Casino Tricks

Thorp’s Era.

If you don't know, now we are living in 43th year of Thorp's era. This person had such a great influence on the blackjack and all the gambling industry, that I seriously consider that he is worth of setting up a monument while alive, by the way at the casino's expense.

Being a young scientist, Edward O. Thorp regularly read mathematic journals. When he was a student, he was pressed for money. The idea of outplaying the casino on the basis of calculations appealed to Thorp and he decided to check the results of the "excellent four" and see what will come out of it. The result of his activity was a phenomenal book Beat The Dealer, now its sales are approaching million of samples.

Thorp chose the other way – he did not make analytical calculations, but with powerful at that time computer IBM (they were also called mainframe) he wrote several programs on Fortran, creating quite original methods for 60s. By the way, Thorp together with his research instructor Claude Elwood Shannon, a great scientist, were also involved in solving the problem ″how to outplay the roulette?″

From his calculations Thorp understood that dead cards had a considerable affect on the gambler's chances this or that way. His main idea was about memorizing the dead cards in somewhat simplified way and when the situation is beneficial for the player, make high stakes. By the way, this system still remains the basis of any methods and counting systems of blackjack.

The counting system introduced by Thorp, was rather complicated for usage in real casinos, required great concentration and large amount of mentally arithmetic actions. However with good training there was nothing impossible in its application.

Thorp's book immediately became a success and bestseller. Everyone understood that with quite simple actions you can get an advantage. Every reader dreamt of enormous prizes. However, the casinos also knew the score.

Panic seized them. And in 1962 after Thorp's book, all Las Vegas Casinos without exception changed their rules being afraid of mass influx of ″system players″. The quality of the rules worsened terribly and no counting system could ever help you to win. Though the effect for casino turned out to be quite unpredictable and reverse - people stopped playing blackjack. And during several months, all the casinos had to return to the former rules for their own survival.

Another interesting effect caused by Thorp's book- incredible popularity of blackjack outrunning the favorite American craps. A lot of people, after reading the book considered themselves potential winners and rushed to the blackjack tables. However, most of them had a bad understanding of the mathematical principles of the game did not become winners but quite vice versa. Therefore, casino got more clients and moreover losing clients. Since then their number is only increasing.

The system presented in the first edition of Thorp's book was quite difficult even for professionals and only the few could apply it under the conditions of a real game. Something should be simplified.

The power behind the throne.

Julian Braun is quite a unique personality. He had hardly ever played a deal in real blackjack. But he played millions and maybe even billions of deals on the computer. Braun was a good mathematician and programmer and he got interested in Thorp’s idea and offered him cooperation in the sphere of calculations and programming.

Braun became the person who first invented the counting system Hi-Lo. He was behind the development of all modern systems the authorship of which belongs to Revere, Humble, Wong and Uston. He wrote the only book How to Play Winning Blackjack, but what a book!

Braun upgraded Thorp's system on FORTRAN and made considerable changes and the second edition of Thorp's book also contained Hi-Lo system in its modern form. It was quite a revolution in gambling world. Braun worked in IBM corporation and had access to probably most powerful computers of that time. This fact helped to build simple and efficient tool in struggle with casino.

Using Braun's calculations the gambler mostly known as Lawrence Revere developed his own counting system and presented his results in the form of convenient tables which are applied in most counters of the world. Lance Humble based his HiOpt systems on Braun's experience. Regardless the fact that Julian most probably had never been to the casino, he became a power behind the throne of the blackjack and all the mathematical modeling of the game fell on him.

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If you're new to playing poker or want to learn more about the games and improve your skills, you may want to try playing at an internet poker room. At a top rated poker room you can get internet poker tips that will help you get started and have more confidence in your abilities to play and win. A poker room will have professional players who will give you internet poker tips about every aspect of the games. These include tips about any games you're interested in from Texas Hold'em to Omaha to Seven Card Stud.

With these internet poker tips you'll learn which hands to play and which ones to walk away from. You'll learn which hands to bet on and how much to bet with a particular hand. The professionals will also give you internet poker tips about when and how to bluff and how to spot the opposing players who may be bluffing. At the poker room you'll have the opportunity to practice these skills against other players in either free poker rooms or regular tables where you can choose your stakes.

