Talk about casinos, whether it's in an online or physical form, chances are your mind will immediately harken to blackjack. Indeed, the classic card game is one of the most popular casino table games out there — along with poker, baccarat, and roulette.
Best Blackjack Betting Strategy & Tips May 23, 2018 - CasinoBloke Acquiring advanced Blackjack skills is a matter of great controversy and anything more than a basic Blackjack betting strategy can result in severe repercussions, such as being banned from the casino. If you are using the basic blackjack strategy, you should not be thinking of taking insurance. In the case of card counting, however, players know when it is the right moment to make an insurance bet. If you are dealt a blackjack and the face-up card of the dealer is an Ace, you will simply have to take your chances. Basic strategy is just the rocket booster. It gets the shuttle high enough in the atmosphere for the shuttle to do the rest of the work. The rocket booster never makes it to space. You'll need counting, deviations, true count conversions and betting strategy to actually beat the game of blackjack but that's for later. Memorize it perfectly!
A blackjack betting system first published in 1965 - Oscar's Blackjack Betting System - wins 4999 out of 5000 times. Blackjack Betting Systems. So, let's look at what betting system works best in the short run. We can't guarantee a win, but there is a logic to betting systems that can greatly increase your chances of success. So, you've heard all about blackjack strategy and download our strategy charts. You've read up on card counting and you've found out all about the best-known blackjack betting systems which.
One of the main reasons the card game has received near-universal acclaim from casino patrons globally is the fact that blackjack has some of the best odds around, as well as easy to follow rules which make for an excellent game to dip your toes into if you're a beginner.
This popularity is also one of the reasons why many online casinos have integrated (nay, are forced to include) blackjack to their gaming catalogue. And with the live casino scene gaining plenty of traction lately, you may expect even more coverage on blackjack on the virtual front, so that players can enjoy the game from the comforts of their own homes.
That being said, winning in blackjack isn't a one-and-done deal — despite its widely accepted popularity. Far from it, blackjack is similar to any other card game in the casino scene as it all boils down to luck in the end.
First, you'll need to know the rules, understand the odds, and use some basic strategy. Oh, and knowing how to count cards doesn't hurt either. But this is not always enough. Hippodrome casino seating plan for magic mike -.
This is where blackjack betting strategies come into play. If you want to excel in the game of cards, there are numerous strategies that you may adopt to increase your odds of winning.
Oscar's Blackjack Betting Strategy
First developed in the 60s by mathematician Allan N. Wilson, the main idea of Oscar's system is to win exactly a single unit after a series of bets. After you win, the series is then reset and a new set of wagers may be started.
First things first, you need to think of bets in terms of units instead of an amount. Select a unit size (we're using one unit in this scenario) and then you may follow the general flow of the betting strategy below.
- If you lose a bet, your next bet will be down to one unit.
- If you win a bet, your next bet will be one unit higher.
- Once you gain a profit of one unit in the sequence, stop immediately. The next bet will be set back to one unit and you start the process again.
In short, as long as there aren't any losses suffered in the sequence, you may continue adding units to your bets as long as your winning streak allows — until you reach the goal of gaining a one unit profit.
The idea here is to ride the wave of wins until it stops. Oscar's blackjack betting strategy certainly affords you the greatest opportunity to capitalise on a string of good runs, though it requires plenty of patience as well.
The Martingale Blackjack Betting Strategy
As one of the oldest betting strategies around, it's no wonder the 18th-century France-originated Martingale strategy is a well-known approach not only in blackjack but also a cacophony of other casino games like baccarat and roulette.
The original idea stands that an individual with a bottomless wallet could theoretically avoid a loss in even money bets by doubling the bets after each loss, assuming the casino doesn't have a maximum bet limit. And this strategy is definitely applicable at the blackjack table too, albeit it's more well-suited for players who are in it for short bursts at a time.
