The percentage in favour of the Bank on all monies staked on the even chances, however, is only one-half of this amount. On the appearance of zero, all the money at stake is swept into the Bank, with the exception of that on zero itself—which is paid at the same rate as any other number—and the amounts on the even chances—Rouge, Pair, Manque, &c.: these stakes are placed on the lines on the outside of the table (see Fig. 1), and are then said to be in prison.
On the next coup, if the stakes happen to be on the winning chance, they are allowed to be withdrawn by the player. The reader will please notice that this is theoretically exactly the same thing as if the punter halved his stake with the Banker, and this he is allowed to do if he chooses. Should two zeros appear consecutively the stakes are placed still further over these lines; they are now doubly in prison, and have to be doubly released therefrom before the player gets his own money back.
Thus it will be seen that, theoretically, once in every thirty-seven spins the Bank wins half of all money staked on the even chances; on which chances, consequently, the Bank may be said to have a percentage
of slightly under 1½ per cent. in its favour. This difference in the percentage in favour of the Bank is either unknown to, or totally disregarded by, the great majority of punters at Monte Carlo; but the player, by judicious methods of staking, to a great extent, can despoil the Bank of its higher percentage. An examination of the illustration (Fig. 1) will show that the following are Red numbers, viz. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 34, and 36. Thus Impair contains 10 Red numbers, and but 8 Black ones. The first column includes 6; the second column 4; and the third column 8 Red numbers. Thus a player staking on Black and Impair has no less than twenty-eight numbers in his favour, on eight of which he wins both his stakes, and on twenty he neither wins nor loses. Or a punter staking on the third column and Black, is guarded by twenty-six numbers, on four of which (the four Black numbers in column 3) he receives 1½ times his stakes, on eight (the eight Red numbers in column 3) he receives ½ times his stakes, and on the remainder he neither wins nor loses. Similar wagers can of course be made by combining Red and Pair, or the first column and Red, and so on. Now a player wishing to stake on a great many numbers (which is a very frequent occurrence, and is popularly known as "plastering the table"), instead of placing his money on the various transversales, carrés, and en pleins, by which method he loses all his money if zero appears, should rather stake the equivalent amount on Black and Impair, or Red and Pair, which, as explained, covers twenty-eight numbers. By this method he loses only one-half of his money if zero appears. Nothing is more usual than to see a player stake à cheval on two dozens. A more idiotic method
of gambling cannot be conceived. The equivalent amounts (supposing the douze P and the douze M are selected) should be staked on Manque, and the transversale of 19 to 24. Now if zero appears half the stake on Manque is saved, but in the former case the entire stake would be lost!
Many similar instances of good and bad staking could be quoted, but the average player at Monte Carlo considers the percentage against him to be so insignificant that it is scarcely worthy of his notice. However, as its insignificance represents a gain of some hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling per annum to the Administration, it should be worthy of a passing thought at any rate.
Nearly every player at Monte Carlo has a system of some sort, generally played on the even chances. There are, however, systems for playing on numbers, dozens, &c., but these for the most part are of the most fantastic and insane order. The writer has actually known a player whose system was to back thirty-five out of the thirty-six numbers, on the principle that, having but two numbers against him, he would be very unlucky not to win one unit per coup!
Hundreds of people play on one particular number after the appearance of some other particular number, and are confident in themselves that, for example, 3 always turns up after 25; or 10 after 0. A very favourite stake is zero et les quatre premiers—that is, zero en plein, and zero coupled with 1, 2, 3. Another very general stake is les voisins de zéro—or zero and the numbers on either side of it on the Wheel. This is a simple bet to make by putting one coin à cheval between 0 and 3, one between 32 and 35, and one each on 26 and 15. The underlying idea of these
zero bets is that the Bank cheats; that it wants zero to turn up; and that the tourneur is skilful enough to throw zero when he wishes. A more ridiculous assumption could not be made—in the first place, because the tourneur cannot throw the ball even to a particular section of the Wheel, much less into zero itself; and in the second place, because the gambling could not possibly be carried out in a more straight-forward manner than it is by the Administration at Monte Carlo. If the tourneur could throw the ball into any compartment he chose, he could, through his friends, ruin the Bank whenever he wished.
If I had space I could tell a story of how M. Blanc offered to give a certain player a year's practice at spinning the Wheel, and then to allow him to be his own croupier and stake as he chose. This is a fact; and yet I have often heard the following class of whispered conversation in the rooms: "Now's our time—there's a lot of money on the even chances—wait till the ball is spun and then bet on zero."