Best Betting Strategy For Blackjack
- Most Blackjack betting strategies are progressive betting systems. Progressive systems involve increasing or decreasing the amount of your bet, depending on the outcome of the previous hand. They fall into two categories: Positive progression – betting more after you win a bet.
- In conclusion, the best blackjack strategy you can adopt is the one that fully corresponds to the game variation you’ve chosen to play. Be careful to only use a game plan that has been created for the particular type of blackjack you’re playing. Otherwise, you won’t be able to achieve the results you expect.
As a blackjack player, I recognize betting systems don’t work in the long run. However, having played a lot of blackjack, streaks (good and bad) do happen. So, I am wondering, without card counting, would tracking simple wins vs. Losses, compared with the remaining cards in a 6 or 8-deck shoe, deck be meaningful? In fact, betting strategy is critical for anyone who wants to be a profitable blackjack player. For instance, card counting relies heavily on betting strategy, as the player must bet more when he has the advantage, and less (or not at all) when things swing in the dealer’s favor. But betting strategy can be much more complex than that.
TwitterFacebookWhatsAppFor 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.
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Play NowParoli
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:
| Bet | Outcome | Return | Your next move |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | Loss | -1 | No change in bet |
| $1 | Loss | -2 | No change in bet |
| $1 | Loss | -3 | No change in bet |
| $1 | Loss | -4 | No change in bet |
| $1 | Loss | -5 | No change in bet |
| $1 | Win | -4 | Next bet increases by 1 unit |
| $2 | Loss | -6 | Bet remains the same (2 units) |
| $2 | Win | -4 | Next bet increased to 3 units |
| $3 | Win | -1 | Next bet adjusted to 2 units needed for a single unit profit |
| $2 | Win | 1 | Round 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.
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Play NowMartingale 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:
| Bet | Outcome | Total in Losses |
|---|---|---|
| $5 | Loss | $5 |
| $10 | Loss | $10 |
| $20 | Loss | $35 |
| $40 | Loss | $75 |
| $80 | Loss | $155 |
| $160 | Loss | $315 |
| $320 | Loss | $635 |
| $640 | Loss | $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:
| Bet | Outcome | The follow-up bet | Total Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | Loss | $2 | $99 |
| $2 | Loss | $3 | $97 |
| $3 | Win | $2 | $100 |
| $2 | Loss | $3 | $98 |
| $3 | Loss | $4 | $95 |
| $4 | Win | $3 | $99 |
| $3 | Win | $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.
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Of all casino games that you can choose from, Blackjack is one of the better options you will have. It is one of the only games that a skilled player can turn the house edge in their favor. Doing this is no small feat and will take some learning, patience and a bit of luck. But the sheer fact that you can turn the odds in your favor is reason enough to take the time to perfect the strategies and start making more money playing Blackjack.
The following article will become your new guide to Blackjack. It will cover every strategy out there that works and even a few popular methods that you should stay away from. This guide will assume you already know the basics such as; rules and how to play. If you are unfamiliar with Blackjack, please read our article on how to play blackjack and its history.
For those still with me, let’s dive right in and get to the meat. For this of you who wants to play Blackjack now, sign up at Club World Casino.
Basic Blackjack Strategies
Some mathematician has already figured the perfect way to play the game and took all the guess work out of it. There are a variety of charts that you can find anywhere for free that will show you exactly how to play each and every scenario at a Blackjack table. We won’t go into much depth about the strategy behind it, as we would be here for 2 days and you would likely need a Doctorate in Math to understand how it works.
The basic principle is that each situation has a mathematically correct decision that will show the best possible results. These decisions are made based on what the dealer up card is; and the chart will tell you exactly how to act. If you can read, you can use this strategy. This chart can be found in our Blackjack Tips Section for easy use.
It’s considered optimal strategy and will have you playing perfect Blackjack each hand. However, the built in house edge of .48% assumes everyone is playing perfectly. Most of the time players are making the incorrect mathematical choice and their odds will be much worse. So, even though we are playing optimally, we will still need something else to overcome the house advantage.
Blackjack Card Counting System
There are many misnomers about card counting that we need to clear up before we talk about how it works. The first is that many people think it is illegal or banned by most casinos. The truth is, casinos do not have specific rules, or bans on card counting. They may not like it, but you cannot be arrested if thought to be counting cards.
