|
Roulette ?Playing the Percentage Game
by Christopher Pawlicki, published on Wednesday, March 9 2005
Printable version
Discipline and patience are essential to winning at the gaming tables. Last time I wrote about how most staking
systems require players to chase losses by aggressively increasing stakes. Sure ? some days, perhaps many
days, this can work but on the disaster visits, the losses may well destroy all the past wins and much more on
top. Believe me I?ve been there as I wrote in my book Roulette-Playing to Win. It was part of a learning curve
that shaped my present winning philosophy.
If getting rich quick is your ambition, then playing roulette or other table games is not the answer. Poker,
national or state lotteries can make you a millionaire overnight, roulette is highly unlikely to do so. Playing
roulette, the art is to win most visits and on the bad days to lose less than on the winning ones. But players still
come to the tables with exaggerated hopes and expectations.
Put $10 on number 5. If it wins first spin, then, receiving $350 is fantastic. It won?t happen often nor, sadly,
often enough even after the first spin to be a regular money-spinner ? and that is the aim for players who want
to win rather than simply to enjoy the action. Winning at roulette is easy. Losing is easier. Your aim must be to
win consistently and arriving with $50 and hoping to leave with hundreds is unrealistic on nearly every occasion.
The way to win consistently is to be modest in your percentage targets for winning.
Roulette is a percentage game. The odds of over 5% against you every spin on the 00 wheel mean that you
should be grateful for winning even a 10% return on your playing money. It is beyond the scope of this article
how I play to win a greater percentage than 10% but it is fully explained in the book. Here is the truth: If you
play with $100 and win $10, then you have done well! I suggest that your win target should be no more than 25
or 30% - say $30 if you play with $100. The lower your target, the better the chance of reaching it. 10% is safe
and sensible.
?You crazy? Get real!? you tell me. ?Winnin? ten lousy bucks? Sure as hell, that ain?t no fun.?
?Agreed,? I reply. ?So play with $1000 and win $100. Play with $10,000 and win 10%. Would a win of $1000
please you? That?s only ten percent. Would you think you had done well? Won enough for a trip to the
Caribbean or Hawaii?? Most people would think taking home $1000 profit from Las Vegas was a victory. A
high-rolling friend of mine brings $50,000 to the Mirage Hotel each trip. He expects to win $15,000 and has
won each time on his past five visits and been comped on a full RFB basis too. His target is 30% which is not
overly ambitious. But even a 10% target of $5000 would have left him with a profit big enough to make a
difference to his life. Isn?t that the aim?
It really is that simple. Using the techniques explained in this series of articles and in the book, winning 10% is
likely most times. If 10% does not satisfy you, don?t aim to win 100% or 200% or even 50%. Starting with one
hundred dollars, don?t expect to win hundreds. Save up a larger fighting fund so you can start with more
money. Practice your skills on free websites and then aim to play modestly but with more money to use. Then
set a low percentage as the profit target. It works ? believe me. Most people lose in the casino because they
play with too little money and with too big and greedy plans to get rich.
|
Why We Play Roulette
by Christopher Pawlicki, published on Monday, October 1 2001
Printable version
Anticipation
Betting, waiting, watching? as the ball makes its passes in the outer rim, gradually slowing down and breaking
from upper track. Spiraling down to the rotor, the ball crosses over, strikes a numbered pocket, then a few
short hops later, hopefully comes to rest in one of our favorite numbers.
It's easy to get caught up in the excitement as the event unfolds right before your eyes. I can't imagine feeling
more excited than seeing the ball enter the rotor right before my targeted sector of pockets and watching as it
dribbles right into one of my heavily favored numbers!! What an adrenaline rush! Or the ball descends half a
wheel away, but through the benefit of a strange bounce, it is suspended on the rotor's edge? waiting for my
area to come into play! Then, bam, it takes a turn right into one of my pockets. Of course, the reverse happens
as well. Either way, it is a roller coaster ride of emotions. It is the "highs" and the "lows" that make it addicting.
Will I experience the depression of a near miss? Or will I enjoy the nirvana of a straight up win?!? ?hold on to
your hernia belts!
