FROM: CNBC

'Crypto is dead in America,' says longtime bitcoin bull Chamath Palihapitiya

PUBLISHED MON, APR 24 20231:40 PM EDTUPDATED MON, APR 24 20232:59 PM EDT

Tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya, who previously claimed bitcoin has replaced gold and would eventually get to $200,000, now says "crypto is dead in America."

"The United States authorities have firmly pointed their guns at crypto," Palihapitiya said on the latest episode of the All-In podcast.

The SEC has ramped up its enforcement of the crypto industry, bearing down on companies and projects that were allegedly selling unregistered securities.

Tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya, who said two years ago that bitcoin has replaced gold and predicted the digital currency would climb to $200,000, has a much more cautious view on cryptocurrencies these days.

"Crypto is dead in America," Palihapitiya said in the latest episode of the All-In podcast.


Palihapitiya blamed crypto's demise largely on regulators, who have gotten much more aggressive in their pursuit of bad actors in the industry. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler has said crypto trading platforms should abide by strict U.S. securities laws.

In answering questions in front of lawmakers recently, Gensler connected the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank with the crypto industry.

"You had Gensler even blaming the banking crisis on crypto," Palihapitiya said. "The United States authorities have firmly pointed their guns at crypto."

The SEC has ramped up its enforcement of the crypto industry, bearing down on companies and projects that the regulator alleges were selling unregistered securities.

In February, the agency proposed rules that would change which crypto firms can custody customer assets. In March, the SEC issued crypto exchange Coinbase a Wells notice — typically one of the final steps before it files charges — warning the company that it identified potential violations of U.S. securities law. Last week, the SEC charged the crypto asset trading platform Bittrex and its ex-CEO with operating an unregistered exchange.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told CNBC that his company is preparing for a yearslong court battle with the commission, and is also considering relocating outside the U.S. if it doesn't get improved regulatory clarity. Meanwhile, Bittrex has already announced it would wind down U.S. operations specifically due to "continued regulatory uncertainty."

They "were probably the ones that were the most threatening to the establishment," said Palihapitiya, referring to crypto companies. "And they were the ones that, in fairness to the regulators, did push the boundaries more than any other sector of the startup economy."

"Now they're paying the price for that," he said. "The bill has come due for them."

Gensler faced similar criticism from House Republicans over the agency's crackdown on cryptocurrency platforms during four hours of congressional testimony last week.

"Regulation by enforcement is not sufficient nor sustainable," said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. "You're punishing digital asset firms for allegedly not adhering to the law when they don't know it will apply to them."

McHenry said the SEC's approach was "driving innovation overseas and endangering American competitiveness."

Gensler defended the agency's actions.

"We have a clear regulatory framework built up over 90 years," he said, adding that the exchanges "are "noncompliant generally, and they need to come into compliance."

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, reached a record of about $69,000 in November 2021, when the Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate was near zero and investors were flooding into risk. The market changed in a hurry last year, as the Fed began steadily raising rates to fight inflation.

In early 2021, Palihapitiya predicted on CNBC that bitcoin would rise from $39,000 at the time to $100,000 and then up to $200,000.

"In what period, I don't know," he said. "Five years, 10 years, but it's going there. And the reason is because every time you see all of this stuff happening, it just reminds you that, wow, our leaders are not as trustworthy and reliable as they used to be."

Later in 2021, just before the peak, he said bitcoin had "effectively replaced gold."

Bitcoin is currently trading at just over $27,300, down 60% from its all-time high.

It is this simple.  What the house holds from each game has nothing to do with the long term average H.E. 

A whale could dump multi millions in a weekend.  Hundreds of players will lose in a night, while considerably fewer win and cash out. 

I was extremely close with a director of marketing at a Midwest casino that has several $5,000.00 max bac tables.  I was told their hold on bac is always over 20% of their bac drop. 

People do not lose 1% or there abouts of their buy-in.  The highest majority of them will lose 100% of it.

PART 2

So much writing on the Internet about patterns and trends with money management applied. But unfortunately not really explained and it virtually all involves unlimited Bankroll in the way that they are doing their testing and publishing the results. Of course that is coupled with totally unrealistic limits at the table which you will hardly or never ever find such table limits as $1.00 to $30,000, etc. 

