Are the Numbers Lying?

Could there be a mathematical equation governing the world of gambling? There's a lot of news about this and that a math system when used can generate many winners. But there are still debates whether luck controls the numbers or is it skill that prevails.

Mathematicians will agree that there will still be losing even in those successful systems people follow. And many will say millions of those who go to casinos are just losers because they are not knowledgeable on the math of different games. They rely too much on intuition, feelings and praying.

Your edge in casino games is believed by many to be a mathematical principle because most of the games are mathematical stagnant. Carps and roulette are mathematically stagnant. Like in Crap if you wager any seven and the house pays you 4 to 1 if you win, the house advantage is always at 16.67 per cent.

In Roulette, using the double-zero wheel and the single-zero wheel gives the house a 5.26 percent and 2.7 percent advantage respectively. The house stays at 35 to 1 ahead on a number hit and that fact cannot be changed by any player unless he makes his own wheel.

There are also games that are not mathematical stagnant. An example is blackjack: advantage shifts from the player to the dealer as cards are dealt. At times it swings in the favor of the dealer at times it is leaning to the player. But as experience tells us, luck is most of the time with the casino more than with the players. And that means defeat to all other blackjack players even to those with perfect basic strategy. Only card counters are certain to the times when the player has the edge and they will mostly bet more in such situations to overcome the house's advantage. But these card counters are rare; a few thousand in every six top seven million casino goers.

Poker is both math and psychology. Long-time winners are not only able to grasp the math of the game but also the mental state of their opponents. Aside from understanding the mathematical underpinning of poker, they are able to read their opponents' cards.

Video poker is very different from poker. In video poker you play to get the most advantageous hand. Some are really good at this. For the lucky ones, some machines release over 100 per cent of what was inserted in them. If one gets the correct strategies for these games then chances of winning increase. But before getting such strategy, one must have already wasted a lot of money. Majority of video poker gamers choose the machine that strikes their fancy.

Winning a lot of money for a short-run is not entirely impossible even with a long history of loses.