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Gambling
Progressions: The Fibonacci
by Mickey Day
Leonardo
Fibonacci was born about 1170 in Pisa. As a youth and young man he lived in
Algeria, and traveled to Egypt, Syria, Greece and Sicily, where he studied the
Arabic system of numbers, and is credited with introducing that system into
Europe, where it became the standard and is still in use today. Fibonacci is
unquestionably a pioneering genius in mathematics. In Las Vegas, it did not
go unnoticed that Leonardo resembled Paul Anka, and that his name rhymes with
Liberace.
Prior to Fibonacci, Europe was performing its arithmetic calculations
in Roman numerals. Imagine trying to do multiplication and division using the
Roman symbols MMMDCCLXVIII x MCCCDLXIIV=??? Send the correct answer IN ROMAN
NUMERALS to me and I will e-mail you a free lifetime subscription to this column
In any case, Fibonacci was responsible for the arithmetic progression which
bears his name, and which is still being used by students, architects, artists,
mathematicians, investment analysts and gamblers for roughly 800 years. The
simplest Fibonacci is 1-1-2-3-5-8-13-21-34-55-89-144-233-377-610, to infinity.
Each number in the progression is the sum of the two preceding numbers.
Another example of a Fibonacci is 3-3-6-9-15-24- 39-63-102 -165- 267-432-699-1131-1830, etc. You
may have noticed that since we started the second progression with the number
3 instead of the number 1, each number in the second progression of 15 numbers
is triple its correlative in the first progression. This was one of the first
demonstrations of the relationship of addition to multiplication, which Fibonacci
explicated in his excellent Liber Quadratorum, a
theoretical treatise on the simultaneous solution of quadratic equations with
two or more variables, published in 1225. And now that you know more about Fibonacci
than you EVER wanted to know about your wife, let’s try to make a few bucks.
Regardless of your game, the Fibonacci is a must-know system for any gambler
who wants to maximize his knowledge of what his options at the tables, and even
at multiple-coin slots, might be. In its basic form, we begin with a 1 unit
bet. We keep betting one unit until we lose, and then move up one level after
each loss, until we win. After a win we back up one level, and if we win that
bet as well, our Fibonacci is completed and we start again at one unit.
EXAMPLE: a progression of 4 losses and two wins (LLLLWW) leaves us at -1 -1
-2 -3 +5 +3 = +1, where we have lost twice as many bets as we have won, but
still pocketed 1 unit, simply because we have won two bets in a row.
In a similar series where we do not win two in a row, but only 2 of 3 (LLLLWLW)
we again restart the series, but this time out profit picture will be -1 -1
-2 -3 +5 -3 +5 = 0, where our 2 of 3 wins has neutralized the progression, and
we start again at 1 unit.
And suppose we decided to play a 12-step Fibonacci, with our top bet being 144
units. Our total risk, which is the complete and utter loss of an entire series,
is 376 units, or 1 +1 +2 +3 +5 +8 +13 +21 +34 +55 +89 +144 = 376. We can lose
eleven bets in a row, (LLLLLLLLLLLWLW), lose a total of 232 units in a row,
then win 144, lose 89, win 144 for a total loss of 33 units, less than 10% of
our session money.
The odds against losing 11 bets in a row are the same as winning 11 bets in
a row, 2047 to 1. And the odds against losing our whole series of 12 bets are
4095 to 1. You could use this system 365 days a year and expect 11 losses in
a row every 5 ½ years, and a loss of a total series once every 11 years The
problem with the Fibonacci is not safety, therefore, but the fact that approximately
half of your wins will come at the very first level of 1 unit, making it a boring
albeit profitable grind. In order to counteract this situation, some gamblers
will begin their progression at the 4th or 5th level,
and alternately move up or down as they win or lose, depending on their temperament
and goals.
EXAMPLE: We begin with 5 units and win. We then move up the progression and
win 8 units. We have won a total of 13 units and completed our Fibonacci objective
of two wins in a row. Now we reduce our bet to 3 units, locking in a profit
of 10 units if we lose it. But if we win that 3 units bet, our next is 5 units.
The variations are practically limitless, and the safety level is very high.
The Fibonacci is a great system for the recreational gambler, the grind player
who wants a few enjoyable hours gambling without jeopardizing his mortgage,
and the pro who wants to ease into his game before he gets serious.
To use the Fibonacci properly, a player must first memorize the progression,
and then practice at home flipping a coin, until the bets are made automatically.
It is a perfect system for all the even-chance games like Craps, Baccarat and
Roulette, and can be easily modified into a money-management system for Blackjack
and sports betting. It is also acknowledged as an excellent system for partners
betting opposite each other. However you decide to employ this versatile progression,
you will find fewer more powerful ways to win with as little risk.
***************
Mickey Day is author of "Master Craps with Einstein" and "Plug-In
Parlay Systems," available at the gambling bookstores in Las Vegas. Call
800-322-2447 to order.
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