Casino Games: Betting Strategies and Systems

There’s an enormous amount of betting systems and gambling strategies out there, but it can be difficult to know which one to use in any given situation. Are you best served with a positive or negative progression strategy? Do the pros of using the Martingale strategy really outweigh the cons? We’ll explore all this and more, giving you a comprehensive guide to online casino gambling strategies.

Positive vs. Negative Progression

First off, you’ll need to understand positive and negative progression betting systems. A positive progression strategy requires you to decrease your bet when you lose, and increase your bet when you win. Conversely, a negative progression tactic requires you to increase your bet when you lose, and decrease your bet when you win.

Most of the systems we’ll go on to explore are some variation on a positive or negative progression betting system, so it’s important to understand the pros and cons of each. 

Positive Progressions

Advantages

Disadvantages

Negative Progressions

Advantages

Disadvantages

The Martingale Strategy

The Martingale strategy is a negative progression betting system wherein you double your bet after a loss, the idea being that you’ll regain your losses (and win a little extra) due to the increased size of your bet. Remember, the Martingale strategy doesn’t give you a concrete way in which to improve your odds, it’s just a betting system, nothing more. It’s most appropriate for games which offer even money bets – roulette, for instance – but can also be used successfully in games with different stakes.

Let’s explore this with an example. You’re playing roulette and bet £10 on red, and lose. If you’re using the Martingale strategy , you would then bet £20. If you lose again, you bet £40. This time, you win. Over the course of the game, you lost £30, but won £80, giving you net winnings of £50.

Martingale Strategy

Advantages

Disadvantages

Martingale Games

The Paroli System

The Paroli system is a positive progression betting system – it’s the polar opposite of the Martingale strategy . You double your wager when you win, and revert to your base stake when you lose. Like other positive progression betting strategies, the Paroli system is effective because when you bet big, you’re basically betting with the casino’s money. The proportion of your original bankroll that gets wagered is relatively low, so even if you have a bad game, it’s not the end of the world.

Paroli System

Advantages

Disadvantages

Paroli Games

The D’Alembert System

The D’Alembert system is another negative progression betting system . It’s similar to the Martingale strategy , although it differs in one important way. Rather than double your wager when you lose, you increase the wager by one unit. If you win, you reduce the wager by one unit. You set the unit beforehand, so you have a much greater degree of control over the game.

Now, let’s envisage a game of roulette played using the D’Alembert system :
In the first round, you wager £1 and lose. In the second round, you would then wager £2. You lose again, so you wager £3. This time you win, so in the fourth round, you’ll reduce your bet by one unit, betting just £2. You lose, so you bet £3 again, and this time you win. You’ll end up with a net profit of £7, despite winning in just two of the five rounds. 

D’Alembert System

Advantages

Disadvantages

D’Alembert Games

Of course, the best way to understand a gambling strategy is by playing it yourself. You’ve done all the reading, why not put it into practice!