You can also make use of the internet poker tips you get when you decide to enter a tournament. These tournaments come in multiple formats and have different buy-ins and prize amounts to fit everyone. You won't get this type of experience at a regular casino. This is why many of the hot new players on the professional poker tour got their start at an internet poker room. So while you may not ever become a poker millionaire, you can certainly improve your skills and play with more confidence by visiting a good poker room.

Blackjack is one of the few casino games that are beatable in the long run. It means that by using a basic blackjack strategy you can have an advantage over the casino and eventually step away from the blackjack table as a winner. Here you can find the basic blackjack strategy explained in a simplified manner.

The blackjack strategy is based on the mathematical probabilities of the game and it provides you guidance on the best decisions to make at every possible situation during the game. It takes about an hour to memorize this strategy but it is worth every minute. This does not man you will win every single blackjack game from now on, but with the help of the blackjack strategy, patience and persistence, you can significantly improve your chances of beating the casino in the long run.

Note that some blackjack rules vary from one casino to another. In some casinos, both brick and mortar and internet casinos, blackjack is played with one card deck while in others the blackjack game occupies four decks or more. In addition, in some of the casinos the dealer hits on a soft 17 while in others he is required to stand and doubling after splitting is allowed only in some of the casinos.

Here you can find a basic strategy to a single deck blackjack game where the dealer hits on soft 17. Playing other blackjack variants would require you to make some adjustments for a few borderline occurrences.

First, here is a short introduction to the terms mentioned here:

Hard Hand: two initial cards that do not include an Ace.

Soft Hand: two initial cards that one of them is an Ace

Stand: when a player is not asking to be dealt more cards after the two initial cards.

Hit: when a player calls for an additional card to be dealt

Double: when a player doubles his initial bet after the initial deal, but it requires him to hit only one card.

Split: when a player separates the initial two cards into two individual hands and plays them as 2 hands.

Finally, here is a basic blackjack strategy:

When your initial two card hand sums up to 8 or less: hit

When your hand sums up to 9 and the dealer hand value is between 3 and 6: double if else: hit when your hand sums up to 10 and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 9: double; if else:

When your hand sums up to 11 and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 10: double; if else hit.

When your hand sums up to 13, 14, 15, or 16 and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 6: stand; if else hit.

When your hand sums up to 17: stand.

when your initial two card hand contains Ace 2 or Ace 3 and the dealer has either 5 or 6: double; if else: hit.

When your hand contains Ace 4 or Ace 5 and the dealer has 4, 5 or 6: double; if else: hit.

When your hand contains Ace 6 and the dealer has 3, 4, 5 or 6: double; if else: hit.

When your hand contains Ace 7 and the dealer has 2, 7 or 8: stand; if he has 3, 4, 5 or 6: double; if else: hit.

When your hand contains Ace 8 or Ace 9: stand

When your hand contains a pair of 2s or 3s and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 7: split; if else: hit

When your hand contains a pair of 4s and the dealer has either 4 or 5: split; if else: hit

When your hand contains a pair of 5s and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 9: double; if else: hit

When your hand contains a pair of 6s and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 6: split; if else: hit

When your hand contains a pair of 7s and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 7: split; if else: hit

When your hand contains a pair of 8s: split

When your hand contains a pair of 9s and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 7 and either 8 or 9: split; if else: stand

When your hand contains a pair of 10s: stand

When your hand contains a pair of 8s: split

Warne Madannisty is a

blackjack enthusiast who can testify that using a basic blackjack strategy did increase his winning. You can find more casino games strategies and tips at the online gambling portal.

The Game of Online Casino Craps is the fast-moving, action-filled game that is so often identified with high rollers. As you may know, "high roller" is the name given to big-money players. Many of these $ 100-chip bettors walk into a Online Casino Craps game with a credit line ranging from $5,000 to $100,000.

The great thing about playing Online Casino Craps is that the $2 or $5 bettor stands right alongside the high roller and shares the fun and excitement of the game in the same manner In many cases, the player starting out with $50 in chips and making small bets may walk away from the table with anywhere from $500 to $1,500 in profits, while the high roller may still be writing markers trying to recoup his losses. That scenario can apply to you and your own $50 bankroll if you pay close attention to this chapter and practice what you learn.

