How to beat the house

Everyone knows the house always wins – but it doesn’t always play fair!

It’s not so common these days, but in the past corrupt casinos have attempted to rig roulette tables by putting magnets under certain numbers. If the dealer wanted to ensure no one won, he could swap the ball for a steel one to force it to land on his magnetic numbers. If bets were then placed on his magnetised numbers, he could simply swap the ball back! Other dealers would ‘spring’ the ball by creating a diversion and blowing it or ‘springing’ it off certain numbers, using tiny spring-loaded pins built into the wheel.

You can even buy devices that time the spin and predict where the ball will fall. (There’s a really cool book about how this was invented, called The Eudaemonic Pie).

But if you really want to beat the house, check this out – this is why people like me aren’t allowed in casinos!

Advertisements