Betting System Types

Most of the time, when you think “system”, then you are thinking of a way to guarantee yourself a win. In that way, there is no system that can do this. Most betting systems will give you two advantages over other gamblers:

1) You will have control over your betting pattern, so you won’t (shouldn’t) let emotion dictate your next bet and action.
2) You will be forced to learn the appropriate strategy for a casino game and stick to it.

These are the two biggest mistakes that most gamblers make: emotion and confusion. If you can shake off a bad run without going overboard, your a step up on most people. The casino will get a run of luck just as often as you will. The confusion comes in when people are guessing at their next move. Become confident and use the same strategy in that situation over and over again.

The following online gambling systems are useful for money management when betting online.

Positive progression betting systems

These types of money management systems are where you increase your bet when you win. Also known as ‘let it ride’. These types of systems are the favorite of many casino gambling players mostly because they do not require a large bank roll. They are usually used to take advantage of winning streaks.

Negative progression betting system

These types of money management systems are where you increase the bet win you lose. These systems require a larger bank roll. They are mostly used to force a winning outcome after a losing streak. Most casino gambling players consider these types of systems to be very risky and nerve wracking. Avoid them if you can.

Insurance betting systems

This type of betting system is used with other “high risk” systems such as the Parlay or when make high initial wagers. You will lower the wagers after a large win as an insurance policy to keep some of the winnings from that large hit.

The Gagnante Marche System

As you have probably already guessed, this system gets it’s name from an old French saying. It is translated and known today as the ‘Hot and Cold’ system. You might also know by now that gamblers are known for saying that gambling is all a matter of streaks.

While it is true that there will be times when it seems like the shooter at the crap table will go on and on without rolling that seven. It is also true that there are times when it seems none of the shooters can make a point. If only we could be in on a streak from the get-go and bet them until the end, if this were the case, gambling and making money would be a piece of cake (your favorite cake).

However, too many times the player will find that they are in fact in on the wrong side of the streak by betting with the shooter when the table is cold and vice versa. Often times, before the player has time to even figure this out, the streak will be just about over. It is rare enough that the player might be lucky enough to switch sides quick enough to win back the money they lost thus far.

What the hot and cold system promises to do is make sure that the bettor will always catch these streaks from the very beginning. It comes through on that promise too. The trick is to bet on the side that won last. For example, at the roulette wheel, if black came up on wheel on the last spin, bet black the next spin. If red comes up instead, you immediately change your wager to red. It is thought that sooner or later a streak will develop and when it does, you will be there from the beginning.

The major issue with this system is what happens while you are WAITING for this streak. When there is no streak the wheel, the cards, the dice, whatever, will have wins on both sides mixed together. You will be caught in a blender during this time. Most definitely, in the end, you won’t win any more money than you would have won guessing.

The Paroli System

This money management betting system is a positive progression betting system. You increase the bet when you win.

This system is quite the opposite of the Martingale system. You may even hear some gamblers refer to it as the Anti-Martingale system. Using this system you start with one bet and you increase your bet when you win instead of when you lose.

A plus to using this system is that you do not need a large bankroll. This system will let the profit run and cut short your loses.

Martingale System

The lure of easy money and an edge on the house is the fatal sirens song to those who spend much of their leisure time hanging around casinos. A system that promises big payoffs is as irresistible to most gamblers as a six pack of powder doughnuts is to the ever expanding Alec Baldwin. The Martingale system is one of those lures that promise rewards if used in a gaming situation, but like those who followed the music given off by the mythical sirens, working with this system will leave you dashed on the rocks.

The nuts and bolts of Martingale is that every time you lose a bet, you bet again with a little more than double the previous bet. Theoretically, when you eventually win, you will make back all your losses plus a small profit. The flaw here is obvious. There is theory that says if you take an infinite number of monkeys, give them typewriters, white out and caffeine, they will eventually reproduce the works of Shakespeare. I don’t know anyone who has that many monkeys.