Let's just get the table limits published here.  In 99% of casinos you will find the following:

$10.00/$25.00 to $1,000.00
$25.00/$50.00 to $2,000.00/$2,500.00
$25.00/$50.00 to $5,000.00
$25.00/$50.00 to $10,000.00
$100.00 to $10,000.00
$200.00 to $15,000.00
$300.00/$500.00 to $20,000.00
$500.00 to $25,000.00

With a very trivial amount of Casio properties you might come across a slight variation from the above. 

And people are talking about swings of -150 to -400 units etc. So let's just think about this for a quick second. Let's take $25 as a minimum. And if you lose 150 units you're talking $3,750.00.  If you started with $100 as a minimum and you lost 150 units you talking about $15,000.00.  Starting with $25 and losing 300 units you would have lost $7,500.00.  Starting with $100 minimum and losing 300 units you talking about losing $30,000.00.  And you need at least 10 sessions to even find out if your system works because you're gonna lose some sessions and win some sessions (hopefully) and you're talking about almost always in all of the systems as far as I read about, flat betting. 

Go ahead and take every swing and analyze the events prior to an attempt to define and discover triggers that appear at 50% and greater of the time. Sure there will be a few here and there but how do you know that they are going to continue in every consecutive shoe that is played?  The reasoning and belief is so far-fetched and so impossible, it stuns me to imagine how people fall for it and purchases the systems that guarantee and promise such events to happen.

Simply, repetitiveness does not exist.  It does not exist in any published order of any type.  Never did and never will.  The shoe you are playing might produce a single player after ever single time the banker produces a natural or a '3 card whatever', and then for 6 consecutive shoes, the exact opposite occurs and you gave back your triggered win and lost 5 times the total amount counting on the trigger to win once again.  Possibly a few triggers here and there can be and are highlighted, but their appearances will never even reach close to 50%.  Never ever.  Period. 

I read so often, flatbet until losses occur and you will be safe. One unit or two units or four units, etc. A realistic Drawdown until you are able to recoup and restock your buy-in loss, will always be hundreds of units most of the time. And by flat betting and winning a few units at a time, it is such a far-fetched possibility to have a winning system, again it just stuns me.

And the playtime. I guess some of these results are published from high speed computer analysis which is basically worthless at the table. Talking about 8 to 10 shoes of nothing before something happens in one of their upswings where the magical trigger(s) are at, etc. How are you going to sit through and play baccarat shoes in a brick and mortar casino at an average of 1.5 hours a shoe?  You would be talking 15 hours of straight play time to go through 8 to 10 shoes.

Every single grind will lose if played repeatedly and consecutively. It has to. It does. Every single grind will win only trivial times in the game Baccarat. However, the loss will well outnumber the wins and that is why the game exists in Casinos. Simple. Do not try to beat what is established and proven for decades and decades by purchasing a system for $500.00 or $2,000.00 or $5,000.00. It is ludicrous to the max.

A small Bankroll and a small Buy-in will never ever survive the swings a.k.a. DRAWDOWNS. The few times it might, out of say 20 times playing, will never ever allow you to be even at the end. You need a decent sized Bankroll and you need to buy in for a small percentage of that bank roll each time allowing for losses. But this is what the system sellers and all of the guaranteed money people on the Internet will always fail to tell you.

It is possible to win money and I am talking about wins that far outweigh your buy-ins. However, it is a huge combination of understanding and adhering to MMM and emotional control and most of all, understanding shoe presentments and wagering with large positive progressions while risking the win money when and if it comes your way. Otherwise, IMO you were not going to profit from the game Baccarat.

Winning consistently includes losses/losing sessions. Yes it does, you will fail if you do not subscribe to that and keep it in your conscious every single time you sit down the play. That I guarantee you.

Don't get me wrong, an extremely large amount of shoes, consecutively, playing whatever it is on the grind will eventually be in your favor. But only for an undisclosed and never to be determined amount of upcoming hands.  And those hands are going to be presented with total randomness that is never going to be the same from previous ones in an exact order with the exact triggers that were preached upon in systems.  The winning hands might be the same but predicting and knowing when they are coming is impossible to place upon any shoe in any game of baccarat.

I have studied several 5,000 shoe test results. While one will produce profits another will not. I will not disclose what method it was, but it was a common, 'so many players' and then wager for so many bankers in a 7-8-9-10-11 step Martingale type of system.  And that is why it is so ridiculous with the way that they test them. Give the results. Highlight what they want. And with such fictitious table limits that I labeled it all as ridiculous and ludicrous to the max.

