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- Progressive Blackjack Betting Systems
- Progressive Betting In Blackjack
- Progressive Blackjack Betting
- Super 4 Progressive Blackjack
- Progressive Blackjack Las Vegas
- Progressive Blackjack Betting Systems
- Progressive Blackjack Rules
Blackjack Betting Strategies are quite popular, especially since the game has been featured in hit movies likeRain Man, 21 and The Hangover.
No matter what the game, there is one universal rule; if the casino spreads the game, someone has developed the “perfect” betting strategy.
Roulette strategies are perhaps the most prominent as roulette strategies and systems have been offered for sale for centuries.
Blackjack progressive players must place the standard game bet as well. That means, for the most part, you'll still be playing real cash blackjack as you know it. As the name suggests, progressive blackjack offers a prize pool that grows over time. Whenever a player makes a side bet, a portion of the wager goes into the jackpot. Whether you are a card counter or progressive player, it is your betting strategy that allows you to preserve money, and make gains when appropriate. Online I see a lot of bantering between counters and progressive players. The truth is the combination of both theories makes the most sense. Introduction Super 4 is a progressive blackjack side bet based on the four cards consisting of the player's and dealer's initial two cards. There are at least four known versions. In both, the player wins on a dealer blackjack. Progressive Blackjack is a standard version of Blackjack that has an optional side bet, usually costing £1/€1/$1 depending on the currency you are using. Progressive Blackjack Betting Systems. A progressive betting system is a kind of strategy that people employ when they play casino gambling games, one of which is blackjack, whereby the amount bet is lowered or raised depending on whether the previous hand was won or lost.
As a dealer and a player, I have been able to see and try many of the most famous Blackjack Betting Strategies.
Blackjack strategies don’t change around the world but it is interesting to see different perspectives. A good blackjack resource for Canadians is CanadianCasinos.ca.
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The Two Best Systems
There are two strategies that every player should use every time they take a seat at or swim up to a blackjack table.
Play to Have Fun
Napoleon was a fan of Vingt-un (blackjack) near the start of the 19th century. For more than two centuries, blackjack has grown in popularity to become the most popular casino table game.Mathematicians have analyzed the game, hundreds of books have been written about it, and a number of myths and legends have been created.
Earning a place in the Blackjack Hall of Fame at the Barona Casino in California is the only honorary award for players of any casino table game. There is a reason that blackjack has remained popular for a couple of centuries; it’s fun! There are many varieties of blackjack. Mr. Green offers a great selection of 15 blackjack games by 6 software providers, including Double Exposure Blackjack Professional Series by Net Entertainment, VIP Blackjack by Extreme Live Gaming, and 6-in-1 Blackjack by Felt.
Spin Palace offers a remarkable amount of blackjack games. There are over 40 blackjack games in total on offer. They also offer practice play which is perfect for sharpening your blackjack skills before you start playing for real money. Most of their games are developed by Microgaming which are very popular in English speaking countries like Australia, New Zealand, UK and Canada.
Yes, the game has a really low house edge, which makes it appealing, but it is a very social game, so in many cases, the table wins or loses as a group. This builds comradery and makes it fairly common for players to talk with one another. The social aspect of the game is a very important one to most players.
Bet the Right Amount
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Set up a bankroll before you go to the table. This is your total stake.
As has been mentioned numerous times, blackjack is supposed to be fun. Playing with money you can’t afford to lose (what dealers and players call “scared money”) practically guarantees you won’t enjoy the game.
It is fairly easy to find table limits to fit most bankrolls.
The Martingale – Blackjack Betting Strategies
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The Martingale system originated in 18th century France and is one of the oldest systems around. The original theory was used to prove that someone with infinite wealth could always avoid a loss in even money bets by doubling the best after each loss. Most likely the first casino game where the Martingale system was touted was roulette, but it can also be used in other areas, such as in stock market trading.
You will often see players use the Martingale system at the blackjack table, doubling their wager after each loss. In theory, this strategy sounds solid. However, blackjack is not an even money game. And additionally, players will occasionally run into a bad streak of cards. At a $5 table using the Martingale system if you lose 8 hands in a row, you will be wagering $1280 on your next hand, so unless you are a legendary high-roller, you are probably better off taking the $5 loss.
2-1-2 (Manhattan) Strategy – Blackjack Betting Strategies
One of the common laments one hears from players is the one where they were “way ahead” but gave it all back. These players are the same ones that usually talk about “playing with ‘house’ money.”
Here is a fact: Once the chips are in your stack, they are your chips, not the house’s.
