Successful Blackjack Betting Strategy

Posted on  by admin
  1. Blackjack Betting Strategy 1 3 2 6
  2. Betting Strategy For Blackjack
  3. Blackjack Betting Strategy Cards

Every casino game has it and every gambler has heard it: a “strategy” or a “system” a fellow patron, friend or expert swears by or recommends wholeheartedly. Devised plans and tactical preparations are natural things to expect when you’re out at the tables with players who love the game or live by it.

I’ve been playing blackjack for quite awhile using basic strategy, mostly betting an even unit each hand. Occasionally I will increase the bet because I 'feel' like I am going to win the next one. I would think that just about all recreational players bet on feel once in a while at least. The Many Strategies of Blackjack. The basic blackjack strategy is a tool that every blackjack player should know and use. This strategy does not have much to do with the deck or bets but can only be applied to the most current game. Players should follow the basic strategy very strictly. If you are a beginner, free practice will be of great help. The best bankroll for a successful blackjack player is one that’s big enough so you can play in any game that offers favorable rules and make the highest bets allowed when the count is in your favor. Most of us don’t have an unlimited bankroll, so you have to limit your play to make sure you don’t go broke when you experience a downswing. The plain and simple truth is that no betting system on its own can help you beat the house, but some can help you improve your odds even more when combined with other blackjack strategies. For example, when using card counting and basic strategy, you can allow yourself to increase the bet amount when the count is high, as then the strategy.

Blackjack is the most popular game in the world because we, as players, have agency and control over our bets. Decision-making and smart-thinking is not just an option; it’s necessary to play and win the game, and unlike games like Roulette where a win is 100% determined by chance and luck, the game of 21 can be won with brains.

In the simplest terms, blackjack betting systems are ways of using money management to maximise our winnings and to walk away with profits. You can be the luckiest blackjack player around, but if you don’t follow basic money management at all, you’re going to eventually walk away in the red. Unlike basic, universal blackjack strategies or basic strategy, betting systems are constructed more out of following patterns rather basing moves on mathematical probability.

Before we examine the most popular blackjack betting strategies, there are two main types of blackjack betting systems which each strategy can be defined by.

Blackjack sites for online players

Bonus
Pokies
Availability
600+
400+
20+

What is a Negative Progressive System in Blackjack?

A negative progressive system involves increasing or doubling your bets after each loss. Strategies which revolve around this system are based on the high probability that you will recoup your losses over time and gain a profit after a win down the track.

Negative progressive systems are popular but not for the weak-hearted or those with smaller bankrolls. The most prominent example, the Martingale strategy, can drain even the most generous bankroll within a few consecutive losses. Along with influencing factors such as imposed maximum table limits, these sorts of systems can be unwise for players who are uneducated or not careful when employing such tactics.

What is a Positive Progressive System in Blackjack?

Successful Blackjack Betting Strategy

A positive progressive system involves increasing your bets after each win and decreasing your bets after each loss. Strategies which revolve around this system are based more around maximising winning streaks rather than chasing losses and knowing when to go for the big bets.

Positive progressive systems are slower in structure but a lot more friendlier to newbies. A strategy such as the Paroli is perfect for players who do not have a big bankroll or who aren’t willing to risk a large amount after each loss.

The Martingale

The Martingale strategy is one of the oldest devised betting systems in the world and the most alluring. It’s mostly associated with roulette, but it’s also a prominent strategy employed by many blackjack players for “can’t fail” premise and widespread popularity.

The Martingale is probably the best known example of a negative progression system, one where the core principle is based on increasing your bets after each loss by doubling and recouping losses.

The whole point of the strategy is to increase your shot at the big bucks in the short-term. The only problem is we have to have the cojones to follow through, as the risk is considerable.

Martingale in Play

When we make a standard bet of $5, every time we win that hand, we make the same amount of our original bet in the next bet. Should we lose — which is, of course, always a high possibility — we counter this by doubling our wagers on the next hand following the loss. Whenever we eventually win, we revert back to our original $5 starting bet.

For example: if we placed a $5 wager on a hard hand of 19 and win, we make a profit of $5 and continue to bet $5 on the next bet. If happened to lose that hand, though, we proceed to place a $10 wager for the next game — double our original $5 bet. If we lose again and again:

We bet $20 and lose ($35 in total losses).
Wet bet $40 and lose ($75 in total losses).
We bet $80 and lose ($155 in total losses).
We bet $160 and lose ($315 in total losses).
Wet bet $320 and lose ($635 in total losses).
We bet $640 and lose ($1,275 in total losses).
We bet $1,280 and lose ($2,555 in total losses).

