The Casino Answer Man

When I play roulette, I wait until the same color hits three times in a row, then I bet the opposite color. If there have been three black colors, I bet red, and if there have been three red colors, I bet black. My friend says he'd go the opposite way, that if there are three red numbers in a row, he'd think red was hot and stay with it. Who's right?

To use one of the favorite phrases of gaming analysts, the wheel has no memory. It doesn't know if the last three numbers have been red, black, mixed or polka dotted. Past results have no effect on future outcome. Regardless of what happened in the last few spins, on the next spin there's a 47.37 percent chance the number will be red, 47.37 percent that it will be black and 5.26 percent that it will be a green 0 or 00.

Is there an advantage to your system? Sure. If you wait to bet until three numbers of the same color turn up, you do a lot more watching than betting. You'll lose less money in the long run that way than if you bet every spin of the wheel.

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