Systems are based on the
infinite; we play in the finite."
"You talk like a professor I had at the university," ejaculated
DeLong contemptuously as Craig finished his disquisition on the
practical fallibility of theoretically infallible systems. Again
DeLong carefully avoided the "17," as well as the black.
The wheel spun again; the ball rolled. The knot of spectators
around the table watched with bated breath.
Seventeen won!
As Kennedy piled up his winnings superciliously, without even the
appearance of triumph, a man behind me whispered, "A foreign
nobleman with a system--watch him."
"Non, monsieur," said Kennedy quickly, having overheard the
remark, "no system, sir. There is only one system of which I
know."
"What?" asked DeLong eagerly.
Kennedy staked a large sum on the red to win. The black came up,
and he lost. He doubled the stake and played again, and again
lost. With amazing calmness Craig kept right on doubling.
"The martingale," I heard the man whisper behind me. "In other
words, double or quit."
Kennedy was now in for some hundreds, a sum that was sufficiently
large for him, but he doubled again, still cheerfully playing the
red, and the red won. As he gathered up his chips he rose.
"That's the only system," he said simply.
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