gambling diary that
is part of the game Guide to keep track of your wins and losses.
Do not increase your bets when losing
Some gamblers believe that you can recover your losses by doubling your bet
every time you lose. This is known as the Martingale system. The idea is that
when you win, the win will be big enough to cover your previous losses. There
are two problems with this system:
You may run out of money before you win.
You can only double your bet so many times because of table limits, and so
occasionally you will hit the table limit before winning – and this will be
very expensive.
