Gambler's Conceit
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December 2, 2003 Another great night! Even though I did something I never should have done, it was a wonderful night. I walked back into my casino in Chinatown, and sat down at the Blackjack table, just to show that I wasn’t scared of them. (Which is a lie, by the way.) I won $500 before I ever even considered standing up again. No big wins tonight, though. I didn’t want to draw any undue attention to myself. The pit bulls were already looking for a fight with me. I figured that as long as I kept my head and my wins low, I shouldn’t be giving them cause to fight. Although they did change the shoe on me this time. Not the dealer, but I got a new shoe with a fresh count. That set me back a few hundred, but I came back strong. When I was up $500, I decided that I was going to show them what I was really made of. I laid it all down on Roulette. Like I said earlier, Roulette is winnable. You just have to know how. I don’t think I’m being too pretentious when I contradict Einstein (“No one can win at roulette unless he steals money from the table while the croupier isn’t looking”), because I simply have a good system. It’s not like I win every time, but I do win. The trick is just to get the odds in your favor, and not bet more than you can lose. I put half my money on evens, and spread out the other half of the money on the odd reds. That way the only way I can lose is to hit an odd black. Evens payout is 1:1. I put $500 on an even, it hits, and they hand me back a cool grand. Payout on individuals is 35:1. I put down $62 on each even red, and if one hits, I win $2170. Downside is that I lose $1000 every time I don’t hit. You can run out of money real quickly that way. Nice part is, though, that that only happens 8/38 of the time. It isn’t perfect by any stretch, but I’ll take it. So I laid down $500 on evens, and $62 on all of my odd reds. First round goes by and everyone thinks I’m crazy. It hit even black, and I lost $996 real quick. I shook it off, though, and with the pit bosses still laughing at me, I repeated my bet with the very last cash left in my pocket. Odd Red. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. In one perfect moment, my bet made sense to everyone in the room. I grabbed my cash before the pit bosses made their way around the table. I hit the cold winter streets a moment later, counting up my winnings while running for my life. In with $1500. +$500 from blackjack. - $996 roulette loss. +$2170 Roulette win. -$996 cost of the round. +678 for the night +2178 cash total
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About the Book
To William Brighton, math has always been cool. It has always had a sort of mystery and power about it that intrigues him, and when he discovers that he can use it to make himself rich, it becomes that much better. Taking the work of his mathematical hero to the next level, he designs a set of gambling equations that ensure he always comes out on top, and he puts them to good use. He gets the car. He gets the girl. Everything goes perfectly, and the math works.
But when his luck starts to turn, and math fails him, William finds himself in trouble. In debt to mobsters and lying about the source of his income to his girlfriend, William walks a fine line. Will he lose all of the things that mean the most to him, or will William Brighton find a way to turn luck back in his favor?
About the Author
Chris cannot play the cello, nor has he ever had any real desire to. He is equally inept at most sports, though he has made several attempts in that arena. He much prefers the arts to the sciences, and hopes to one day be a bright spot in someone’s world.