Although you may walk up to a Online Casino Craps table and become befuddled by all the action going on, Online Casino Craps is really quite simple to learn. The game, incidentally, is always called Online Casino Craps: You shoot Online Casino Craps, you're a Online Casino Craps shooter, and, ironically, if you roll Online Casino Craps you lose!

The Roll of the Dice

Online Casino Craps is a dice game played with dice. It isa game of chance! There is no skill in shooting Online Casino Craps. Each time the dice are rolled, the probabilities of any set of numbers coming out are always exactly the same.

That is your first lesson. The paragraph above cannot be disputed. So don't fight it—believe it. If a shooter makes a 7 on his first roll, and another 7 on the next roll, there is no reason to say he can't win on the third roll. The chance of rolling a 7 on any given roll is exactly six chances in 36. Significantly, the 7 comes up, or rather has a chance of coming up, on any roll more than any other numbe Diagram 1-1 shows the thirty-six rolls and the odds.

Actually, there are only eleven different numbers (pairings) that can be rolled.As you can see in diagram 1-1, while there is lust one way to roll a 2, and only one way to roll a 12, there are two ways to make a 3 or 11, three ways for a 4 and 10, four ways to roll a 5 or 9, five ways for a 6 and 8, and six ways to make a 7.

This clearly shows the math of Online Casino Craps. While each roll of the dice can produce any of those eleven numbers, and although the probabilities are clearly stated, it is also true that the number 12 could come up on two consecutive rolls. If you bet a $5 chip on 12 and it came up on that roll, you would receive $150 as your payoff. If you let that amount ride—that is, bet the $150 on 12 for the next roll—and it repeated as stated above, you would receive the whopping sum of $4,500. By the same token, betting on the 12 is something we strongly suggest not doing. It and other bets like it are too advantageous for the house, as you will learn fron what you read here

An Introduction to Online Casino Craps

The game of Online Casino Craps is easy to learn and play. The rules are simple to follow. It's a fun game that can add considerable enjoyment to your gambling holiday. And even though most young ladies may not have played Online Casino Craps during their youth, casino bank Online Casino Craps is as much a game for women as it is for men.

The difference between a private game of Online Casino Craps and casino bank Online Casino Craps is this: In the former, there is no bank. A shooter puts some money down and another player or players fade him. The player is betting he will win, the faders betting he will lose. The shooter picks up the dice and rolls them. When rolling the dice, the same rules apply the world over. That is, the mechanics of the game are the same in a private game as they are in a casino bank game. The only material difference is that players are betting against each other. In a casino bank game, the players place their bets and the casino bank fades them. In addition to covering every player's bet (cover has now replaced the term fade), the casino bank Online Casino Craps game offers many other types of proposition bets. These bets, along with the basic pass and don't pass bets, are explained in diagram 1-2.

As you will note, there are four people actively running the game. The boxman, sitting behind the table in the middle, is the boss. It is his duty to watch each roll of the dice and keep his eyes constantly on the game. The two dealers, one to each side of him, pay off the players when they win and rake in their chips when they lose. Each dealer handles all the players on his side. The table is divided by the center box of proposition bets and also by the stickman, who stands on the players' side of the table.

The players stand around the table, usually three or four at each end and four to six on either side of the stickman.

The stickman controls the action of the dice as well as the pace of the game. After seeing that all bets are down, the stickman pushes a few sets of dice to the shooter. That player selects a pair of dice and is ready to roll. The casino rules for throwing the dice are simply to roll them across the table so that they hit the wall at the opposite end. Other than that, any way you throw them is OK. After you have thrown the dice, the action proceeds as follows:

If, on the first roll, you make a 7 or 11, you have shot a natural, and you win. What you win is the equivalent amount of chips you have bet on the pass line.

If you roll a 2, 3, or 12 on your first throw, that is called Online Casino Craps, and you lose. The dealer picks up your pass line bet. Howevet the shooter does not relinquish the dice. He continues to hold the dice until he sevens out.

If, on the first roll, you shoot a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that is your established box paint. The object then is to keep rolling the dice until you make that number again. You lose, however, if you roll a 7 before making your box point.

Many other bets can be made, all of which are explained in diagram 1-2 (page 12).

