Porky asked himself the question for the thousandth time. How had they done it? Maybe Cheese’s win was easy enough to explain. The cat had simply outplayed Zargosa. If so well done to him. Porky could even admire how he had managed the whole thing. However, Cheese’s win was only a small part of what had happened that night. It was not the most significant part. It was the hamster Harry who had delved deepest of all into Porky’s pocket.
Computer analysis had revealed that Harry had won most of his money, i.e. Porky’s money, playing medium sized bets on 1-17. There is only a one chance in three of winning with this bet (in reality less given that the house takes everything on a zero) so Harry could consider himself to be a very lucky hamster. Or very clever. Porky watched the hamster place a medium-sized bet on 1-17 and win. Nothing unusual about that of course. What was unusual was what Harry did next. Most guys would think something along these lines. 1-17 won’t come up again next roll but might come up in a couple of rolls. 18-32 or 33-47 has a better chance of coming up next, so I’ll place a bet on one of those with some back-up bets on other bands.
This line of thought only appeared rational. It was in reality an amateurish way of thinking with no basis in probability theory. The probability of 1-17 coming up was exactly the same with every play. But Harry didn’t do what 99% of all guys, except the pros (and pros didn’t play roulette much given the lack of a skill factor and a flagrant weighting in favour of the house) would have done. Harry avoided both 18-32 and 33-47 and placed a few small bets on bands and individual numbers. Then, after a few similar bets he again moved into 1-17 with a medium-sized bet. He won again. And so it went on. Nothing spectacular, nothing flamboyant. It was a definite strategy and one that was working. What was more surprising was that the hamster was putting it into action in a disciplined manner. Harry wasn’t exactly known for his self-discipline. Porky suspected the guiding hand of a higher intelligence. And he had suspicions about whose intelligence that might be.
There was no doubting the huge spike in the 1-17 band during the time that Harry played. Impossible according to the known laws of probability. And surely impossible to fix, even if the dealer was in on it. But somehow, somebody had fixed it, Porky was sure. The laws of probability were part of the fabric of the universe, like the laws of cause and effect. They could not be overturned by a hamster.
House of Glass 