Re: Roulette odds

> To maximize the odds of winning at roulette, place all the money you
will ever
> bet on roulette on one spin - your choice of red or black. Anything
else
> goes to pay for the free drinks and bright lights.

Not quite: This maximises your payout (ie the amount you win on average)
should you play. To really maximise your payout, don't play at all. This
way you break even on average, which is better than you'd do with a
roulette wheel, on average.

To maximise your chances of winning (ie coming out ahead), place $1 on
either red or black. If it loses, place $2 on red or black. Double your
bet each time you lose. As soon as you win, stop playing - you will have
won $1. The odds of this happening eventually are pretty high. Start
with a little over $1,100,000 and the odds of you not winning $1 and
losing your million plus are less than 1 in a million. Note that on
average, you'll still lose lose. 

I've managed to win money in side-bets by showing people how two
players, one playing red, the other black, can both almost-certainly win
a trivial amount over time, just by pattern-betting (with a slightly
greater than trivial chance of losing everything).