You'll often see players, typically beginners, use the Martingale system in casinos, doubling their wager after each loss. And while the theory sounds solid, blackjack is unfortunately not an even-money table game. Plus, your bets could exponentially increase to unmanageable levels if you aren't careful.
For instance, with a starting bet of $5, if you lose 8 hands in a row you would have to wager $1280 to recoup the losses. So unless you really do have a bottomless wallet, you're probably better off taking the $5 loss.
But hey, don't let that stop you from using the Martingale strategy if you're up for it.
1-3-2-6 Blackjack Betting Strategy
Contrary to its rather complicated name, this blackjack betting strategy is actually very straightforward.
In essence, bet units are placed according to the sequence of 1, 3, 2, and 6 after winning a bet. You only trigger the start of a new sequence when you win a bet and it ends after you lose.
But how does the sequence work? Don't worry, we'll get to that soon enough.
Taking into consideration a single bet unit is $10, here are some examples:
- If you lose 4 bets in a row, all your bets would have been capped at $10. And without a win to begin the sequence, the bet size stays the same.
- If you win 4 bets in a row, the bets would amount to $10, $30, $20, and $60. The sequence starts when you win the first bet and continues as there is no losing bet. After 4 wins, the 5th bet would be reset to $10.
- If you win the first 2 bets but lose the 3rd bet, your bets would amount to $10, $30, $20, and $10. The betting sequence triggers once you win your first bet and continues until the 3rd bet, where the result is a loss. The following bet would then follow the progression of starting from $10 again.
An advantage of mixing up your bet sizes using the 1-3-2-6 strategy is that it reduces the risk of blowing out and going all-in on everything you have on one hand — which is the norm in other negative progression strategies like Martingale.
2-1-2 (Manhattan) Blackjack Betting Strategy
Firstly, there's no real mathematical foundation for hot or cold streaks at the blackjack table in casinos. Mathematicians and statisticians will be quick to debunk the phenomenon. Though, most blackjack players are on the opposite side of the spectrum.
The 2-1-2 strategy aims to take advantage of your winning streak.
At its core, you start with a 2 unit bet. If you win, reduce the bet to one and if you win that bet again, increase it to 3 units. You'll then further increase it to 4 units if you win again and so on and so forth. But once you lose, go back to your original 2 unit bet and start over again.
With this strategy, a blackjack player on a hot streak will win a bit more but at the same time, not sacrifice all their winnings on an eventual bad hand. Also, profits are safeguarded first by dropping the bet amount, then increasing it. And if the dealer wins, the stakes ultimately revert to their original amount.
Have you ever thought that you could get an advantage over the house just by altering your bet sizes or what you bet on at the right times? Many betting strategies exist that claim to be able to do just that. They claim that by changing your bets based on recent results, you can gain an edge over the house in a game (like blackjack) that normally has a house edge for the casino.
Are these systems for real? Well, that depends. It might be best to divide betting strategies into two categories, just to separate the effective methods from those that are ineffective (and sometimes sold as scams). Any betting strategy that claims to be able to structure bets that all have a house edge and somehow make you a winner is bound to disappoint you, because it simply isn't possible to take multiple bets with negative expectations and come out with an overall positive expectation. We'll call these betting systems. On the other hand, betting strategies that offer you ways to maximize your advantage or limit your risk of going broke when you already have the edge can be an important part of a professional blackjack player's overall strategy.
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Betting Systems
Over the years, many people have tried to come up with betting systems that could beat various casino games. They appeal to a lot of players, especially those who don't understand the math behind gambling. Often, they make some sort of intuitive sense, which leads people to come up with reasons to believe that their system must work. However, as we said earlier, no betting system can turn a series of bets with a house edge into a system that has an edge for the player.
Martingale System
Let's take a look at one common betting system and see how it works – and why it doesn't work.
The Martingale System is probably the best known casino gambling system in the world, and also the most popular. It is incredibly simple to use, and seems to offer a 'can't lose' way of playing games that offer bets that are around 50/50 propositions.