Tradition
What's a casino without a roulette wheel? Imagine Rick's Caf? in Casablanca or James Bond's savvy wagering
without a roulette wheel around. In fact, countless movies with scenes situated in a casino will frequently show
a roulette wheel to help the viewer realize, "Yeah, we're in a casino now." It has been the dominant symbol of
casino gambling. From movies to television shows to photographs - a roulette wheel is usually visible? and
why not? Roulette is the oldest of all the modern casino games, dating back almost 300 years. Couple this long
history with romantic notions of breaking the bank, and you have an irresistible lure. There are plenty of stories
to go around of big wins and near misses. Ask anyone of the patrons playing roulette. They'll usually have
some personal stories to share. Perhaps they even know some of the romantic tales of past heroes who
tempted fate and were victorious. My favorite roulette story starts off? "One of the most spectacular and
popular gamblers at Monte Carlo was a handsome young American named William Nelson Darnborough from
Bloomington, Illinois. How he beat roulette at Monte Carlo from 1904 to 1911 has been a well-kept secret."
Darnborough, in fact, beat the casino to the extent of $415,000. A sum, no doubt, equal to 10 or 15 times that
amount in today's dollars. If you would like to hear the rest of the story, you'll have to buy Russell Barnhart's
book, Beating the Wheel. With painstaking attention to details, Barnhart has included many more interesting
stories.
Diversification
There's something for everyone? from the more conservative "even-money" bettor to the more aggressive
long-shot artist, and everything in between. There's a bet to go with every temperament. Unlike the game of
craps, for example, the house's edge is consistent for conservative betting all the way up to the 35-to-1 straight
up wagers. The French 2.70% edge or even the American 5.26% edge kills the double-digit edge found on the
center of a craps table. Because of the variety of wagers, many systems have been developed over the past
couple of hundred years with roulette in mind. Whether it's the Martingale, the Labouchere, the d'Alembert or a
half-dozen others that come to mind, there are numerous betting systems available to employ. And now, with
the popularity of the electronic tote board, systems players can easily canvas the pit for various combinations
of results. Of course there is no way to beat the game with a purely mathematical approach, but when applied in
moderation, it will help enhance your enjoyment of the game as well as your accounting skills.
Appreciation
Some folks just develop an appreciation for the finer things in life. Adding a touch of sophistication makes life
interesting. Things like art, music, fashion or just fine dining help us to develop a more civil side to our
personality. As an engineer, I appreciate the precision crafted mechanism of a casino roulette wheel on one
hand, along with the richly appointed hardwoods and chrome trim on the other. Like a fine Swiss watch or an
expensive German auto, there is a beautiful mixture of old-world craftsmanship and state-of-the-art
manufacturing technology. Just like the automobile or the watch, a finely tuned roulette wheel is a joy to
observe!
Recreation
The game can be an elegant, leisurely break from the rest of the casino. With a sense of civility and decorum,
where else can the common folk and the aristocracy both share the plush surroundings of a relaxed and quiet
atmosphere? Roulette is often characterized as a serious, but unhurried game, graced by Kings and Queens.
With plenty of time between spins, you'll have ample opportunity to play your systems. You can calculate your
next series of wagers or socialize with neighbors. Relax and enjoy the company of that attractive blond on your
right or that shapely brunette on your left who needs assistance reaching the layout. Of course, not wanting to
appear sexist in any way, how about rubbing elbows with that dashing young Duke, or some friendly
conversation with that handsome, witty Texan? You can make an event out of playing the game. Because of its
slower, more relaxed pace, you can stop and enjoy the company at hand. Indeed, the game is faster here in the
States, but you can still stop to chat with your neighbors if you're feeling social. In North America, only a small
percentage of gamblers consider roulette to be their favorite game. It can provide a welcome diversion or
change of pace for the many other patrons.
Remuneration
The biggest reason, I believe, that many play roulette is to make money! Whether playing systems or hunches,
everyone seems to have an opinion on the proper method of play. If we thought that we had no chance of
winning, we simply would not play. Most patrons will play if they feel they have some chance to beat the game,
even if it's a "lucky" win. But is it possible to beat this game over the long term? I believe it is? if (and that's a
big "if") you have the proper strategy and dedication to know how to employ it. While mathematical systems
alone will fail in the long run, the right predictive methods can, and have beaten the game. In future articles we'll
discuss such topics as "dealer's signature," "biased wheel play" and "visual tracking," to name a few. So stay
tuned?