Now in reality.  The amount of units required would be about 750,000 to profit plus or minus 10%, for 75,000 units. The profit is 10% max of the total Bankroll. But you would also have other times within the 5,000 shoe sessions where you would either lose or profit a very trivial amount above the mark of even.  Once all the profits and losses are added and deducted, every single 5,000 shoe session was a loser. EVERY SINGLE ONE WAS A LOSER!

And again that is why baccarat tables exist in casinos.

If you have never witnessed 8-9-10-12 or more back to back players, you have a very limited table experience. As well, 7 or 8 players back to back followed by one or two bankers and then another 6-7-8-9 or so players immediately being presented.  That is what repetitively and nightly, wipes out peoples buy-ins when they are betting on one thing only, no matter if it's player only or banker only or a certain hand after a natural or a certain hand after a tie or a conglomeration of various triggers to happen. 

Lose a few of those and realize that buy-ins from realistic bankrolls are doomed, plain and simple, counting on some trigger method to produce your win.  I have said it many times before, do not wager for what you want, wager with what the shoe is presenting.  Hopefully I got my point across?

Casinos were 100% exclusively 5% commission charged on winning Banker hands.  They are in large part gone now and replaced by the EZ Bac version. But a few years, back when the game really picked up speed with the addition of numerous versions of the game with various side bets, etc., a great amount of casinos dropped the commission version of the original game. All of this happens for a reason. And today's player is so oblivious to the real facts and reasoning behind how the game is presented and what the game is about, I physically laugh how they research and study lawnmowers, TVs or a computer before purchasing one, more than they will before they gamble thousands and thousands of dollars on the game Baccarat.

However all beliefs and most all theories are based on the assumption the banker wins almost 51% of the time and the player wins slightly over 49% of the time. But this is not in every shoe or every session you will play.

In Hardcore reality, both sides have a 50-50% chance for wins and losses of all types when you were playing.  Both sides can form any amount of random style events that many will say, "wow I never thought that could happen", or something along those lines. Almost every session that I play, I see that exact same thing happening.

Here is something I wrote back in 2017 on this forum:  "Take any statistic you desire and apply it to a real game of baccarat.  Keep applying it and see how much you win from using statistics to wager on.  Betting for something to happen instead of betting for what the shoe is producing, is certainly a way to drain your bank roll faster than most anything else, IMO."

Why? Because the stats/results are from millions of shoes and multi millions of hands. You are not sitting down to play even a fraction of a percent of those stats, even if you add up your yearly total cumulative count.  Simple.  Seriously think!

Sometimes I have succeeded and sometimes I have failed, but always I have taken heart from what I have experienced, accomplished or been subjected to.

Put the blinders on, tune out the wannabe fantasies and apply the correct focus employing dedicated one section/one session, combating wrongful belief against current presentments of the shoe.  Just remember, please.  Why? Because the 'anything and everything can and will happen agenda-but with absolute true and complete randomness', and that is what the highest of the highest majority will never ever figure out.  Never.

There most certainly is a path to righteousness, but it is certainly unclear exactly what that path is and how to continuously follow it.  And there is where most all on these forums, as well as at the tables, are seeking to discover and get filthy rich from.  It will never ever happen, because you can't beat randomness with mathematical science, structured into wagering triggers that will prove repetitively positive. 

• Here, a perfect quote  IMO.  Theodore Roosevelt once said about the man in the arena, "whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again because there is not effort without error and shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deed, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumphs of high achievements and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly".

PART 1

The Internet has done its share of negativity to gambling.

Especially in games like baccarat. Why? Because most everyone wants the 'Google and Find' answers no matter what level they are at. Including accuracy, success and positive results they will have in every session. A complete fallacy but they chase it in every means possible without really focusing on what will help them in my opinion.

Maybe 'Google and Find' works in a great amount of things; How to replace parts, how to work certain equipment, guidelines for troubleshooting broken mechanical things, directions to places, reviews of locations, recipes for cooking, statistics on towns-cities-states and worldwide locations, history of all sorts, corporate backgrounds, etc., etc., etc.  But 'Google and Find' will not offer you the triggers and mechanical wagering schedules most seem to believe really do exist that will offer a continuous and repetitive winning wagering plan.