Final Verdict

In essence, players who follow the Martingale rely on the eventual long-term win to pull them through, even after huge losses along the way. After a series of losing hands, the probability of a continuous streak of losses theoretically lessens every hand until we win, and when we eventually have a winning hand once more, our net gain will be up by $10, along with the return of our past losses. But would you risk another $2,560 to win such a measly amount of profit?

The problem with the Martingale strategy is even with starting bets as small as $5, we’re in danger of losing a lot of money very quickly. Add in the fact most blackjack tables enforce maximum betting limits and it’s entirely possible we’ll be unable to continue betting to win back such massive losses — otherwise, we could just as easily wipe ourselves out. For this reason, we strongly advise using the Martingale strategy to avoid serious losses — employ it for fun, not if you’re expecting actual profit.

Blackjack betting strategy chart

Parlay Strategy

The Parlay betting strategy is another extremely risky system followed by many blackjack players who are not fans of the more common Martingale.

The origin of the strategy comes from the same premise banks used to compound interest, establishing it as one of the oldest methods of wagering. Despite its origins, it is one of the easiest tactics to understand given there is minimal mathematical background.

In comparison to the Martingale, the Parlay is a positive progression betting system that revolves around “letting it ride” and knowing when to use hot streaks effectively. We double our bets after each win rather than chasing losses; for some, this makes up for the fallacies of the Martingale system.

Parlay in Play

Before practicing the Parlay strategy in a game, we must set up a Win Limit and a Loss Limit to know when we are to keep our profits rather than continue to stack it atop our wins, and when we’ve lost enough to stop playing. These are crucial to the strategy because we can’t win anything if we keep wagering our profits on the line.

Setting an appropriate Win and Loss Limit is essential if we actually expect any sizeable returns. For instance, if we’re betting $10 per hand and set a Win Limit of $2,000, it’s unrealistic as we will most likely lose at least once on the way there. However, if we set a Win Limit of $150, it’s entirely possible.

We bet $10 bet and win $10 in profit.
We bet $20 and win $30 in profit.
We bet $40 and win $70 in profit.
We bet $80 and win $150 in profit.

Within four hands, we’ve reached our Win Limit and we walk away with $150. From there, if we opt to continue playing, we begin from our designated starting wager once more. A losing streak is entirely possible, but at least a hot streak is too.

A Loss Limit, too, is important. If we’re decided on betting $10 per hand, a good loss limit to abide by might be $200, but it all depends on your personal bankroll.

Final Verdict

The Parlay is only effective if we know how to set Win Limits and know how to follow them accordingly. It’s hard to keep profits and know when we’re winning when we’re letting every single wager ride on the table.

Self-imposed boundaries and restraint is absolutely necessary to even think of making an actual profit when playing by the Parlay strategy.

The D’Alembert Strategy

The D’Alembert strategy suits players who don’t want to base all of their bets on a ‘high risk, high reward’-based structure.

The strategy is named after the 18th-century mathematician Jean le Rond D’Alembert, whose theory was based on balancing out wins and losses in the long-term — his work was then translated by blackjack gamblers, even though it was never intended for the game.

D’Alembert in Play

The D’Alembert is a strategy based on a negative progression system, but with lighter consequences compared to the Martingale. We increase our bets following losses, but we do so by a strict pattern: when we lose, we increase the bet by one unit and if we win, we decrease our bet by one unit.

A $5 bet which loses at the minimum blackjack table would mean we increase our bet by one unit — this would be $10 in total. If we lost twice more, we would increase the following wagers by $15 and $20, respectively. If we eventually won the following hand, our next bet would revert back to three units at $15 total.

Compared to other strategies, the D’Alembert is easy to apply and easy to understand, with little memorisation beyond how much our last wager was.

Final Verdict

The D’Alembert strategy will carry its value depending on the individual player. It’s obviously more likeable as it doesn’t call for huge risks like the Martingale, but it can also be perceived as a ‘slower’ structure to win.

No strategy will ever win us a massive chunk of money after a few games, and they’re mostly designed and applied to make the game more fun or otherwise change our usual bets up to experiment other ways of making profits. Therefore, use the D’Alembert more as a way to restrict yourself from losing too much by abiding to a system, rather than as a tool to expect massive gains.

Paroli Strategy

The Paroli strategy is the exact opposite to the Martingale; it’s called the Anti-Martingale strategy, or the Reverse Martingale for a reason! If you’re already familiar with the Martingale, you’ll have no trouble learning the ropes of the Paroli.