The Roulette Story
by David Edwards and Mike Callahan
The Roulette Label was founded in late 1956 or early 1957 by record producer George Goldner and Joe
Kolsky in New York City. Joe Kolsky was also a 50% owner of the George Goldner labels, Gee, Rama and
Tico and he was in business with nightclub owner Morris Levy. Morris Levy was installed as president of the
new Roulette label. The partnership was short lived as Billboard announced on April 6, 1957, "(George)
Goldner has sold his interests in the Roulette, Rama, Gee and Tico labels outright to the Morris Levy combine.
After selling his record labels to Levy, Goldner formed two new labels, End and Gone and sometime in the
early '60s, they were also sold to Roulette Records. The End, Gone, Rama, Gee and Tico label discographies
are with the George Goldner label discographies.
The Roulette label was musically broadly based, recording pop, jazz, rhythm and blues, country and western
and even classical. The heads of A&R for Roulette were Hugo (Peretti) and Luigi (Creatore). Other producers
for the label over the years were Goldner, Richard Barrett, Sammy Lowe, Joe Reisman, Henry Glover, Teddy
Reig, and Nat Tarnopol (who owned the Brunswick label).
The initial issues for the Roulette label were the purchased masters of "Party Doll" and "I'm Sticking With You"
by a Texas group known as the Rhythm Orchids, which were Buddy Knox (guitar), Jimmy Bowen (bass), Dave
Alldred (drums), and Don Lanier (guitar). Originally, in 1956, the two songs were on flip sides of a local single
the group put out in Dumas, Texas [Triple-D 797], with "Party Doll" billed as "Buddy Knox with the Orchids"
and "I'm Stickin' With You" as by "Jim Bowen with the Orchids." When both sides of the single got airplay,
Roulette purchased the masters and reissued the songs, but split the Triple-D single into two separate releases,
"Party Doll"/"My Baby's Gone" by Buddy Knox [Roulette 4002], and "I'm Sticking With You"/"Ever Lovin'
Fingers" by Jimmy Bowen [Roulette 4001]. Both songs were hits ("Ever Lovin' Fingers" also charted) and
Roulette was off to a good start. Buddy Knox had several more hits for Roulette. Jimmy Bowen had a couple
of minor hits and later became a very successful producer, especially of country music.
Roulette also had substantial early success with Jimmie Rodgers, a folk-pop singer from Seattle. In 1957,
Rodgers auditioned a song called "Honeycomb" for producers Hugo and Luigi. They recorded and released it,
and it went to Number 1 in July, 1957. It was the only #1 record for Rodgers, but he did have six other top
twenty sides for Roulette, including "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine," "Secretly," and "Oh-Oh, I'm Fallin' In Love
Again."
Rodgers continued to record for Roulette until 1962 when he went to the Dot label. During the early 1960s, it is
astonishing how many of the Roulette artists exited the label to the supposedly greener pastures of Dot -
probably more than a dozen. Most of these artists had one or at most several albums for Roulette before
joining Dot, but Jimmie Rodgers was the exception. He was an established chartmaker, and continued his
success for Dot with several hits there. The dozen or so other artists who thought Dot would turn around their
lack of chart success were mistaken; they didn't chart for Dot, either.
Roulette also recorded one of the last of the rock and roll pioneers, Ronnie Hawkins. Roulette recorded him in
1959, and he managed a minor hit with Chuck Berry's "Forty Days" (for some reason, Hawkins added ten days
to Chuck's original "Thirty Days"). Ronnie Hawkins had several more hits on Roulette including "Mary Lou" (a
remake of a Young Jesse song of a few years earlier) and the blues standard "Who Do You Love?". Hawkins
was from Arkansas and had auditioned for Sun Records, but was rejected. He went to Canada, where he had
considerable success as a stage performer and met several outstanding musicians who he employed as his
band, the Hawks. The Hawks included drummer Levon Helm and guitarist Robbie Robertson, and also
eventually included Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson. The Hawks achieved even greater fame in
1965 when Bob Dylan asked them to back him on his first "electric" world tour. Of course, the Hawks later
became known as "The Band," and became superstars on Capitol Records.