The Internet does offer a very limited amount of resources to anyone as well as some experienced players that attempt to engage in serious and real discussion regarding gambling. But during the previous years they have fizzled out extremely with ridiculous and childish behavior, that the highest majority seem to engage in on a daily repetitive showing.

However along with all the ridiculous infighting, circle of exclusive friends and drama driven people that only offer one line non factual or insightful and totally meaningless posts, demeaning and humiliating comments, as well as total negativity, so many of the long-term experienced forum players either do not post any longer and simply refuse to engage in forum exchanges with the types I just mentioned. Sad but brutally true!

I have noticed, as well as a great amount of others, there is a much larger amount of rejection and dismissal of whatever experienced and knowledgeable people say these days, both on the forums  as well as at the tables. Why? I would have to attribute it to the masses of people are just not familiar with the 'anything and everything can and will happen agenda-but with absolute true and complete randomness', trying to be explained, shown and discussed.

Since most people start playing Baccarat by some sort of stumbling on the game with no prior research, trial and error or coaching, they are highly subjected to all the systems and easy money selling talk of one type or another on the Internet before those people finally come across a forum with serious members and less drama then all the other ones.

And throwing their good money after bad (lost at gambling and system sellers) money they all experience for a while, they immediately side with so many of the drama driven, one liners, etc. I guess I'm just assuming, it's just their subconscious way of getting back at anything that really makes sense in gambling? 

What is really sad, and I witness it over and over and over again, but so very true, are most being 100% hypocritical of experience, real results and factual findings.

Bump for many reasons. 

You know what is so sad at the bac table, witnessing all those people believing the written hype and B.S. on the Internet!

This is going to be a tough thought to get across, but it set into me the other night right at the active table. And that is, do not get emotionally attached or detached from what is going on. It will probably equal out and most all the times it does, referring to the Players/Bankers winning hand count within the played shoes. How it does, is usually different than the previous time, reference when and how it does. And that is kind of a key factor in successful wager, IMO.  Most certainly there are times it does not, like 40s and 20s or 30s and 20s, etc.  But far greater amount of shoes end much closer, such as a + - 1 to + - 5 range.  Remember that if you are trying to gauge yourself in some type of wagering pattern depending on the count.

There most certainly are reasons why it does but those probably never will be discovered and exposed. As far as how and when the equalization occurs in the shoes being played, that part will always be truly random allowing for all of the reasons why people wager how they do.

One of the problems with all this is the scoreboard, roads and beliefs, all staring you in the face and coupled with your beliefs, thoughts, chips and greed, power overcomes rationale at most every single turn of the game. Simple and I challenge any single one of you to say different.

Can it help? Sure. Can it hurt? Absolutely. And that is the point I am trying to get across.  Thoughts and beliefs are the two single greatest things that will either make you or break you in gambling my friend. 

You have to be able to recognize and be neutral to what and how the presentments are occurring, not for the why.  Just think about, winning. It does not matter one bit why you win, it matters what and how you won.  Remember that.

The true randomness is, what and how the presentments happen/are happening. Not why they did. Once again, you will never ever figure out the why of it. Simple.  Period.

All the writings about fictive this or that, up on losses and down on wins, adhering to random pieces of wishful thinking, etc., etc., which are believed by most to have to be presented, are such total BS it is sad and if played regularly will take your money most every single session. Might be great writing and great hope, but zero advantages and only luggage on your shoulders at the tables.

The most powerful things are, positive progressive wagering and a M.M.M., that includes 1/3rd, 1/3rd, 1/3rd in your session. 

Chart all the losses you want. Chart all the wins you want as well. Does not mean anything! Never did and never will.  That is what is truly random in this game. What wins one time, loses another or wins again in a slightly different way. There is no telling, no mechanical predicting in any way whatsoever that can make a steady profit. All of the results from tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of hands and shoes will never ever allow the serious player to earn a profit. All those results, triggers and math 'anything' will never be translated into session by session. Never ever.

What does make money in this game, serious money? That is positive progressions that you were able to wager on the side that is simply, winning. Does not matter if it is the side that is catching up, pulling ahead or both sides remaining equal in the hand count. A win is a win. What is your advantage is to be able to win more positive progressive wagers and walk out with a greater amount then your buy-in on a repetitive basis.

