See this thread for a high level description of the event:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/97...mpics-1212477/

Basically I was down to roulette and poker. Poker was going to be a $60 buy-in tournament. I have an edge on the field in poker, easily being one of the top two tournament poker players.

I am down $400 and have a total of $42 that I am allowed to wager in roulette. I can break that $42 up anyway that I want, but can only put in $42 worth of bets. Also - 2nd place pays small, and I'm down about $150 for that money.

What should I do?

Put it all on your lucky number. The chip EV is the same as red/black but if a mere doubleup of your bet doesn't really win you more cash...

Without looking at all the specifics I'd at least wager with a chance to win large enough to at least place with a win in the poker tournament. Do you competitors still have other events besides the poker? If so what are the rules for them in those games and how are they likely to play? How good are they at poker and how many spots pay? What are the exact over-all pay-outs? Need more info like that to make a more precise answer.

Just glancing at it I mean you can give yourself 4 or 5 numbers and if you hit one I'd think you'd be right in the running with a big poker finish.

I think he'd be better off splitting the difference and taking a few numbers. If he takes $21 a number for 2 numbers he still makes up over $700 and is only down $400 going in. That'd give him a big lead going into the last event if everybody else stays level (and maybe a huge lead if they lose). Unless the field is very large and others are also likely to have a big score this round I'd think at the minimum two numbers is better than one, and he'd probably be better off splitting it up even further.

Agree I wouldn't put it on lower paying wagers like red/black though (if the format is what it looks to be on first glance).

Depends on how far ahead first place is, really.

Yeah, I read the "down $400" part to mean $400 behind first place, especially when he mentioned being down about $150 for second place. If he just means he's $400 loser and that's not how much he's behind first I agree that could change things.

Yeah really depends on the payouts/current bankrolls. And you guys should have played the 3/6 mix game at IP at part of the Olympics!

That's part of the special olympics.

Only poker was left in the events after roulette. We were going to play the $60 donkament at flamingo, so had no idea how many places were going to pay and there would be large variance.

I was about $400 behind first place going into poker.

I would have gladly opened another table of the 3/6 mix game and ran it for an hour to include as the poker event, but there were no more tables available to open! There were already 3 games running that night.

I'm on my phone, so can't hide the spoiler- I ended up putting $42 on 23 and got some glanced from the other roulette players at IP. It was the first time in a very long time that I got a rush from gambling. Weeeeeeeee! I debated about putting 2 bets down on different numbers, but decided the rush was more fun.

Given the scenario, I would have split roulette into 3 $14 bets. A hit equals a $462 win which puts you in the lead if he fails to hit. If you fail, you still would have a small chance to win if you ship the donkament.

Makes sense. I'd misread the OP.