Roulette had a very strong jazz catalog, recording many of the jazz artists that played at the Morris Levy's
Birdland nightclub. Roulette also acquired the catalog of the Roost label in August 1958, which had jazz artists
Stan Getz, Johnny Smith, and Sonny Stitt. The Roost label was also called Royal Roost and the discography
for the label is included with this discography. In the late '60s, Roulette also distributed the Calla label, a
discography of which is also included here. Certainly, all the albums in the Calla discography were not
distributed by Roulette, but we're including all of the Calla issues of which we are aware.
Morris Levy ran the Roulette label from it's inception. He was born poor in the East Bronx, New York. He went
into the nightclub business and eventually owned several big nightclubs in mid-town Manhattan. Levy was in
business with disc jockey Alan Freed, and with Freed promoted the hugely successful Rock and Roll shows at
the Brooklyn Paramount Theater. Levy's real money came from publishing copyrights that accumulated into a
vast fortune over the years. It was hardly a secret that Levy had many "silent partners" in the Mafia underworld.
Levy claimed he was being harassed by the government and had numerous run-ins with the law because of his
association with the Genovese family, but he avoided serious prosecution for many years. Levy's luck ran out
in May 1988 when he was convicted on extortion charges and drew a ten-year sentence, but he remained free
on bail after an appeal, and died of cancer in 1990. The story of Morris Levy and Roulette Records is
chronicled in the book Hit Men by Fredric Danner in the chapter titled "Lullaby of Gangland."
As far as chart success, it was a long time coming for Roulette. Although they started issuing albums in 1957, it
wasn't until 1961, after well over 200 albums had been issued, that Roulette had a charter with a Murray the K
compilation. Although many of the 150 pop albums released to that point had been forgettable, there were a
number of albums by very popular artists like Jimmie Rodgers, the Playmates, and Ronnie Hawkins that for
some reason just didn't click. After the Murray the K disc, Roulette had a fair amount of chart success with
compilations in the early 1960s, especially their Golden Goodies series. But it was the "second" twist craze in
late 1961 that really put them on the charts big time. Joey Dee and the Starlighters' "Peppermint Twist"
propelled the corresponding album to the #2 spot on the Billboard charts. It was also about this time that
Roulette lured Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan away from Mercury, and Dinah's chart success before
her untimely death at the end of 1963 helped make Roulette a common label on the Top 200. By the mid '60s, it
was the likes of Tommy James and the Shondells that kept the label on the charts. The '70s saw the chart action
wane, but by 1975, Levy saw the possibilities of marketing his huge catalog through television advertising, and
started the Adam VIII label. The Adam VIII label, of course, was most notorious for issuing a controversial
John Lennon album over which Lennon sued.
By the 1980s, Roulette itself issued only a few reissue albums and rock and roll compilations, and later some
poorly mastered compact discs. In 1989, as Levy was getting on in years and faced legal problems, he sold
Roulette and his other label holdings to a Rhino-EMI partnership, and Rhino put out some high quality compact
disc reissues.
These discographies were compiled using our record collections, Schwann catalogs from 1953 to 1980, a
Phonolog from 1963, and "The American Record Label Directory and Dating Guide, 1940-1959" by Galen
Gart. The Roulette story includes information from Hit Men by Fredric Danner, and Across the Great Divide
by Barney Hoskyns. We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to
us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we
provide the records listed below. We have no association with Roulette Records. Should you be interested in
acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently
Asked Questions page and follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 1997
by Mike Callahan.
On to the Roulette Album Discography, Part 1 25000 Pop Series (1957-1968)
On to the Roulette Album Discography, Part 2 42000 and 3000 Pop Series (1968-1975)
On to the Roulette Album Discography, Part 3 52000 and 5000 Jazz Series (1958-1977)
On to the Roulette Album Discography, Part 4 Miscellaneous Series
On to the Roulette Album Discography, Part 5 Related Issues
On to the Forum/Forum Circle Album Discography Budget Issues (1960-1964)
On to the Calla Album Discography
On to the Roost/Royal Roost Album Discography
On to the Adam VIII Album Discography Telemarketing albums
Back to the Discography Listings Page
Back to the Both Sides Now Home Page