YOU SAID:

"a) Taking for grant that bac shoes are really randomly offered;

b) It's the corollary of the above point, that is considering baccarat as any other gambling game where the 'whole' findings (infinite shoes) matter instead of focusing about 'single shoe' dependent features and properties."

And, what you said above, is probably 2 of the biggest mistakes most all make.  First, one assumes and believes that all the forthcoming presentments are truly random (and without reason) from the shoe. 

And, second that most all will be continuously (CONTINUOUSLY) running their findings together as a constant play rather than a finite or sectioned event.

Think about it, really sit down and give it thought.  Personally, I certainly stopped the all too famous and popular, "well so and so happened, so now such and such must occur", etc., etc., wager justification rants at the table.  Except maybe, when it is at those +10 and at or near that +20 count. Other than that, I am most certainly wagering for what is being presented rather than wagering for those dream full whole findings to come out and match up with math/stats/results and so on.

Trick of Baccarat.  What Casinos Love in Baccarat, Simple Yet So Misunderstood.

There are huge psychological effects the game instills on players, while you are losing as well as winning. You better research those, understand them and consequently combat them in your wagering.

So you have to look past those mathematical results, those systems being sold and partially  highlighted all over the internet and as well, published statistical results in order to figure out how to give yourself the real knowledge, you really need to win. 

Why do I say that?  Here, about those 3 things.

1.  Math.  Because the math will apply only to the total amount of results that it was derived from. Example, 1 million shoes or 80 million hands.  2 million shoes or 160 million hands.  It does not apply to the 1, 2, 3 or 4 shoes you are sitting down to play for real money, in real time, for real results. Simple. True. Proven.

2.  Systems.  Because all systems are only selective highlighted events that may or may not happen. Simple. True. Proven.  But every time someone puts a little twist and turn on some type of highlighted system event, it makes it look easy with no downsides.  People are gullible, greedy and ignorant to the true factors of the game and what it really takes  to win any amount of money people claim is fool proof or should happen without much downside, if they only buy and subscribe to their system, etc. 

3.  Statistical Results.  Because the statistical results will only apply to the same mathematical conglomeration of tests that were performed. They are not going to be reflected within the 1 to 5 shoes you were sitting down to play with real money, in real time, with real results.

There are three types of areas that produce tangible events, that happen during a shoe of Baccarat. Favorable, Neutrality and Negative.

Understand those above three areas 100% and couple those consciously with the four most important factors of playing the game.  Realize that there are areas and factors. 

First Factor.  Buy-in/Bankroll.  Your buy-in must be  only a small percentage of your bank roll.  A good safe safe percentage would be 10%.  Your bankroll must be restocked before any profits are taken if it's going to be any type of safe sound bank for you to draw from on a repetitive basis. 


Second Factor.  Understanding Drawdown.  There will be drawdown usually quite frequently before (BEFORE) you realize any type of session goal countless times. You must cooperate and realize this and not let it get you into the negative frame of mind, because of the psychological effects of losing your part or most of your buy-in, getting into the monetary negative or even losing a whole buy-in amount. 


Third Factor.  Positive Progressions.  Using positive progressions to restock your volume drawdown, lock it up and capitalize on your win money; is ultra positive in countless ways to your agenda on winning.  You better think about the aforesaid and understand it.  I guarantee you that it is clearly easier to win without  negativity whether it's on your buy-in or yourself, psychologically.  Remember that!


Fourth Factor.  Plateaus/Levels.  Understand and acknowledge your plateau and levels with total consciousness and allowing them to guide you no matter if you are winning or losing .

Here are some proven blacklisted casinos to avoid.  Be cautious, there are others out there you will have problems with.


https://www.casino.org/untrustworthy/

QuoteVery very nice passage!!!     

No jokes.

as.

I believe those are the 'circumstances' where I realized and defined the M.M.M. I've written about, which includes my 1/3rd-1/3rd-1/3rd allocations.  The highest amount of times it allows myself to hold at least 2/3rds of my larger wins and my buy-in money, while keeping available 1/3rd of my win for continuous play/winning, etc. 

Although that is NOT in anyway a decision making tool for how to win, it does with physical regulation manage my win money.  Unlike most others that fall direct prey to winning, which results in 99% of the time or greater, feeding it right back to the rack as well as their buy-in and additional monies they will attempt to regain their good fortune that came and went. Sad but absolutely true. 

