What does a cloud feel like to the touch? –B.P. Jones, Chicago
The gambling gods are not happy, Cecil–you’ve blown it again in your column about systems for picking lottery numbers [November 15]. First, card counting in blackjack has nothing to do with “predicting the next card” or any such nonsense, but rather detecting when a particular subset of the deck or shoe is a favorable financial proposition in the long run. I’ll forgive you this amateur mistake since the sheer pressure of having to write a 300-word column once a week must be tremendous.
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Your lottery comment shows fundamental ignorance of a parimutuel gambling system at work, however. Perhaps it would be easier to demonstrate your error using the second most disadvantageous form of gambling in the U.S., the horse races. Imagine for a moment a 10-horse race, where horse number 1 for some reason always wins. After some months of this the betting public will likely catch on and everyone present will bet on #1. Will the track care? NO! The track calculates payouts by subtracting its take (usually 17-20 percent) and then dispersing the remainder to the winners. In the case the crowd “won” -$17.00 for every $100 it bet. Next time you need a quick and dirty analysis of a gambling problem, talk to a pro. –Greg Bart, Los Angeles
DUH
