Win or Die

Hypothetical situation: (note, please don't point out plot holes, suggest alternatives such as overpowering the attackers, other clever work arounds).

You have been kidnapped, and a bomb has been implanted in your brain. You are forced to go to a casino with 2k in your pocket. You are told that unless you win 30k you will die. How do you go about (attepting) winning? I'm thinking that you would need to employ a betting system of some kind, and hope you don't hit its limits - possibly the cancellation system with a unit value of $100 (you would need 30 successful completions winning 10 units in each successful progression). What's your method?

I would bet $556 on three different numbers in roulette, and $332 on one of them. If one of the $556 numbers hit, I'm done. If the $332 number hits, I'll be at $11,952. Then I would bet $8,048 on the don't pass in craps. If that loses, I would go back to roulette, and cover ask many $556 bets as I could, repeating until I hit either marker.

The question reminds me of the movie 'Escape from New York.'

Quote: Wizard

I would bet $556 on three different numbers in roulette, and $332 on one of them. If one of the $556 numbers hit, I'm done. If the $332 number hits, I'll be at $11,952. Then I would bet $8,048 on the don't pass in craps. If that loses, I would go back to roulette, and cover ask many $556 bets as I could, repeating until I hit either marker.

The question reminds me of the movie 'Escape from New York.'

I thought your stragety would involve some mathametically profound pai gow tile play; quite surprising! So if you don't hit one of the 4 numbers, then you're out. With a 33/37 (89%) chance of death in a single spin, you ARE a gambler!

P.S. Snake would win it in a game of Mexican Standoff.

Quote: MrPapagiorgio

P.S. Snake would win it in a game of Mexican Standoff.

this is Russian Roulette!

the Don't Pass, not Baccarat for the one bet?

Quote: MrPapagiorgio

Hypothetical situation: (note, please don't point out plot holes, suggest alternatives such as overpowering the attackers, other clever work arounds).

You do not know my extreme dislike of outrageous hypotheticals. So:

There isn't much room aroud the brain area. A bomb planted there would cause brain dammage. Meaning you'd rush to the casino and place all the money on Keno ayway ;)

A bomb just outside the brain, say in the network of arteries which feed the brain, would be noticeable from outside to anyone not throroughly blind. It might also cause a hemorrhage there, which might also casue you to play Keno.

It would be a lot safer to place the bomb in the abdominal cavity. It's crowded, too, but the intestines are used to being pushed around even while engaged in digestion. Even a minor explosion there would surely be fatal (and spectacular).

Anyway, what you should od is call the cops and get them to talk to a casino executive. I'm sure any casino would cooperate with law enforcement to catch such a sadistic criminal. Then all you ahve to do is sit at a BJ table with a rigged deck and play a few hands.

Now, for a more rational hypothetical:

If I have $2,000 and want to turn it into $30,000, which bets should I make, assuming I'm rash enough to risk $2,000 that way?

There :)

I would take the $2K, buy a gun, and then hold up the casino. You would get caught and spend time in jail for armed robbery. By the time you are released, the man who promised to kill you would leave you alone.

But if you were trying to do it honestly, and since you didn't have a time limit, I would find a full pay $.25 deuces wild video poker (the kind that pays 100.77%). Use your players card that gives you .25% cash back for a net advantage of 1.02%. At $1.25 a pull you have an expected advantage of .01275/spin. Pulling 10 times a minute, you would make on average $7.65/hour. Play for 16 hours a day, taking naps every three hours and ordering tomato juice for nutrition. In 228 days give him a check for $30K. In this scenario your risk of ruin (death) is about 23%, so I would use whatever you had left on your Visa to reach your goal earlier.