And BTW, that score board is one of the greatest 'suck'em things' in the casino's favor they ever did with baccarat.

If there are people at any kind of bac table, some will win and some will lose, no matter what.  All will never wager on the side that continuously wins or loses every single hand. 

Like myself, when a player has had a nice run and begins to give it right back to the rack with aggressive wagering, especially wagering with the exact same reasoning that won him/her the sizable amount in the first place, it is a very commonplace event that their decisions are not generally going to produce continuing positive results for multiple reasons that occur more often than not.

Whether that influences you to wager the opposite, you are still attempting to match the presentment the shoe is setup to present, no one can change that.  You can only change or influence yourself and others what to wager on. 

The game does not allow anyone to continuously employ any type of mechanical system/method or decision making process in repetitive mode in abundance.  If it did, they game would not exist in a casino, period.

QuoteI have a question Al:

Do you think that the winning process is somewhat affected by the 'ability' of the other players sitting at your table?

Many players I know do not like playing alone at a table.
What do you think?

Thanks in advance

as.

Very difficult to define with short and concise answers.

But for sake of conversation I will state my opinion.

First of all, unlike many others, I rarely wager against another player because he is losing, etc.  I do know numerous (a lot) of players do exactly that. 

Second, I rather play at a table with numerous other players for camaraderie purposes.  I have won a heck of a lot more than I would have, by engaging in strong  camaraderie with others.  As far as losing while engaging in camaraderie, so what, you risk your money with no guarantees anyway.

Third, being the only player at a table, is extremely stressful to myself as I do not desire to engage in every hand. 

Sitting at the baccarat table the other night and the last hand, an F7 comes. Yes, I was on it, because of numerous reasons. But it was the 4th F7 of the shoe and it finished 41 B to 30 P.

There was a very unique occurring five times, maximum 3 chop-chop in the shoe.  There were several other events that happened as well and were capitalized on by myself and others. I will post a picture of the scoreboard once our attachment posting problem is fixed.  The majority of people made money, but in the following shoe, which was classically easy to follow, most lost quickly. 

The next shoe brought a great start, banker-player player followed by a 7 streak Banker and an F7 on the 8th hand, within the streak.  Then there was a beautiful seven time chop-chop event that happened immediately after the seven banker streak. I did extremely well. I colored up and cashed out.

The cage is not far from the baccarat table. I cashed out and went back to the table to see what was happening. It turned out there was a problem with the hand after I colored up and left. There was another chop and the banker came out. The dealer picked up the first few spots Wagers which were on the banker and the game was stopped and surveillance was called to determine what the wages were to replace them on the spots. The hand was completed and I threw up a few hundred dollars and wagered max on the F7 and the rest on the banker. They all looked at me and said, "you don't see the chop chop". My answer was, "but there was eight hands in the beginning and an F7, now you have eight chop chop and I feel another F7 is coming or banker".

Most all were on players with large wagers. Myself and one other person wagered the Banker and the F7. Cards dealt, Players have two face cards, bankers have blackjack, players pulled a six and they were all fist pumping in the air and calling out, 'chop'.  Dealer flips another six for the banker and my F7 happened.

Clearly the player side is verbally citing, WTF and saying how that should not have occurred, Etc., Etc.

But as with so many things in the game of baccarat, the same things that won previously, lose presently. And the same things that lost previously, will win presently.  That my friends is random variance defined in realistic terms. 

And while sitting there at the table during the shuffle prior to the last shoe I just described, I dwelled on how the majority, mostly, confirm the absolute unpredictability of the game-over and over and over, week after week after week, but yet continue to get sucked in by the casino's score board. 

NOTE:  I will post both pictures of those two shoes as soon as the attachment for posting pictures is fixed on our forum. Thank you.

More so than not, the first 1/3rd followed by and within the first half of the shoe, have a greater amount of F7s and P8s than other sections. 

To me, it's not really the predictability, it is more the capturing of possibilities that exist and are forming. 

There are balances and imbalances.  There are the pathways to each of those that are being realized several times throughout most shoes.  A person open-minded enough without mechanical wagering emotions, is likely to be able to wager winning sides within sections much easier than those that are hell bent on following their systems and figured out 'must be's' to appear.