So I went to the Genting Highlands Casino with Pei's family. I've only been to a Casino once before; a small one with maybe one table for each game and a couple of slot machines. This one was huge, as it should be given it's Malaysia's only legal Casino, and in competition with the main Casino in Singapore (which is more well-known, apparently).

I really wanted to play Texas Hold 'em Poker, as most of it is based on skill (even if you get shit cards quite often, you still have your pot, and it's how you play that determines whether your pot grows or vanishes). Unfortunately the Casino knows this, so not only have they put harsh minimum buy-in wagers, but they change the rules from No limit tournament-style to progressive Hold 'Em against the dealer, and made it so that you only get payouts based on very strong hands, rather than just beating the dealer.

So the next best bet was Carribbean Stud Poker. The payouts are lower than Hold 'em, but there are more odds of winning.

It's RM150 to play (they say RM50, but if you actually want to PLAY your hand you have to double the ante, which is a minimum of 50.), with an insurance on betting on the 'bonus' (which pays out certain amounts for very strong hands). I nervously sat down, got my chips and played. First hand I won back RM50. Second hand I got a Full House and won RM450!

...or I would have done, had I placed an insurance bet on the bonus. Bugger! The rest of the table couldn't believe that a) I had got such a strong hand from 5 random cards so easily, and b) that I threw the bonus away due to sheer obliviousness. So in the end I only won another RM50. Bollocks.

After then losing 100 ringget, I left the table and found Pei's mum at a Roulette table. This woman practically lives for gambling; she loves it. But the funny thing is, I always regarded Roulette as a game of pure luck that only a fool would seriously bet on. Not only was I wrong, but this woman had the game mastered down to a pure science.

Her secret was to bet directly on pretty much every number there, bar a handful of numbers. The reason being is if you bet 10 Ringget on every single number, you'll pay RM360 in total, but only lose RM10 that round. So if you leave out a handful of numbers (say, half a dozen) it means you can only win money. Plus if you study the game you realise that different dealers spin the roulette in their own ways, giving a pattern to the likelihood of certain numbers cropping up, meaning she had a good idea of what numbers to bet more chips on than others. And sure enough, her stash was ever growing, pocketing the 500 ringget chip that she'd win every now and then. I reckon she'll come back from the Casino several grand richer at this rate.

I did win a couple of hundred Ringgett from the table too, but because I didn't have enough initial Ringget to employ Pei's mother's strategy, it meant my plays really were down to pot luck, so I ended up walking away RM75 down. Which in the UK is what? 15 quid? That's nothing at all given what a great time I had tonight.

It's something that could only work if you're a tourist from a wealthy country visiting Malaysia. Because you start with maybe RM400 (which is what? 75 quid?) and work your way up. If you tried this in a western casino you'd be wagering far too much money (minimum bets are far higher) and not only would that be far harder to afford in the first place, but you'd never be able to calm down because too much money would be at stake each time. But this way, worst case scenario is you'll only win a few ringget per hand. But play for hours and hours and you'll accumulate a lot. Plus if you win big on a number (e.g. you correctly saw a pattern and bet higher on a specific number and won) then you win big money (which is how Pei's mum was able to win and pocket wins of over 500 Ringget in one hand every now and then). The only hard bit is keeping an eye out on patterns; something the Casino kindly helps you out with by showing a recent history list of the winning numbers in the previous 20 rounds on an electronic board. That's the key to help you go from winning 10 or 20 ringget per hand to up to and over 500 ringget in one hand.

Of course, every now and then it'll land on a number you didn't bet on, so there is risk involved. But playing the way Pei's mum does ensures a very high likelihood of winning. maybe 80% chance? The greedier you are, the less chance you have of winning, so you're best covering nearly every number until you start seeing patterns. Then you can start going from leaving out two or three numbers to maybe half a dozen.

And obviously, the important thing is knowing when to walk away. I lost RM75 and yet could have easily played with the remaining RM125 I had set aside. But I decided I had a good night, and it was getting late (or rather, getting early) so I cut my losses. And given that's only 15 quid spent on one night out, that's really good.

Would love to go again, but sadly i'll have to wait til next year. :(