In the Martingale System, the player begins by making a small bet – usually the table minimum. If the player wins, they make that same small bet again. If they lose, they instead double their bet. If the player loses again, they double their bet again. The player continues doubling their bet until they win, at which point they revert to their original small bet size.
This means that in each iteration of the Martingale, the player will win the minimum bet size. For instance, a player might win their original $5 bet, thus profiting $5. Or they might have the following sequence:
Lose $5
Lose $10
Lose $20
Win $40
Meaning they would lose $35 but then win $40, thus coming out $5 ahead yet again.
So, why doesn't this work? Eventually, you will hit a string of losses that will be catastrophic, wiping out your bankroll and any small profits you've made so far. Many players believe a long string of losses like that is unlikely, and they're right; however, it will happen often enough that the casino retains the house edge they had at the beginning of the game. Table limits make this occur even faster, meaning you'll quickly hit a point where you simply can't double your bet anymore.
For instance, take a table with a minimum bet of $5 and a maximum bet of $500. The player can double six times:
$5
$10
$20
$40
$80
$160
$320
After that, the player cannot double to $640. For the moment, let's do an example with single-zero roulette, since the math is easier. If the player makes a bet on one of the even money bets – say, betting on black – they have 18 ways to win, and 19 ways to lose. This means the player will lose 51.3% of the time. This also means that at any given time, there's about a 0.94% chance that they'll run into a 7-spin losing streak, putting them in the position of not being able to double. That's only one time in 106 (we're rounding a bit, but that's roughly accurate), but that's still not good enough to make the Martingale work! The player will make $525 in the 105 times they win, but they'll lose $635 the one time they hit a 7-spin losing streak.
The math for blackjack is a bit more complicated, since not all bets pay even money, you'll sometimes have to spend extra money to double down or split, and the player wins fan less than half of the hands (especially when taking pushes into account). However, the principle remains the same – the player cannot overcome a series of bets that have a house edge simply by creatively structuring their bets.
Betting Strategies and the Kelly Criterion
On the other hand, can betting strategies help you when you already have an advantage? The answer is emphatically yes! 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. While it's obvious that players should bet more when they have an edge, it's harder to figure out how much they should bet on a typical hand. Figuring that out requires the player to take into account the size of their bankroll, as well as the size of their edge over the house.
One method of figuring out the optimal bet size is to use the Kelly Criterion. The Kelly Criterion is an attempt to maximize the rate at which a player can make money when they have an edge without having a significant risk of ruin. The formula is basically as follows:
f = (bp-q)/b
f = the portion of the player's bankroll they should wager on each bet.
b = the odds the player is receiving on each wager (b to 1).
p = the probability of winning the wager.
q = the probability of losing the wager.
For instance, imagine a game where the player receives even money odds (1-1), but feels as though they have a 55% chance of winning each hand. This would make the formula look like this:
f = (1*.55 – .45)/1
f = .1
In this case, the Kelly Criterion suggests betting .1, or 10% of the player's bankroll, on each bet in order to maximize the growth-rate of the player's bankroll. Of course, players rarely have such a huge edge, and blackjack is a bit more complex since the player sometimes wins differing amounts, and sometimes is forced to wager additional money on a hand. We'll go into more detail on how to use the Kelly Criterion when playing blackjack in our article on Bankroll Management.
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p = the probability of winning the wager.
q = the probability of losing the wager.
For instance, imagine a game where the player receives even money odds (1-1), but feels as though they have a 55% chance of winning each hand. This would make the formula look like this:
f = (1*.55 – .45)/1
f = .1
In this case, the Kelly Criterion suggests betting .1, or 10% of the player's bankroll, on each bet in order to maximize the growth-rate of the player's bankroll. Of course, players rarely have such a huge edge, and blackjack is a bit more complex since the player sometimes wins differing amounts, and sometimes is forced to wager additional money on a hand. We'll go into more detail on how to use the Kelly Criterion when playing blackjack in our article on Bankroll Management.
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