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Everywhere I look today, I see someone else touting a gambling system. Of course, if most gambling systems worked and were applied correctly, the casinos would go out of business. So you might be asking yourself, "Which gambling systems work?" How does a newcomer wade through the mountains of information to learn the best way to play casino games like slots, roulette and blackjack?

Below is an overview of today's most popular casino games, along with analysis on the leading insider systems. As you will see, most of the systems being touted are bogus. The so-called experts are selling you a dream, the dream of striking it rich in the casino. If these methods were really so flawless, the gurus would be making millions playing at the casino, instead of trying to peddle their information.

SLOT MACHINE MONEY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Virtually every slot systems expert will talk to you about money management. They will tell you about managing the house edge and your odds of winning using their method. Only the ethical ones will highlight that slots is a negative expectation game. Even a 98% expectation means you should expect to lose 2% of your bankroll over the long run.

If you enjoy playing slots, understand that there is no strategy involved. All you can do is pull a slot machine lever. There is simply no way you can increase your odds of winning, when all you do is hit a butten or pull a mechanical arm. All you can do is limit your losses and hope for some luck.

Money management is not a strategy. It is an attempt at damage control and nothing more. If you have trouble walking away from a losing game of chance, then a money management strategy may be of some help. Money management usually sets an arbitrary spending limit at which you walk away from a slot machine. This can be helpful to an overzealous gambler. But it is not a strategy to help you win.

ROULETTE MONEY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

It is the same with roulette systems. Roulette money management schemes are not strategies for winning. A roulette method simply keeps you from betting more than a certain percentage of your bankroll. It prepares you for what is a negative expectation gaming experience. But if someone is telling you that he or she can make you a better roulette strategist, then that person is running a scam.

There is a house edge in roulette. It might help you to learn the difference in a single zero and a double zero roulette wheel. Knowing which one to play--if given the choice--will certainly help your odds. But roulette has no strategy for betting that will decrease the house edge. Whether you bet red or bet black, the chances are the same that the ball will land on one or the other.

BLACKJACK STRATEGIES

Blackjack, on the other hand, is a game of skill. If you become a blackjack expert, you can lower the house edge significantly. A highly skilled card counter in the right casino situation can even gain a positive expectation. That is why casnos have been known to escort card counters to the door.

Card counting is a process by which you count how many tens (tens, jacks, queens and kings) have been used out of a deck. By calculating the ratio between high cards and low cards remaining in a deck, a card counter knows when it is time to bet or stay. The house edge is reduced significantly.

Understanding the basic betting strategies of blackjack is important. Learning which pairs to split is one of the first things a blackjack player should learn. Knowing when to double down is another key strategy. Playing perfect blackjack may not beat the house edge, but good blackjack strategy lowers the house edge two percentage points.

Most casinos these days use six or even eight decks of cards. Dealers also shuffle within eight or ten hands. This eliminates most of the advantages of card counting. So when considering gambling strategies, you should keep in mind one fact. Gambling is a business for the casinos. That business succeeds only because of a house edge. Also, the experts who sell you gambling systems make their money off of their readers, not beating the casinos the way they claim to. So players probably aren't going to find a gambler's edge at the casino games, no matter which system is tried.