Although casinos throughout North America abide by the basic rules, there are some differences in odds that casinos offer players. On one-roll field bets, for example, some casinos give 2 to 1 odds on the 2, and 3 to 1 odds on the 12. Other casinos might allow the pass line bettor to take double odds on the boxpoint. If, for example, you bet $5 on the pass line and you rolled a 6, you would be allowed to bet $10 in back of your pass line bet, which would pay off at $12 for your $10 odds bet. Now that you know the basic rules, the dealer will be happy to inform you of any house variations.

If you put a little bit of time into learning how to play it right, casino Blackjack is a much smarter gambling choice than any other game on the floor. The reason why gamblers often lose money has to do with what is known as the house advantage. All casino games are designed so that, although a single player may walk away with big winnings, players lose money a high enough percentage of the time that the casino makes a big profit. However, Blackjack is one of the few gambling games that actually offers players a statistical advantage over the house in some situations. In the right setting and with the right player, Blackjack is a truly unique casino game because statistics say that the casino will actually lose more money than the players.

One of the reasons why Blackjack can be a winner’s game is very simple. Consistently applying basic strategy rules can give you a huge advantage over anyone who is not familiar with Blackjack technique. This is great news, for you, and bad news for casinos. The majority of gamblers don’t know very much about how to really play smart Blackjack, and casinos must cater to these customers. So, in order to keep gamers interested in Blackjack, casinos must offer a set of rules that allows even the least educated players to win occasionally so that they will continue to play. This leads to bonus rules like double after split, surrender, and insurance that are favorable to players. By entering into this kind of situation with more knowledge than the average player, you will be able to turn the odds in your favor.

Casinos that use a single deck instead of a double deck, the classic Las Vegas downtown dealing rules, and a few player-friendly enticements like surrender are games where you can win Blackjack and consistently make money. Because these houses are set up in such a way where they make money every time a player makes a strategic mistake, if you are familiar enough with playing technique to play a good game, you can reduce the house advantage so dramatically that you actually come out statistically likely to make money. To win a lot of money at casino Blackjack, all you need to do is learn a little bit about how to exploit the situation to your advantage.

Blackjack strategy can be a powerful weapon on the casino floor. When you learn how to play the best possible game of Blackjack by polishing your Blackjack technique, you are making it possible for fortune to smile upon you and send you home with your pockets full of cash. To consistently win Blackjack, it helps to have a little bit of good luck, but it is more important to have strong technique. With a solid strategic foundation and the right single deck scenario, you can use Blackjack to treat a casino like your own personal bank account.

Many enterprising internet entrepreneurs have found that the best way to be successful and make money on the internet is through an internet affiliate marketing network. These programs provide companies such as casinos and poker rooms with a way to attract new players to their websites without the expense of major ad campaigns. The internet affiliate marketing network also provides individuals an opportunity to make money by affiliating with the casinos and poker rooms.

If you're looking for the quickest and easiest way to generate some extra income then you may want to check into an internet affiliate marketing network. One or more casinos will provide you with a variety of eye catching banner ads to be placed on your website. They'll also provide you with text ads to include in your e-mail. You get credit for the referrals made by people clicking on the ads and going to register at the casino. Once they start playing then you get a commission.

With a good internet affiliate marketing program the casino or poker room is doing every thing it can to make players happy and keep them coming back to gamble at the site. This means that your referrals are retained and you keep earning commissions. The internet affiliate marketing network is a win-win situation for affiliate and the casino. The more money the affiliates are making from their referrals, the more money the casino brings in.

Thousands of people are enjoying the extra income generated by becoming an affiliate with one or more companies. Even if you have your own business on the internet you can still become an affiliate and make some extra cash. You should give it a try today.

Internet poker scare a lot of people. Real casino poker rooms really panicked when the internet gave birth to the first online poker rooms a few years ago. And they were right to be scared because playing online is much easier and people might prefer feeling more comfortable.

The online providers felt at that time the good side of virtual poker. They didn’t need actual live dealers, they could perform 24 hours a day and could choose customers from anywhere they liked. This is a reason why some of the real life card rooms were really closed, not being able to compete with the great casinos and now with the internet as well. Some kept on, not wanting to quit, hoping and even spreading rumors that online card rooms are closing very soon, as people don't trust them. But what was not to trust? Many people would rather put their trust in an unemotional program than in a tricky dealer.

The skeptics were very wrong. Virtual poker rooms are the reason why the poker business has flourished again, before them the poker had became an outdated game with a lowering popularity. So, internet poker helps the real life poker too. It saved the industry. Nowadays casinos and poker rooms are more popular than ever before and all this is the work of internet poker.

