The Martingdale is usually the first choice of a novice gambler. It sounds perfect, wait until a table result is statistically due, then launch a wagering series. If you lose, double your bet. Lose again, keep doubling. Given time, the odds will be so heavily in your favour, that you'll have to win. Hold on. Not so fast. Do you recall the table I told you about when an even money proposition didn't show up for seventeen spins? Do you know how much it would cost to finance a series of eighteen bets that double each time? Assuming that you start at the $5 level, your eighteenth bet (which would net a $5 profit would cost you $655,360. Financing those bets would cost you over a million dollars. But it's a moot point, because you would never get a waiver against the house maximum in the midst of all that. And that point would be reached about half way through the series.

Before Nevada legalized gambling in 1931, methods for cheating the patrons were commonly employed. Illegal gambling (along with other illicit activities) was prevalent in Vegas since the turn of the century. Special or modified rulete wheels were part of the action. Many of these rigged or gaffed wheels remained in operation for several years after 1931. Once the new gaming commission was established and put into power, these wheels found their way over to off-the-beaten-path places and illegal out-of-state operations. As the commission developed some teeth in their bite, casino cheating ceased to exist in Nevada. These gaming commissions can stroll up unannounced, confiscate any gaming equipment as they see fit and take it back to their labs for a thorough inspection. The casinos do not want to risk losing their gaming license. Today, in Nevada or Atlantic City, you wont find any gaffed or juiced wheels out on the casino floors. But any gaming establishment operating where gambling is illegal is already breaking the law and has no license to lose. Be advised, you are probably being cheated in some way. Even in places where gambling is legal, but there is no strong regulatory agency, be wary! I have included several of the more common modes of cheating. Most of these are antiquated.