← All case studies · Archie Karas biography
Reported historical case · The Run
The final losses belong in the same story as the celebrated wins.
What happened
Published accounts describe Karas moving through different games during The Run and later losing the accumulated fortune. They also describe borrowed capital at an early stage, a detail often missing from the abbreviated legend.
These are reported accounts rather than a complete audited ledger. They cannot establish that a particular stake progression created an advantage across poker, pool, baccarat and craps. Each activity has its own rules and sources of uncertainty.
What the case teaches
Take a separate bankroll example: $100,000 falls to $10,000. The loss is 90%, but returning from $10,000 to $100,000 requires a $90,000 gain, equal to 900% of the remaining bankroll. Percentage losses and recovery gains are not symmetric. This calculation is a teaching example, not a reconstruction of Karas’ balances. It explains why a huge earlier peak offers little protection after exposure has consumed the bankroll.
Can a successful run prove that every game played was profitable?
No. Results can fluctuate, capital can move between games, and a single combined story does not isolate each game’s expected value.
Explore the next question
Sources
Source pages checked 5 October 2026. Historical results refer to the dates stated; examples marked hypothetical are Casino101 calculations.
