Sometimes the odds are on your side
By random dude, Section Etcetera
Posted on Mon Oct 04, 2004 at 07:06:56 PM PST
Casino's are a little better now, but in the past, their have been loopholes that people have been able to exploit in order to get good (better than 100%) payouts.
Casino operators have the advantage on blackjack. Or at lest they did until people figured out how to cont cards. In 1956, Roger Baldwin developed the Optimum Strategy. This is the first basic card counting strategy. Julian Braun further adapted this technique. By 1962, Edward Thorp had invented the first card counting techniques that casinos had to figure out how to beat. Instead of adjusting the odds, casinos make it harder to count cards. They blundered by introducing more decks of cards. This change makes card counting more profitable. Casinos bar suspected card counters. Counting cards isn't against the law, and you just need to be discreet about it.
In 1991, a pair of bookmakers discovered that the odds offered for a hole-in-one were maybe a little higher than they should be. Holes-in-one were becoming increasingly common due to more skilful players. The people setting the odds hadn't adjusted the odds for this relatively new phenomumon. Based on the results of players getting a hole in one at a a par three hole in a tournament, the odds should have been around 2/1. However, when they checked the prices offered, they found odds of 20/1 to 100/1. They quit their jobs and toured around betting until they were found out. They made over $700,000 before their exploit was discovered and the odds were reduced. This could happen again with anoth sport. Who knows, maybe it is...
Joseph Hobson Jaggers worked in a textile mill in the 19th century and saw wooden spindles being used to wind wool. He observed that as spindles got worn the wheel gets a little out of alignment. He thought that perhaps the spindles of a roulette wheel might also become worn. If this was the case, perhaps the wheel would become imbalanced? In 1873, he went to Monte Carlo. He and six assistants recorded the numbers spun on roulette for six days.
Analysis of the results showed that a few numbers on one of the wheels kept on winning. The casino operators reacted by changing the wheel’s design. A removable metal fret was fitted to separate the numbers. At the end of a day’s business the fret could be moved to a different position. Jaggers decided to quit while he was ahead and netted a profit of $325,000 equivalent to around $3 million today. Casinos operators ensure that roulette wheels are regularly serviced and balanced.
Special offers can give you odds that are better than 100%. Blackjack wasn’t a very popular game when it was introduced to American casinos it. To get players, casinos offerred 10:1 payout for blackjack with either the Jack of Clubs or Spades. They have since realized that this puts the payout over 100% and they adjusted the pay to 2:1.
Horse racing also provided some gamblers with bonus. Tricast bets, are where punters must predict the first, second and third past the post. These bets weren’t particularly popular at the time. British bookmakers offered a 33 per cent bonus for a correct tricast. This bonus was made to encourage punters to make this bet. As a result, some shrewd gamblers realised that put the payout over 100% if they new the subtelties of the individual race track. Bookmakers retaliated by reducing the maximum bet but punters simply spread their bets around different shops. Bookmakers withdrew the special offer.
I find these stories inspiring. Maybe there are individuals out there quietly making money tricking casinos out of cash. I'm a computer engineer and I've been around the block enough to know that every peice of software has bugs. Find the bugs in an online casino and you may find a loophole to win cash. This idea takes hacking to a new level. If you find a loophole, or bug in casino software, be subtile. If you don't draw too much attention to yourself, you should be able to keep winning.
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