The second most common lament you will hear is a player talking about missing out on a hot streak. The 2-1-2 strategy helps address both.
First, there is no mathematical foundation for “hot” or “cold” streaks at the blackjack table. Mathematicians will tell you (truthfully) that there is no such phenomenon. Blackjack players know they exist.
As a player you want to capitalize on a good run of cards and this strategy has some merits. Start with a 2 unit bet. If you win you reduce the bet to one unit. If you win that bet you increase to 3 units. Once the dealer wins you go back to your original 2 unit bet.
A run of 10 hands could look like this:
Wager Result +/-
Progressive Blackjack Betting Systems
- 2 W +2
- 1 W +3
- 2 W +5
- 3 W +8
- 4 L +4
- 2 W +6
- 1 L +5
- 2 W +7
- 3 W +10
- 4 L +6
With the 2-1-2 strategy, players will win a bit more with a hot run yet not sacrifice all of their winnings.
Oscar’s System – Blackjack Betting Strategies
Oscar’s System was proposed in the 1960’s in a book by mathematician Dr. Allan Wilson. It is a fairly decent system. The goal of the strategy is to win exactly one unit per series.
The player starts a series by betting one unit. After a win, the player adds a unit; after a loss, the next bet is exactly the same as the previous one. That’s it.
Here are two examples:
Wager Result +/-
- 1 L -1
- 1 L -2
- 1 W -1
- 2 W +1
Series complete
Wager Result +/-
- 1 L -1
- 1 L -2
- 1 L -3
- 1 W -2
- 2 L -4
- 2 W -2
- 3 W +1
Series complete.
Playing Multiple Spots
Many players feel that playing multiple hands increases their odds of winning. Playing multiple spots can be exciting, but it does absolutely nothing to increase your win rate.
Most of these systems fall under the heading of progressive bets. While these are among the most common, they are by no means the only strategies out there. It is perfectly fine to sit at the table and make the exact same wager every hand. While this strategy is a bit boring for me, if it works for you that is what counts. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking out a deck of cards and developing your own strategy as well.
Blackjack Betting Systems in the Long Run
Ok so we’ve covered the popular blackjack betting systems here and highlighted how they are used but are any of them really useful in the long run? The answer is a resounding NO (this article goes into great depth as to why).
While you might make great short term wins, any betting system will not be a formula for success in the long term. To truly gain an advantage against the casino you must start with learning basic strategy and then moving to card counting.
There are plenty of resources to get started. We recommend:
- BlackjackInfo’s Blackjack School – A comprehensive free resource that covers both basic strategy and card counting principles.
- Blackjack Apprenticeship – Run by Colin Jones, a professional counter who featured in the blackjack documentary Holy Rollers, this site provides a paid course offering video training material, private coaching and more.
- WizardofOdds – The wizard has some great strategy charts but only for 4-8 decks. If you need more customized charts then BlackjackInfo has a good strategy chart builder.
- HolyMolyCasinos.com – Offers a how to guide on the rules and how to play blackjack as well as other popular casino games.
Progressive Betting In Blackjack
Members Feedback
One of the most often asked questions from players about blackjack strategy, is 'how should I bet?' You've got severaloptions and I'll discuss them in this article and offer my recommendation.
Flat Bet Blackjack Strategy
This means betting the same amount all the time. Most players don't like to bet this way because they figure if the dealer wins more hands then them they'll never win any money. Also, playersfeel it's boring betting this way. They prefer the thrill of sometimes betting more in the hopes that when they do so, they will win the hand and make a nice profit.
Here are the facts on the flat betting blackjack strategy. If you bet say $5 on every hand in a standard multiple deck game the house will have an edge of 0.5% against theskilled basic strategy player. That means you will lose on average 0.5% of every wager you make. So if you bet $10 on every hand and average 80 hands per hour you will have made a total of $800worth of bets. The casino expects to earn 0.5% of the $800 or $4.00. Of course, the more likely result is that you'll win or lose much more than $4 after an hour of play. But on average you canexpect over time to lose at the rate of $4 per hour.
Let's take an example of a player flat betting $10 on every hand. It's is a conservative betting strategy that leads to a relatively low theoretical loss rate. The fluctuation in this player'sbankroll will also be low which means the likelihood he'll have a big winning or losing session is not great.
Watch 'Why You Should Never Make the Blackjack Insurance Bet with Blackjack Expert Henry Tamburin' (March 2016)
In this video blackjack expert Henry Tamburin explains why a basic strategy player should never make an insurance bet. He gives details on three different situations that a player may encounterand why he considers blackjack insurance to always be a sucker bet.
