Bet on the croupier. Two of my best friends were members of the MIT blackjack team in the early 1990s, chronicled in the book Bringing Down the House and the movie 21. I remember back then thinking how unfair it seemed that the house always wins. If you learn to tilt the odds in your favor by counting cards at blackjack, they kick you out of the casino.

The battle between the Robinhood traders and short sellers may have long-term implications for market mechanics, but only one thing is for sure: the house won. The toll collectors (exchanges, order flow takers, high frequency traders) made out like bandits. We’ll see winners and losers on both sides of GME, AMC and their brethren, and we may never know exactly what caused the rip in stocks last week and fall this week. Betting on the croupier is a good strategy whenever the opportunity arises.