Why Betting Systems Don’t Work
Betting systems are methods that players use to try to gain an edge at the blackjack tables. Most of these systems are simple in theory and make sense to the average player. But the reality of these systems is that they’re all destined to fail you. Casinos have a defence against betting systems, they simply put a high and low limitation on the betting. This takes away any advantage that these systems could give a player with a large bankroll. The most common systems that players know and use are the Martingale and Paroli Systems. Here’s why they don’t work.
The Martingale System consists of doubling your bet after every loss. Probability dictates that you will eventually win a hand, and you’ll win back all loses plus a little bit more. This would be fine if there was no limit on the betting, but a $5-$100 limit table would force you to win one every five hands, or your bet would be too big for the table. Any streak of six losses will be extremely expensive at these limits.
The Paroli System is essentially the Nightingale System in reverse. You double your bet after every win, and have a cut off point where you stop and go back to your original bet. That’s essentially letting it ride, and if you don’t have a lot of wins in a row you’ll just be giving back your winnings all the time. But it’s still not as costly as the Martingale system could prove to be.