Online poker can offer services which real poker rooms never did .Lack of capital and fondness made them unable to do this.

Internet poker might be looked at as a school for beginners. They could practice with easy games before risking at tables with high bids. Of course the risk can be just a little one, because the players can take their chances and test their capabilities even for $10.

The internet is also a good source of information when it comes to poker. You can find tips on all poker sites, the pros reveal strategies and secrets of their game, and everyone comes out and helps the beginner that has no idea what to do first.

Virtual poker players can not be stopped to go and try out their skills in a real poker room. This is unavoidable and they all did it at least once. The internet allows the winners to have a much bigger income than in real life poker rooms, because the number of the players is greater. The online business owners have found this way a way to flourish their business and throw a helping hand at their opponents as well.

Another area the internet improved is communication. Information everything that is going on is available from anywhere at any time. So all the activity in the rooms and everything related to poker or your poker can be followed from the computer.

Poker is like making love. You have to know when to raise the stakes, when to fold and when to bluff. And when you hit the jackpot, in either, it’s enough to hold you over until the next one comes along.

Dames are like poker hands. There are a lot of pairs out there. Once in awhile you'll find a sweet little number that resembles a full house. But how often do you find a natural royal flush? Not often. And if you ever find a woman like this you better hang on to her. That's what I call lady luck.

I don't know how many dames that I have come across that are like a straight? They go straight for your wallet. Or how many are like a flush? Sure, I get flushed, but it only lasts for a few minutes and then I want to hit a casino.

I remember one dame I knew that was more like a crap game. Every time she threw she threw bullets. One for my heart and one for my back. I couldn't win with that one so I gave up craps.

And then there was one dame that was more like betting on a horserace. She was a sweet little filly but just at the climatic moment she would pull up lame. I don't know how many bottles of aspirin she went through. I always betted on her to win. But she always seemed to show then disappear.

Then there was the love of my life. A classy dame that resembled Blackjack. No matter how many times I hit her she always came up twenty-one. Now that's class.

Right now I'm with a woman that resembles a slot machine. She keeps yanking my chain until I cough up all my coin.

Anyway I look at it a woman is a gamble. They are either stealing my heart or my money. I guess that is what makes it interesting. I just haven't figured out a way to beat their odds. They always seem to be stacked against you. But I'm working on a system. And one day I'll beat those odds.

(c) 2006 Hank Bolt.

Gamblers are constantly looking for ways to beat the casino by developing theories and methods to turn the odds on their side. Here we examine the different gambling systems, their reliability and effectivity or rather ineffectivity. Remember that gambling is a sport, a fun hobby to past your time with, a game of chess with fate if you may. The less control you have over the game, the more loose and light the game is, because there is nothing you can do about it, it is merely a matter of luck.

This is how theories on how to beat casinos were born, and let me tell you this, they are based on nothing. It is simply an attempt to achieve control over a game that its main purpose is the lack of it.

1) One of the most common gambling methods is to bet on an event that has not happened in a while. According to this myth, an event that has not happened recently becomes overdue and therefore more likely to occur. This is known as the ″gambler’s fallacy″. An example for this method is waiting for three reds in roulette and then betting on black. This method is gladly encouraged by casino operators that understand how this belief is working for their advantage. By acting according to the method, gamblers abandon their common sense for a method that does not work, and reduce their chance to win.

2) The only method that works and not based on false probability is counting cards in blackjack. This is the only way to get a long term, statistical advantage over the casino. Card counting works on the concept that high-value cards are good for the player, while low-value cards are bad. In order to count cards there is no need in a photographic memory, only in the ability to add and subtract by units of 1. Counting does not give players an automatic winning edge on every hand. The advantage given by the card counting is for the long-run which begins after about 400 hours of play.

Do Casinos Allow this?

The casinos know that no matter what system a player uses, they will still win in the long run, and that is the reason for why the casinos do not tolerate counting cards. Counting cards is not illegal, but the casinos reserve the right to prevent players from playing at their casinos, for any reason they choose.

At the bottom line we can establish that the house keeps its interest guarded so even if there was a gambling system that helps to beat the casino, it wouldn’t be allowed there. So as long as you get to play at the casino, it means you pose no threat on it.

