The Red/Black system is one of the better known roulette systems around. Your bets for this system are on either red or black, with your pay out 1 to 1, meaning your money is doubled for a win. It is worth keeping in mind that your chances of winning each bet are just under 50/50 due to the fact that the 0 and 00 gives the casino its advantage.

To begin you must choose a color and place your bet on either red or black. If you win, keep your winnings and place your starting bet again. If you lose, double your stake and place a bet on the same color again. If this bet wins, your net result after two bets is the same as if you had one you initial bet. Keep your winnings and begin with your starting stake again. If your second bet loses, double your stake again, and continue doing this until your color does come up, at which point your net win from the string of bets will be the same as if you won your starting bet. It doesn’t take too many losing bets in a row for your bet amount to climb to quite a big number. Be very aware of the table bet limit – if you reach this before you have a win then you stand to lose a considerable amount.
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When I was 14 years old my parents took me on a 2 day cruise, it was great; my dad spent the whole time looking a bit green whilst my mum introduced me to the wonders of onboard casinos – that was the beginning of my love affair with roulette. Ten years latter, I still love the roulette wheel, it’s appeal and excitement hasn’t waned. In the course of those ten years, however I have noticed a number of strategies that people tend to play with – personally I think they take the fun out of the game, but hey, everyone has a right to know what their options are, right?

The most common strategy used in roulette is known as the Martingale. This strategy is based on the theory that loosing streaks don’t last long, therefore if you continue to bet on the same one of two chance options (e.g. black or red/odds or evens), it won’t be long until you win. Now, the way that you actually make money on this is by doubling your bet each time each time you don’t win. Confused? Don’t be! If I bet $5 on red and it comes up black, then I’ve lost $5, however the next spin I bet $10 on red – oops came up black again, now I’ve lost a total of $15. Never mind, I stick with the Martingale theory, I double my bet on the same choice and so I put down $20 on red. Hallelujah, it’s red! I win $40. Does it work out? Yes, I bet $5 + $10 + $20 = $35; I made a $5 profit. Make sense?
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Everyone snickered a month ago when there were still 8 singers in contention for the coveted American Idol crown and at 18-1, I must have been the only person in the world that suggested you plunk down so hard earned cash on Elliot Yamin. Yesterday highly touted publications were predicting the demise of my main man.

I mean even one of my own employer’s followed up my so called perceived ridiculous statement, with a rebuttal from another writer. Hey, to each his own and it’s like I am bang on with every one of my predictions.

Let’s turn the clock back to April 14, 2006:

AT 18-1 ELLIOT YANIN WILL SHOCK THE WORLD!

Okay I admit I have hit rock bottom as I am about to write an article on American Idol, but on the flip side, you have to admit, this show has power! I have in this competition sat on my couch with my wife who loves the show and in this particular competition have seen the contestants twice. The first time I saw Elliot Yamin sing he was doing a Stevie Wonder tune called ‘If You Really Love Me” and I said then and there that the competition was over.

This guy blew the competition out of the water and even Simon had to admit the guy has the chops. This past week I watched the competition and it was the show with the “Queen “theme and this is not an easy group to imitate. I was stunned they did the voting and he was placed in the bottom three which meant there was a chance he would get eliminated. BS I cried out to my wife, but then it call hit me like a ton of bricks, the guy is short and ugly and the superficial callers, could not get past this issue.

I can’t be the only one to notice that Elliott Yamin has the worst teeth on American Idol. But could his dental dilemma be due to diabetes and not poor hygiene?

But Elliott’s teeth aren’t the only unusual feature on the 27 year-old contestant from Richmond, Virginia. His Abe Lincoln-style sideburns make him look like a cross between an Amish farmer and street gangster. And sometimes he even looks like a leprechaun cautiously coveting his pot of gold.
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There are some basics in blackjack. Splitting aces and eights only makes senses since a hand equaling 2 or 12 compared to having two hands of 11 is a no brainer. Even though you only receive one card to your ace, the chances of getting 21 or a relatively decent hand are good.

Splitting eights all the time is a bit riskier. Some blackjack studs say not to split eights if the dealer is showing a nine or a ten. For me, it depends on how the cards are flowing that day whether I will split the eights all the time or just when it feels right against that dealer nine or ten.

Probably the most important strategy for wining blackjack is to always play the dealer for a ten in the hole. This will be the basis of your winning strategy. If the dealer is showing a ten, you play him as if he has twenty and hit or stay accordingly. The same rule applies if the dealer is showing a six or any other bust combination (12, 13, 14, or 15). You always have to play as if you had x-ray vision and could see the dealer’s hole card.

Playing hunches will kill you. You have to have a plan and stick to it. And your plan should follow the basic rules. Granted there will plenty of times that the dealer doesn’t have that ten in the hole, but you have to stick to your guns and play it that way.
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