Some players back their age, when not too old—an eventuality that can occur only to the sterner sex. A sweet and blushing maiden of some fifty summers may be observed always to place her stake on No. 28—"Because it's my age, my dear, and to-day is my birthday!" Others back the number of their cloak-room ticket, or the number of the hymn for the day (if they should happen to have been present at church to hear it sung)—indeed everybody has a pet number; and why not? One number is just as likely to appear as any other. These are not systems in the true sense of the word, but they constitute a systematic method of staking, which is always advisable for play—be they ever so weird and fantastic—as they keep the player
within certain limits, and prevent him from losing his head, and making wild plunges to retrieve all his losses by one lucky spin of the Wheel.
The more business-like systems are played on the even chances. Many are exceedingly ingenious, and on paper would appear certain to "break the Bank at Monte Carlo!"
The underlying principle of all such systems is to play a Martingale—that is, after each loss to increase the stake in various proportions until all previous losses have been recouped, and a profit is shown. The commonest and simplest to play is the "Montant et demontant," which consists in increasing the stake after a loss by one unit per coup until the player is one unit to the good. Thus if the first stake be lost, the next stake would be two units, which is also lost, as is the next one of three units. The player would now have lost six units in all. His next stake becomes 4, which, supposing it to be won, would leave him a net loser of two units. The stake would now be dropped to three units; for the object is to be but one unit to the good. Should this stake win, the game would be started all over again with one unit. On the other hand, if the 3 had been lost, the next stake would be 4, and so on. There are many other systems. The general principle of them all is exactly the same; the calculations and paper results being nothing more nor less than an ingenious method of juggling with figures.
The Fitzroy system aims at winning one unit per coup played. For the working of this system it is necessary to keep a column in which imaginary losses are written down: the player assuming that he loses one unit more and wins one unit less than he actually does. The stakes are increased by unity as in the
"Montant et demontant" system, with the exception of the second stake, which (after a loss) is three instead of two units, until the imaginary losses column comes out clear. Here is an example of ten coups played on the Fitzroy system:—
| Stake. | W. or L. | Net + or – | Imagy. Loss. | Stake. | W. or L. | Net + or – | Imagy. Loss. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | L.1 | –1 | –2 | 6 | W.6 | –3 | –9 | |
| 3 | L.3 | –4 | –6 | 7 | W.7 | +4 | –3 | |
| 4 | W.4 | 00 | –3 | 4 | L.4 | –0 | –8 | |
| 4 | L.4 | –4 | –8 | 5 | W.5 | +5 | –4 | |
| 5 | L.5 | –9 | –14 | 5 | W.5 | +10 | ±0 |
Showing ten units won for ten coups played, the imaginary loss column now reading ±0.
Another very ingenious scheme is that known as the "Labouchere" system. To play this so many figures are written down that their total equals the "grand coup"[[109]] that is being played for. Ten is the customary coup, and the figures 1, 2, 3, 4 are written down on a piece of paper. The method of play is to stake the sum of the extreme figures, and if a win is scored, these two figures are erased; while if a loss is incurred the amount of the stake is written down at the end of the row of figures, and the next stake is the sum of the new extremes. When all the figures have been erased the coup is made, and the player either begins a fresh game or retires from the table. Here is an example: 1, 2, 3, 4: first stake 5, which is lost. The row now reads 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; and the next stake (6) is won, the row reading 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; the next stake (2+4) is lost, when we have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
The next stake is 8, which is won, and we read 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; the next stake being 7, which is won, the 4 and 3 are erased, when it will be found that the net profit is 10 units.