The law off the sixth won $10000s

[Hay Chee]

Has anyone heard off this. I saw someone in the casino who was winning thousands at roulete. He told me he was using the law off the sixth.

[TheDuck]

He was on what is called a 'lucky streak'. It's not how much you win but how much you take home each time that dictates your success.

I don't know what the law of sixth is (other than a another losing 'method' at roulette) but I do know what people call a law of thirds.

The theory states that in the last 36 spins you don't see 36 numbers. Statistically that's obvious but people think that if you bet on other than the numbers that have come up the last 36 times you will rake in such large quantities of money that you'll need a helicopter to lift it home for you.

But you will also see repeated numbers more often than not in the last 36 spins (again, obviously, since we just agreed you don't see all 36 in the last 36 -- some must be repeated!). So, imagine we take out the 0 (you guys only have one I think -- lucky stiffs). That leaves 24 numbers to bet on. Seems pretty simple, don't you think? 35:1 odds minus 24 unit bets is 12 units each spin. But we're forgetting that the 12 numbers missed in the last 36 spins are not the same 12 missed in the next 36 spins. And any loss requires 2 wins to make up for it.

Another one that may be close to what you heard is the one where you wait for a repeat in 6 numbers then bet everything but the last 6 that came up (in other words you leave out 5 numbers -- one is the repeat). Unfortunately, math and statistics don't care how clever you think you're being. They use hard facts and are never fooled.

If you wonder how I know about these I've tried them and many more. In the very short term they can be lucky. So I like to go into a casino with friends and tell them I never lose. I place a few wagers until one win then show them several hundred dollars in chips and walk away. They forget that I started with roughly that much. It's all show, the odds are always against you. They ask how I did it and try it. But they keep playing. I think they're finally convinced that, in the long run, you lost .05 for every dollar played.

Sorry to run on and on but I really have seen enough from gamblers as well as mathematicians to realize it can't be done. Don't be fooled! Roulette has been around a long time. Casinos wouldn't be making money at them and people wouldn't be losing money if there was a sure-fire way to do it. THAT news would spread like wild fire!

-Duck