I also don’t know anybody with enough money to keep doubling their losing bets. If you start betting at ten dollars and double every time, you are twenty bets away from owing about ten million dollars. Even if you are blessed with infinitely deep pockets, there is no guarantee the casino is. At some point their bank breaks and you may not make back your money.

In the real world though, you will run out of money long before the casino does, and well before you make back your losses with this system.

This is one of the flaws that is so obvious that people miss it. Many will try this system with the optimistic hope that they will win their money back. In a perfect world, yes you will, is your bank account well stocked enough to cover the losses till then?

The 1-3-2-6 System

This system is used when betting on even money in the casino. It sets limits on losses and sets limits on reward, thereby making it easier to walk away. Players risk two betting units for a chance to win ten units, although it requires a little luck along the way. This system can be used in Blackjack, Craps or Roulette.

The first bet is one unit. If the player wins, he should add another unit, making the second bet a total of three units. If the player wins the second bet, that’s 6 units on the table. The player should then remove four units, making the third bet two units. If the bet wins, the player should add two more units, making a total of six units on the fourth bet. If the fourth bet wins, the player collects a total of 12 units, resulting in 14 units profit if the player wins at every stage.

If the player loses the first bet, the loss is one unit. If the player wins the first, but loses the second bet, the player’s net loss is two units. If the player wins the second, but loses the third bet, the player profits two units. If the player wins the first three bets, but loses the fourth bet, he breaks even. If the player loses the second bet five out of six times and wins four consecutive bets once, he also breaks even.

The D’Alenbert System

This money management betting system is a negative progression and Insurance system. It’s basically a combination of Martingale and Insurance systems.

You raise your bet one unit after each losing bet and you lower your bet one unit after each of your winning bets. The sequence and amount you raise or lower can be changed to fit different games and odds.

Insurance betting is a system where you decrease the amount you bet when you win, usually following a high initial bet or even following a short ‘let it ride’ progressive win. This type of betting is playing it safe. It is a good compromise.

The Parlay System

It is used quite often when betting on horses. Quite simply you make a bet and if you win you reinvest your winnings on your next bet. When you do this you ‘let it ride’.

While this system is not free of risk, it offers the least amount of risk of all wagers because the the player is only concerned with either a win, place, or show selection or a combination of the three.

Many sports bettors like to play 4, 5, 6 or more team parlays. This is a string of consecutive bets on different sporting events. You will place a small wager that you will be able to receive all of the correct predictions.

If you miss even one, the parlay bet loses. Players that hit a 5+ team parlay are often looking at a $1000+ hit on their bet. This all depends, of course, on the odds that the combined teams will win.

Reverse Systems

The reverse gambling system is said to the most strangely ingenious of all money management systems. Basically, you’re thinking, “Well, all of the other systems don’t work, you’re right. I’m convinced. By using these systems I will lose. Hey wait, I know how to make money from them. Since I will lose by following the system, what if I do the exact opposite of what the system is calling for. This way I will have to win.”

The concept of the reverse system can be used with most of the systems we provide right here on this site.

For instance, using the reverse Martingale (or any other progressive system) would require you that you increase your your bet after every win and decreasing your bet after every loss.

A reverse D’Alenbert would would involve increasing your bet one unit after a win and decreasing your bet one unit after a loss.
A reverse Labouchere means crossing off off the two outer numbers each time you lose and increasing the size of your bet to the end of the row every time you win.

What the reverse system lover does not understand is that the system they are following is NOT what caused their loses. The system may rearrange the pattern of losses. Ultimately, any systemis really irrelevant to the long-run losses of the player. Those losses don’t come about because the system. They come about because of house percentages. Over a period of time, a system player’s net losses will be exactly same as they would be if the player had made uniform size wagers on the same bets for the same total amount. Loss is simply a function of the amount wagered and the the house edge.

There is one thing in favor of the system that is rather important when applying it to the various progressives. Because progressive systems require wagering more money when you are winning, they are much better than systems like the Martingale. The martingale requires you to bet more when you are losing. Betting progressions, whether they are positive or negative, won’t change the long term results of your gambling, they can have major short term results, though.