BJ Slot in Vegas

[aslan]

I'm playing this BJ machine for 25 cents late one night in Vegas when this chinese fellow comes along and asks if he can watch. "Sure," I said, Be my guest." So after a while he tells me that he knows how to beat the machine. He says when the last card played in the previous hand is a high card, play max bet, but when it is a small card (less that a ten or ace), play single unit bet. I tried this and it went up and down for half an hour, then took my last 25 cents. Fortunately, my wife arrived on the scene so I had an easy excuse to leave. What do you think was going on? I halfway thought this guy might have some insight into how the machine was programmed, so I gave him a shot to beat it, but on second thought, it would surprise me if a BJ machine would be allowed to use anything other than true random card dealing. I think this guy was working a scam, in that if I won, he would be looking for a "tip." I probably would have given him one, too---like, "get lost, buddy." But who knows? What if I had won a ton of money using his system (scam)? I wonder how often it works that he actually wins using his system? Even if it only wins once in a while, he stands to profit without wagering a dime. And, the only thing he is manipulating is the bet; the better his mark plays BJ, the more chance he has to scam him.