Gambling does not have to be an expensive hobby with constant trips to Las-Vegas and Atlantic City. Most online casinos offer a lot of gaming options from small time gambling to high rolling games. But when a gambler turns his once-in-a-while hobby into an everyday-thing, it stops being fun, and the uncertainty is harder to enjoy. If this is the case, you do whatever it is you can do to minimize the fate factor, no matter how irrational or impractical it may be. And if it gets worse, seek professional help. It is not worth losing your house or even worse your family over gambling.

I was lucky to find a room in an older hotel in Monaco for thirty dollars a night. The room was warm and comfortable, the owners were pleasant, and it was only a few short blocks from the casinos.

I trimmed my beard, put on my tie and jacket, pocketed a wad of my Saudi earnings, and made my way down the quaint little streets to the casinos. I was going to put my fortune to good use.

I would start out small, making fifty dollar bets on the roulette table.

I remembered reading that the author, Dostoyevsky, who had lost huge sums of money on the roulette wheel, had believed that the only true moment of perfection was when a man conceived of the number he was going to bet, and at that moment, within that concept, he existed in a state of perfection, for no one could say what reality would bring.

I bought a scotch and strolled about the casino. I ordered another, a double this time, and neared the roulette wheel. A man and a woman were playing. The limit on the table was equal to two thousand American dollars. I took a deep breath, and studied the wheel, trying to sink into its rhythms. A four appeared. The next number would be a ten. I knew it would be. Nine months in the lonely Arab desert had put me in better touch with my psychic self. The croupier flicked the white ball while at the same time spinning the numbered wheel. Around it went, and with decisive clicks the ball jumped from number to number until it rested in the eleven slot.

Not ten, but close.

My nerves had come alive and were tingling with excitement. All of my attention was focused on the wheel. Here I go, I told myself. There was no sense in waiting any longer. I could bet mentally for the rest of my life, but I'd eventually lose my mind.

I went into the restroom and splashed cold water on my face and took several deep breaths. Those were long months in Saudi Arabia, I told my reckless side. You managed to save a thousand dollars during each of those long months, and now you want to lose in an instant what it took you a month to save? But when would I have this much capital again? Eventually I'd blow it on rooms and trains anyway. Wouldn't it be better to gain another year's worth of work in Saudi Arabia in one night at Monaco? It would be as if I had worked two years down there.

I went back to the tables. The crisp new Franc notes felt dry in my sweaty hands. I cashed in two thousand dollars worth.

My first bet came to mind instantly after I had the chips in my hand. A thousand dollars on black. I wasn't going to waste time making small bets. The chances were fifty fifty that I would hit it. Before I could even think I placed a stack of chips equivalent to one thousand dollars on black. The man and woman who had been the only players looked up at me, nodding respectfully.

The croupier spun the wheel and flicked the ball between his fingers. At the last moment the woman placed a fifty dollar bet near mine on black. The wheel spun; my eyes riveted on its gyrations around the numbers. It clicked, bounced, jumped from red to black, black to red and then rested safely in black.

The woman smiled; the croupier pushed a stack of chips near my bet.

I let the bet ride.

The wheel spun; the ball danced. Again the black came up. The couple at the table smiled and congratulated me.

I was three thousand ahead.

Enough already, I thought, you don't want to lose. You've paid for your trip out of Saudi, your stay in Egypt and Greece, with plenty to spare, yet three more bets, three more winning bets, and you'll match the amount you saved in Saudi. But what if I lose? But you're winning. Why think about losing?

"Place your bets, s'il vous plait," called the croupier.

I moved my bet to red.

Two more bets to go to match my savings.

Black! A voice screamed within me. I placed my bet back on black. Red! The voice screamed, and I moved my chips to red.

The wheel spun, the ball danced and jumped. I wondered if I could pull my bet. Why not take my earnings and run? It was too late, wasn't it? The game was in progress.

The ball plopped into red.

I scooped up my winnings, left a thousand franks for the croupier, and fled.

I made my way back to Paris, where I stayed a week at the Etna Hotel on the Rue de St. Anne. I caught up on movies, cappuccinos, and croissants.

But, I had a summer school position waiting for me in England, and I craved the companionship of my friends, so I crossed the channel for Folkestone, smiling inwardly. For the time being I was a little ahead of the game. It would be a relaxing summer.