Does anyone here have 19 and 20 as your "lucky" numbers?

I hope you were playing roulette at this table.



http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/las-vegas-roulette-wheel-reportedly-hits-19-seven-203237524.html

 

Always bet on black, my ass!

 

Heard that was a hoax.

 

Doctored photo?

That's more plausible.

 

Whatever. I heard it didn't really happen.

 

http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2012/06/21/incredible-roulette-run-of-19-red-never-actually-happened/

 

It's just as likely to hit the same number X amount of times in a row as it is any other random assortment of numbers.

 

Having watched my share of roulette spins, I will say a skilled dealer (croupier? spinner? What the hell is a roulette person called?) might be able to pull this off.
If you ever sit and watch a roulette game for a while, you do start to notice patterns. Not necessarily the same number repeated, but certainly numbers in the same area of the wheel. My theory is, dealers who don't pay attention get into the habit of spinning the ball at the same speed and roughly the same release point. From there, it's all physics.
If you look at the numbers that come up -- and most places have the "tower" that lists the last dozen or so spins, you can see the patterns and bet accordingly. You don't want to bet sequential numbers. You want to bet, say, 6, 8, 12, 18, 19 and 31 -- numbers that are next to each other on the wheel and minimize the chances of a bad bounce killing you.
Good dealers will vary up the speed and release point of the ball. Just when you figure out the pattern, they change it and take you to the cleaners.

So, given all that, it stands to reason that a good dealer can figure out roughly the right speed and release point to maximize the chances of the ball landing in a particular area of the wheel. With a little luck and no bad bounces, landing on a specific number several times in a row doesn't seem impossible.
Unlikely? Yes.
Impossible? No.

 

No offense, but I think rationale/strategy like this is why casinos are able to stay in business.

 

None taken. I'm not saying I ever consistently won at roulette, just that there are easily identifiable patterns (which can be altered with the tiniest variable, like a slightly harder flick of the dealer's finger or a bad bounce).
However, if you can spot the patterns you can cut down the odds somewhat. Like taking an educated guess vs. betting No. 26 every time because it's your wife's birthday.
Hitting a number pays 35-1. If you bet five or six numbers a spin and hit once every four spins you can come out ahead.

 

I have no idea, but I'd be shocked if casinos didn't do some pretty sophisticated tracking of the numbers on their roulette wheels and for the roulette operators. If there were any patterns, they'd find out and shut it down pretty quick.

 

I'm sure they do. And the patterns I'm talking about aren't even that large. Maybe 10 spins (which can take a long, long time if you have a bunch of players on the table and they have to sort through a ton of payouts).
But the next time you're in a casino, stop and take a look at the roulette wheel and the tower of numbers that shows the results the last dozen or so spins. You'll see what I'm talking about. It might be as simple as an inexperienced dealer not changing their motion, or as complex as the dealer toying with the game and changing it up just often enough to crush the players. Suck everyone into thinking it's going to land in a certain area, then spin just a bit harder and send it to the other side of the wheel. Either way, you usually see a group of 4-6 spins that have similar outcomes and can give you an idea where the ball might go.
Again, I'll stress this is mostly theory based on observation.