Paroli in Play

The Paroli is based on a positive progression system where we increase our bets by doubling following each win. Before we employ the strategy, we need to set a Win Limit to know when we eventually stop doubling down after every win to collect our profits.

Strategy

If we set a Win Limit of $160 and wager $5 on a hand and win:

Our next wager is $10; if we won again, the next would be $20.
If we won again, the next would be $40.
If we won again, the next would be $80.
If we won again, the next would be $160.

Because our Win Limit was $160, we refrain from doubling down again and take our profit. If we want to continue playing, we simply start at our pre-determined starting wager once more; in this instance, it’s $5.

Conclusion

The Paroli strategy is an easy one to understand, but it’s also just as prone to losses as every other strategy out there. There’s no doubt we’ll face a loss in between our Win Limit, so set one you feel comfortable with and that is also realistic for your bankroll.

Like all blackjack betting strategies, the Paroli needs to be followed in the long-term. Instant wins aren’t going to happen and the Paroli is more about the excitement than anything: riding a winning hot streak while we still can, and maybe make a lot more money while we’re at it.

Allstar Gambling USA / Guides / Best Blackjack Betting StrategiesAllstar GamblingJuly 3, 2019TwitterFacebookWhatsApp

For centuries, the strategic potential of blackjack has defied the chances and reduced the house edge to the point of complete elimination. The advanced card counting strategies were fought off by the casino operators through a gradual increase of the card decks inside the shoe.

Nowadays, it is next to impossible to find a live blackjack variant played with 1, 2, or even 4 decks; instead, 6 and 8-deck blackjack games are dominating the market, thwarting the beginner-level card counters. This, along with the RNG (Random Number Generator) blackjack, has created the need for alternative solutions, and a number of players resorted to blackjack betting strategies that exploit the winning and losing streaks, focusing on money management rather than trying to predict the next card. At the same time, these are much easier to master than some of the advanced blackjack techniques, such as Shuffle Tracking, Zen, or Omega 2.

Where to Start – The Most Popular Blackjack Betting Strategies

The complexity and dedication are not the only reasons people shy away from card counting techniques. Casino operators frown upon any skill that will give you an unfair advantage over other players (and the house), which is why advanced budget management methods are your safest resorts. They can also be arranged according to the difficulty level, starting with the simplest form of betting (flat) and gradually advancing to the complex patterns used by experienced players (Labouchere):

  • Flat Betting
  • Martingale
  • 1-3-2-6 System
  • Paroli
  • D’ Alembert
  • Oscar’s Grind
  • Labouchere

Apart from the complexity level, each of the systems can also be classified according to the risk degree and the type of progression it entails – negative or positive.

Flat betting

Flat betting is somewhat of an exception, and many do not even consider it a strategy at all. The only requirement of this “system” is to remain in the game by constantly submitting the same size bet. Ideally, the player needs to establish a budget and divide it into equal portions of up to 5% of the total balance. Clearly, flat betting will not make you rich, but the strategy is deemed successful if you manage to generate around 10-20% profit.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Flat Betting

Apart from the extreme simplicity, the strongest suit of flat betting is the damage control it delivers. The fixed stakes will prevent you from suffering a sudden, substantial loss that some of the other methods are prone to.

On the other hand, the results that flat betting can produce are modest and rest on the assumption that you will win more than 50% of the time. This is why most players outgrow this strategy fairly quickly. The monotony makes it quite easy to abandon this process and move onto potentially more profitable (and riskier) blackjack betting strategies described below.

Risk Rate: Low

Positive Progressive Betting Systems – Definition and Popular Variants

Positive progressive betting systems are designed to get the most of the players’ winning streak, commanding a bet increase every time you score a winning blackjack hand. The stakes are raised systematically and lowered after the first losing hand. The most popular representatives of positive progressive strategies are Paroli and Oscar’s Grind.

Join MYB Casino now! The NO-nonsense USA gambling site!Bonus:

200% up to $1,000

Play Now

Paroli

Paroli is often defined as a reversed Martingale system, prompting the players to top the stake after every winning hand. Every next bet should be doubled and re-set after three consecutive winning rounds. For example, if we are to start our betting session with a $1 stake, the next two stakes should be increased by 2:

$1 > $2 > $4

For the sake of illustration, let us assume that you have placed a $10 bet and your hand trumped the dealer’s, resulting in an even money payout. Your next bet should, therefore, be $20, which is your base bet + $10 that you have won in the previous round. If you manage to win that hand as well, the follow-up stake should amount to $40 – again, the $10 base stake, plus the winnings from the previous rounds. The third win will result in an $80 bet, after which you will need to go back to the initial $10 bet, regardless of the outcome. Looking at the starting point, we can easily deduce that a $10 starting bet generated a total of $160.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Introducing Paroli Betting System to Your Gameplay

As you can see, the Reversed Martingale is very easy to use, as it requires the player to press the bet only 3 times and revert to the original wager in two cases – after a loss or when a series of three winning hands in a row is completed.