Progressive Betting Blackjack Strategy
This is where things get interesting. The Progressive betting blackjack strategy is when players vary their bets in some way from one hand to the next rather than alwaysbetting the same amount on every hand. There are all different types of betting progressions but they all have one common denominator. You either decrease or increase your next bet dependingupon whether the hand you just played won or lose.
Progressive Blackjack Betting
Win progressions encourage you to increase your bet size after a winning hand. For example, you make a minimum bet of $10 and if you win, you raise your next stakes on the hand to $20.
There are all different kinds of win progressions. The most common is a 1-2-3-5 progression. This means you increase your bet by the above multiples after each winning hand butas soon as you experience a loss, you start the progression over with a 1 unit bet.
Proponents of win progressions will tell you that you'll win more money if you win 5 consecutive hands compared to the amount you lose if you lose 5 consecutive hands. Of course, what theydon't tell you is that you never know when that 5 consecutive winning hand streak will occur.
There are also betting progressions in which you increase your bet following a loss. These Martingale type betting progressions are dangerous and you should never consider using them.
Super 4 Progressive Blackjack
There are also hybrid betting progressions, which have you increase your bets following a win, but after two or three success wins you lock up some profit and gradually regress your bets. Thecreativity of progressive bettors is never-ending.
First of all, the blackjack strategy for betting progressions does not change the 0.5% house edge one iota. There has never been a correlation between the hand just won (orlost) and your chance of winning the next hand. In other words, using the criteria of the result of one hand (W/L) to base how you bet on the next hand has no scientific validity. So bettingprogressions, in the long run, don't work in the sense that they won't improve your long-term chances of winning.
But here's what betting progressions will do. First off they increase the fluctuation in your session bankroll compared to flat betting. This means you can win more using abetting progression compared to flat betting but you can also lose more. Secondly, betting progressions will increase the amount of money you wager per hour compared to flat betting. If a $10bettor uses a 1-2-3-5 betting progression, his average bet will $20. Over an hour he will average $20 times 80 hands or $1600 worth of bets. The casino's expected win is 0.5% of $1600 or $8. Inother words, a $10 progressive bettor stands to lose twice as much per hour as a $10 flat bettor.
Progressive Blackjack Las Vegas
Here's a tip to save you some money in the long run if you insist on using a betting progression. Instead of starting your progression at $10, start at a lower amount (ie. $5). This will reduceyour average bet to $10 per hour and cut your hourly theoretical loss rate in half.
But in the long run flat betting and betting progressions don't work in the sense they won't change the house edge against you and you will lose in the long run. So what betting system works?That, my friends, is card counting.
Betting When You Have The Edge (Card Counting)
With card counting, you know when you have the edge based on the change in the composition of the decks and therefore you'll know when it's the right time to bet more. Sounlike betting progressions that are based on whether you win or lose the previous hands, card counting is based on the mix of cards that were played on previous hands. If more small valuecards were played in previous rounds, there are more big value cards left in the unplayed cards, and the edge shifts from dealer to the player. This would be the best time to bet more.
But I'm a realist. Not a whole lot of average blackjack players have the time or mental concentration during play that is required to master one of the popular point count cardcounting systems. These are readily available in blackjack books. But even though millions of blackjack books have been sold since Ed Thorp's classic book, Beat The Dealer (circa 1962) firstrevealed card counting to the masses, the number of players who can successfully win money in the long run at blackjack number in the hundreds and thousands.
So what's the answer to betting at blackjack for the average player? I asked Don Pronovost that same question about four years ago. Don is a software developer that markets blackjack trainingsoftware. He spent the better part of two years and a trillion computer simulated hands looking for the solution to this dilemma. What he developed is Speed Count.
Speed Count is unlike any conventional card counting system. It's much simpler to master and requires much less concentration when you play. And unlike progressive betting systems, Speed Countwill give you a verifiable advantage over the casino You can read about Speed Count in Frank Scoblete’s book, Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution.
Now that you know the scoop on betting at blackjack, I wish you many aces and faces the next time you play.
Progressive Blackjack Betting Systems
Henry Tamburin has been a respected casino gambling writer for the past 50 years. He is the author of theUltimate Blackjack Strategy Guide and was editor of theBlackjack Insider newsletter. You can read his latest articles on blackjack, video poker, and his personal playing experiences at https://www.888casino.com/blog/writers/henry-tamburin
Progressive Blackjack Rules
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