A Strategy for Gambling Strategies
Gambling is a big business and, like any other big shark in the sea, it provides income for other smaller industries who work in its wake. The remora that latched onto the Great White in this case is the industry that makes guides and books that claim to help you beat the casino, hit the jackpot and generally win more at casino games than you'd ever dream possible. But like any other offer that goes to the same extreme, it does sound too good to be true. Are they, and is such literature worth the 20 dollar "special offer" price tag?
First of all, you have to realize that all popular casino games can be classified into two categories - memory and non-memory games. Contrary to what you might be thinking right now, 'memory games' here doesn't refer to the literal memory games like Old Maid. The games that fall into that category are casino card games like baccarat, blackjack or poker where every previous event will affect future occurrences (at least until the deck is reshuffled). The same goes for every other game out there with a finite number of possibilities that decreases as the game goes on. That's why card games are so prevalent in that category.
On the other hand, if you keep that same definition of memory games, you have the non-memory games. The games in this category include games of luck like slots and roulette where previous occurrences can't and don't influence the likelihood of certain events, and the probabilities in every round are identical to the one before it. That's because the possibility or combination isn't made unavailable once it's come up - the game doesn't 'remember' that a combination has come up before - hence the name.
Generally, gambling strategies and betting strategies are likelier to work with the first category. Casino card games and the other games in that category are games of skill where you get to make decisions at several instances in every round. Thus there are several possible outcomes for every situation and you can concretely contribute to pushing the situation towards a certain end. In fact, that's what strategies are supposed to do in the first place, with the end being winning the round or losing as little money as possible.
Regardless of whether you're using calculus, applied mathematics or quantum physics in your so-called strategy, it's practically impossible to change or affect the likelihood of outcomes in non-memory games unless, of course, you rig the equipment or kick the slot machine. No matter how sophisticated or well-researched a strategy claims to be, it's most likely false if it says that it'll make you win at the slot games more often.
There are a lot of charlatans and frauds out there who can and will try to take advantage of people's excitement for gambling and greed for money in order to earn their own cash. Despite their obviously exaggerated claims and overblown prices, many people unwittingly fall into the game of such conmen. Knowing about the game you play and being realistic about your odds of winning will keep you from stumbling into the same trap.