An added value of Paroli is that you do not need to have a substantial budget to implement this strategy, which is the main drawback of some other progressive betting patterns.

On the downside, three linked winning hands are not that easy to land, and the players may find themselves operating at a loss before long.

Risk Rate: Medium

Oscars Grind

A medium complexity system with a low-risk rate, Oscars Grind (aka Hoyle’s Press) starts off with a single unit bet and aims at generating an equivalent profit amount. The losing hands will follow the flat betting pattern whereas the winning hands will be followed by the bet increase – but only if it will result in the desired profit of one unit. Otherwise, the bet size is decreased to assure that the accurate amount is acquired, as shown in the table below:

BetOutcomeReturnYour next move
$1Loss-1No change in bet
$1Loss-2No change in bet
$1Loss-3No change in bet
$1Loss-4No change in bet
$1Loss-5No change in bet
$1Win-4Next bet increases by 1 unit
$2Loss-6Bet remains the same (2 units)
$2Win-4Next bet increased to 3 units
$3Win-1Next bet adjusted to 2 units needed for a single unit profit
$2Win1Round completed

The desired result is a single unit win on every session as well as the increased damage control during the losing streaks.

Pros and Cons of Oscars Grind

The method is not aggressive which means that you will be able to sustain longer losing streaks without suffering irreparable damage to your finances. The proceeds, although modest, will gradually accumulate, recuperating the losses incurred across ten rounds in no more than 4 wins.

At the same time, you may find the system frustrating as it requires a lot of self-discipline and restraint.

Risk Rate: Low

What Are Negative Progressive Betting Systems?

As opposed to the progressive betting methods, the negative strategies demand that the bets are increased during the losing streaks; the idea is to recover all that you have previously lost and to gain a profit. By default, negative progressions are more aggressive than their counterparts and they carry a somewhat higher risk rate. The representatives of this methodology are Martingale, D’Alembert, and Laboucher systems.

SuccessfulJoin MYB Casino now! The NO-nonsense USA gambling site!Bonus:

200% up to $1,000

Play Now

Martingale Betting System

When you first come across to Martingale, it may seem like a heaven-sent system that simply cannot fail. You will soon discover that not all share your initial enthusiasm; there will be those who might urge you to avoid this strategy, especially if your gambling budget is limited.

As a negative progression system, Martingale mandates that you double the stake after every losing hand and go back to flat betting after a win. In the perfect world, this should generate a series of cumulative winnings and recuperate the losses in a course of a single losing streak.

But what happens if the streak prolongs and you budget dries out? Even if you start wagering with the betting minimum, you are running a risk of leaving the table empty-handed. To illustrate, let us assume that you begin the session with a $5 wager and start losing. To get back on the track, you will now need to double every next wager, which means that it will take no more than 8 consecutive losses to find yourself short of $1,275:

BetOutcomeTotal in Losses
$5Loss$5
$10Loss$10
$20Loss$35
$40Loss$75
$80Loss$155
$160Loss$315
$320Loss$635
$640Loss$1,275

If the trend keeps up, you can soon end up with a considerable debt, which is probably not what you have signed up for when joining the blackjack table and introducing a betting structure to your game. High rollers will, of course, be able to disregard the elevated risk rate of the Martingale system, but average online or land-based casino visitors will probably need to adjust their strategy to the amount of money they can afford to lose. For most of them, this means that Martingale is off the limits.

The benefit of using Martingale is that it can produce excellent results in a relatively short time span.

Pros:

  • Can be effective in short-term sessions
  • Simple to use

Cons:

  • Uncomfortably risky
  • More suitable for high rollers
  • Possibility of the stake amount exceeding the payout rate
  • Table limits can easily stop the progression

As you can see, the cons, in this case, outweigh the pros, which means that you may want to leave the strategy to those with more money to waste.