Having said that, a casino can ask you to leave for whatever reason they feel is necessary. If you’re believed to be a counter, they will simply ask you to leave. This is well within the casinos rights and there is nothing you can do about it. The casinos are scared of a good card counter, because it works.
Also, counting cards will not tell you exactly what card will come next. It merely gives you a solid basis on what the remaining deck contains. The goal of counting cards is to figure out when the deck has more high value cards and take advantage of this. When a Blackjack deck is rich in higher cards, the player gains a slight edge, thus making it invaluable information.
To start, you need to assign each card a value. Cards2 through 6 will count as -1. Cards 7 to 9 will count as 0. And, cards 10 through Ace will count as +1. This means anytime you see a 2, you subtract one from your true count. Anytime you see an 8, you keep the count the same. Lastly, anytime you would see a 10, you add 1 to your count.
Card Counting Example
We always start at zero and work our way up and down from there. We sit in on a hand and start our count at zero. We are dealt a 10 and a Jack. Both of these are +1 cards so we now have a count of +2.
Best Betting Strategy For Blackjack
The player next to us is dealt a 2 and 5, which are both -1 value cards. This now gives us a count of 0. The dealer shows a 2 up, which is also a -1 value and brings our count to -1. We keep doing this for every card we can see, even when the dealer flips over their down card, we count that one as well.
The principle behind card counting, as I stated above, is to take advantage of the deck when it has more high value cards. However, we don’t want to base this off of a single hands count. A typical Blackjack deck will contain 4-8 decks. Knowing only 8 or so will not give us a very accurate read on the deck. It’s important to go through a few hands before basing your bets off this count.
If you’ve gone through the deck a bit and your count is -4 or less, this means more high cards are in the deck. You should begin to make bigger bets to take advantage of this. You never want to deviate too much from your normal bet sizes, as this is a sure tip off to casinos that you are using some type of card counting strategy. If you go from betting $5 and all of the sudden bet $25, this is an obvious red flag.
On the flip side, if your count is in the positive, this would mean the deck has less of these high value cards and is not optimal for the player. Your best during a high count should be smaller to limit losses on a weak deck.
Blackjack Martingale Strategy
What Is The Best Betting Strategy For Blackjack
The Martingale Strategy is a betting system that uses a negative progression to recoup lost bets. This is one of the more popular betting systems around and is used by many gamblers. Its super simple to learn, and even easier to use.
To start the Martingale system, you pick a base amount to be bet and work from this point on. When you lose a hand, you will double the previous bet amount. When you win, you go back to the original base line amount we started with.
Let’s say we start out by betting $1 per hand. The first hand we are dealt a 20 and win. We are up $1 and continue to bet our base amount of $1 since we won the hand. This time we lose, and based on this system we need to double our previous bet.
At this point our winnings are at even and we have to bet $2 on our next hand. We are unlucky once again and lose our $2 bet. We are now at -$2 and have to double our previous losing bet which was $2. We do bet $4 now and win this time, giving us a profit of $2. We can now go back to betting our original amount of $1 and continue this process based on the rules of the system.
It’s crucial to note that you do not just double the initial starting bet. You always double the losing bet amount, not the starting amount!
Paroli or Reverse Martingale Blackjack System
This betting system is the exact opposite of the Martingale. Instead of doubling your losing bets, you will double all winning bets until you lose. At that point you would go back to the starting amount.
An example would be; if you bet $5 to start and win, your next bet would be $10. If you win again, you bet $20. Once you lose, go back to betting the original $5.
Best Betting Strategy For Online Blackjack
The advantage to using this system is that it takes a much smaller bankroll to employ. Using the traditional Martingale system of doubling losing bets can get expensive if you go on a bad run of cards.
The only downfall to the Paroli system is that you need to set a limit of when you will stop doubling your winning bets, thus putting a cap on your winnings. This threshold is often difficult to determine and can be more of a guessing game. It does work however, and can be a valuable tool in your arsenal.
Blackjack Parlay Betting Strategy
The parlay system has been around for decades and is quite common among horse racing bettors. The concept is to use part or all of your winnings on a bet to increase your next bet size. It’s simple in theory and allows you to win more using less of your own money. To demonstrate this system lets use an example.
