The Red-and-Black theory of gambling

The Red-and-Black theory of gambling

I like to watch people at the casino and see how they play and strategize what they bet on. I particularly like the tables, where games such as Baccarat, Roulette, Blackjack and Big-Small are played.

One day I want to come to a casino with my friends (a la 'The Hangover'-style) and put my Red-and-Black Theory to the test.

First, find a table that plays games with a 2 to 1 returns. In other words, I play $5 worth of chips, if I win I get $10 ($5 won) usually such odds are indication that the chance of winning are close to 50% hence the returns are relatively small.

The perfect example of this theory (in fact this is where the theory was derived from) is Roulette. It starts like this:

Have a set amount of capital you want to play with (I.e. $100)
Start with $5 on a colour (letsay Black)
if you win, collect your $10, and play $5 again
If you lose, put in $10 on your next bet
If you lose again put in $20 on your next bet
If you lose... $40...
If you lose... $80...
And so on...
If at any point you win instead of losing, go back to $5 and start the cycle over.

Here's the thing, the whole point to this theory of gambling, is to minimise losses. Why do people usually not play this way? Because it is boring as hell, and for each time you win, no matter what you bet for that round (assuming it's $80 because you lost 4 times) you only earn a net win of $5. And so you slowly creep your way up.

But I guess you could tweak this theory if you have a higher capital. If you have more to start with, and are able to keep betting up to save your ass if you lose , then this COULD (not WILL) minimise your losses.

It works for games like Blackjack too, where the focus is no longer on the hand you have each round, but on the wins and losses of each round.

Requirements:
a game where the rate of returns is exactly 1 to 1
a decided sum of capital
a lot of patience

I want to try this out one day, any takers?