Risk Rate: Extremely High

D’Alembert

D’Alembert is a great alternative to Martingale, since it offers a reduced risk rate but has the same complexity level, which makes it suitable for beginners. The system has an alternating pattern, urging the players to increase the stakes by a single unit after a loss or deduct one unit from the follow-up wager after a win. So, if you should happen to lose $5 bet, the next amount that you need to wager is $10 and the one after that $15 (as $5 is considered a single unit). Should the $15 result in a win, the subsequent bet should be re-set to $10. Example:

BetOutcomeThe follow-up betTotal Balance
$1Loss$2$99
$2Loss$3$97
$3Win$2$100
$2Loss$3$98
$3Loss$4$95
$4Win$3$99
$3Win$2$102

Pros of D’Alembert Betting System

The entire scheme is very easy to follow through – all you need to do is remember your previous bet and act accordingly. Also, since the increase is moderate, you will not risk losing a large portion of your budget. Last but not least, thanks to the controlled variations in bet size, you are less likely to hit the table limits.

Cons of D’Alembert

The main defect of this system is that it’ll take forever to recover the lost bets, not to mention the perils of the long losing streaks that are likely to severely affect your balance.

Risk Rate: Medium High

Labouchere Betting System

In Laboucher, the players start with any sequence of numbers, where the first and the last number in the chain determine the bet total. Let’s say that you select the following string:

2 – 3 – 4 – 6 – 9

When you add up the first and the last number, you will get a total of 11, which should be the initial bet. If you happen to win, the relevant numbers should be eliminated from the sequence, leaving you with 3 – 4 – 6.

Assuming that you win again, the remaining number (4) should be doubled.

If, on the other hand, you lose the initial bet, the total must be added to the chain:

2 – 3 – 4 – 6 – 9 – 11

The bet will now amount to $13 (2 + 11), adding the number $13 to the string if the player loses again, or removing both 2 and 11 if the outcome is favorable.

The sequence total will depend on the target amount, which means that the players whose objective is to make a profit of $20 will create any sequence that can add up to that sum.

Pros of Laboucher

The increased control of both the budget and the progression of your bets is the main perk of Laboucher, but the players should make sure to use it at high limit tables.

Cons of Laboucher

Just like Martingale, this system threatens to hit the table limits, although, not as fast.

Risk Rate: Medium

The “In-Between” Split System: 1-3-2-6 Blackjack Betting System

Seemingly complicated, the 1-3-2-6 blackjack betting strategy is actually much simpler than it looks at first glance. After deciding on the betting unit, the players will just need to make sure that the system is executed correctly, in accordance with the 1-3-2-6 sequence. On a $5 unit bet, the process would look like this:

  • Step 1: bet the single $5 unit. If you lose, repeat. If you win, proceed to Step 2.
  • Step 2: bet 3 units ($15). If you lose, start over. If you win, proceed to Step 3
  • Step 3: bet 2 units ($10). If you lose, start over. If you win, proceed to Step 4
  • Step 4: bet 6 units ($30)

Pros of 1-3-2-6 System

The upside of this betting pattern is that you will have no difficulties mastering it – the formula is in the name itself, so it does not get any easier than that. The losses will not be severe, and you will be quite happy with the results this system provides in the short-run.

Cons of 1-3-2-6 System

You might not need a huge bankroll to execute the 1-3-2-6 betting scheme but bear in mind that the system’s “expiration date” is just around the corner. While the maneuver is efficient enough to be included in the list of the best blackjack betting strategies, it will not eliminate the house edge and provide lasting results.

Risk Rate: Low to Medium

Conclusion on the most successful Blackjack betting strategies

Adding some structure and limitation to your gambling routine might be just what you need to handle your money more efficiently. Still, you will need to remember that these systems are flawed, especially in the long run. As they have zero effect on the house edge, the end results they produce will be modest, but some of the low-risk systems mentioned above will prove quite handy in cutting down the unwanted losses.

Join MYB Casino now! The NO-nonsense USA gambling site!Bonus:

200% up to $1,000

Play NowGuides11 Legendary And Famous Blackjack PlayersAllstar GamblingDecember 4, 2020GuidesMartingale System (Blackjack Betting)Allstar GamblingOctober 22, 2020GuidesStrategySlot Tournaments – How Do They Work and How to WinAllstar GamblingJuly 30, 2020

Latest Post

Guides11 Legendary And Famous Blackjack Players

Top 5 Casinos

Bonus:

200% up to $1,000

Play NowBonus:

300% up to $3,000

Play NowBonus:

500% up to $3,000
(CODE: ASGBSC)

Play NowBonus:

100% up to $1,000

Play NowBonus:

300% up to $2,000

Blackjack Betting Strategy 1 3 2 6

Play Now

Claim $215 in exclusive No Deposit Free chips

Betting Strategy For Blackjack

Sign up with AllStar Gambling for FREE to take advantage of this one-time offer! PLUS many more promotions for players from the USA based on your location and gambling preferences!

Blackjack Betting Strategy Cards

Please share your location to continue