You start with a bet of $10 and win. In Blackjack you always get 1-1 on your money except on dealt Blackjacks which is 3-2. However, we are not lucky enough to get dealt a natural 21 and only win $10. You would then take part or all of that $10 profit and put it towards your next bet. Your next bet could range between $11 and $20. Never exceeding more than your winnings from the previous hand, and the original bet amount.
The advantages to this system are much like the Paroli. You can have a much smaller bankroll to use this system to start. Also, it allows you the opportunity to win much more because you are increasing bets with money that was not technically yours before the hand. It can be viewed as risking $10 of your own money, plus $10 of the casinos to win $40. Anytime you can risk $10 to win $40 is a good deal for you.
Blackjack Labouchere Betting Strategy
This system is a bit more complicated, but much like the others is guaranteed to make a profit is used correctly.
To start, you write a series of numbers down. These can be any numbers you choose and as long as you want. It’s recommended to keep it between 4 to 8 and nothing more than a 7 to start. A good example would be: 1-3-5-7-5-2-2
Using the sequence of numbers you wrote down, you will take the first and last numbers in this sequence and add them together. Each number represents a unit which is equal to one bet. If your bet sizing is $1 per hand, then 7 units would be $7.
In the example sequence of; 1-3-5-7-5-2-2, our first bet would be 3 units which equals $3. If you win this bet, cross out the first and last numbers. You would now have a sequence of; 3-5-7-5-2. We would now add the first and last number of our new sequence together, giving us 5. Your next bet amount would be 5 units, or $5. Each time you win a bet, cross out the first and last numbers until you are done the sequence and start a new one.
Best Betting Strategy For Blackjack
If you were to lose a bet, you would add the amount you wagered on the losing hand to the end of the sequence. Let’s say we are still using the; 1-3-5-7-5-2-2 sequence and lost our first bet of $3. We would add the 3 on to the end of our sequence which represents how much we lost. Our new sequence of numbers would be; 1-3-5-7-5-2-2-3. Therefore, our next bet amount would 1+3 (first and last numbers of new sequence) giving us a total of 4 units to bet on the next hand.
In the example above you can see that each time we lose we are adding an extra unit to our sequence giving us the chance to win that lost amount back plus one extra unit. Each time we win, we are gaining that much more. In theory, this system will ensure you always make at least 1 unit of profit if followed correctly.
Blackjack Oscars Grind System
The word grind in gambling terms means to make money very slowly over a period of time. The Oscars Grind betting system will do just that if used properly.
Its goal is to use a progression of winning bets to keep you winning at least one unit. Each time you would win a bet, it is doubled the next hand until you lose. At that you point you would go back to betting one unit. Once you’re back to a profit of one unit, you would start the sequence over.
Example: You start by betting one unit of $5. You lose that hand and keep the bet at one unit. You are down $5 at this point. The next hand you win $5 and your profit is at even. Since we have not yet produced a one unit profit, we stick with the progression of doubling our winning bets. We would now bet $10 on the next hand. If we win, we would have a profit of 2 units and can now go back to betting our original amount of one unit. If we were to lose that hand, we would stick with the progression until we had a total profit of at least one unit.
If you start a progression over and win the first hand in that progression, just keep betting the same amount of one unit until you lose.
This strategy has its ups and downs, but does work quite well. It will limit losses when you go on a bad run, but in turn will not produce large winning sessions. It is a grind, but will show results with a little patience. It also requires a smaller bankroll that a negative progression would.
Blackjack Strategies Not to Use
Mimic the Dealer
This is one you will hear players use quite often. Its premise is to play by the rules of the dealer. After all, the dealer has a house edge, why can’t we do the same? The reality is, there will be many times that standing on a 12 or other low hand will have a much higher mathematical advantage.
If you go the dealers rule, you would have to hit on a 16 and stay on a 17. Correct strategy often dictates that you would stay on most hands when the dealer has a 6 showing. This is just one example of why playing by the dealers rules is never a good idea. In fact, the house edge goes from.48%, all the way up to almost 6%.
Taking Insurance
When the dealer shows an up card of an ace, you are offered insurance in most casinos. The insurance requires placing the same bet amount as you did to start the hand and wins if the dealer has a Blackjack in the hole.
The golden rule to live by in Blackjack, is never take the insurance bet. Its odds are some of the worse and will show a terrible return on your money in the long run. Even when the dealer flips over 4 Blackjacks in a row, resist the urge and “Just Say No”!
January 12, 2013 - Offer valid as of date published. T&Cs apply.