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Best Progressive Blackjack Betting System

3/25/2022
Best Progressive Blackjack Betting System 9,4/10 4403 reviews
  1. Betting Techniques In Blackjack
  2. Blackjack Betting Guide
  3. Best Progressive Blackjack Betting Systems
  4. Progressive Betting Chart
  5. Blackjack Betting Chart
  6. Best Blackjack Betting System

I disagree, and offer the following explanation as to why progressive betting can be superior to flat betting, and can often be more profitable than card counting. Back in 1982 to 1984, there was a running debate between blackjack experts on both sides of the progressive betting equation. Most blackjack players use flat betting, which is when you bet the same amount all the time. However, some gamblers want more. Progressive blackjack betting systems are popular among players who want to win big and bring more excitement to the game. In this article, we’ll look into two types of progressive betting in blackjack (positive and negative), and the most common systems for each type.

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For 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.

Betting Techniques In Blackjack

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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Paroli

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:

BetOutcomeReturnYour next move
$1Loss-1No change in bet
$1Loss-2No change in bet
$1Loss-3No change in bet
$1Loss-4No change in bet
$1Loss-5No change in bet
$1Win-4Next bet increases by 1 unit
$2Loss-6Bet remains the same (2 units)
$2Win-4Next bet increased to 3 units
$3Win-1Next bet adjusted to 2 units needed for a single unit profit
$2Win1Round 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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Martingale 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:

BetOutcomeTotal in Losses
$5Loss$5
$10Loss$10
$20Loss$35
$40Loss$75
$80Loss$155
$160Loss$315
$320Loss$635
$640Loss$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:

BetOutcomeThe follow-up betTotal Balance
$1Loss$2$99
$2Loss$3$97
$3Win$2$100
$2Loss$3$98
$3Loss$4$95
$4Win$3$99
$3Win$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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When most people think of a progressive jackpot, they think of a slot machine game.

But other games have progressive jackpots these days, too — including blackjack.

This post explains how a progressive jackpot works in general and in a blackjack game specifically. It also examines whether you can get an edge over the casino and whether it’s even worth it to place these progressive side bets.

What Is a Progressive Jackpot and How Does It Work?

The original progressive jackpot game was the slot machine. Slots have always featured jackpots, but they didn’t start featuring progressive jackpots until relatively recently — the last few decades.

A progressive jackpot is one that gets progressively larger as you play the game. The machine takes a percentage of each bet you make and adds it to the jackpot amount, which always starts at a base amount. That base amount is the seed jackpot, and the casino puts that money into play.

With slot machines, you originally had three kinds of progressive jackpots — single machine, local area networks, and wide area progressives. A single machine progressive jackpot grows as you play that machine, but it stays the same when you walk away.

A jackpot with a local area network is one that consists of several slot machines networked together, but they’re all in the same casino. Usually, they’re in the same area of the casino, too.

Every wager on each of those machines contributes to the jackpot. When it’s won on one of the machines, it resets to its base amount on the entire network.

A wide area progressive jackpot is one in which multiple slot machines — maybe even hundreds or thousands of machines — all feed into the same jackpot. These jackpots can get huge, like lottery jackpots do.

Progressive Jackpots and Table Games Like Blackjack

More recently, casinos have started offering table games with progressive jackpots. Some of these are newer games like Caribbean Stud. Sometimes they’re in the form of a “bad beat jackpot” in the poker room.

And sometimes they’re older games like blackjack, craps, or roulette.

With bad beat jackpots in the poker room, the casino collects a slightly higher rake than usual to pay for the jackpot. The rake is a percentage of each pot that the casino collects in exchange for hosting the game. It’s usually 5%, but in a bad beat jackpot game, it might be slightly higher.

With bad beat jackpots on table games like blackjack, craps, or roulette, the game usually plays normally. Your bets are adjudicated according to the standard rules of the game. The progressive jackpot is usually a side bet (a proposition bet) based on specific outcomes in the game.

In these cases, the progressive jackpot bet is a completely separate bet from your bet on the game itself. The progressive jackpot bet usually has no skill element to it, either.

An example of a progressive roulette game is Microgaming’s “Roulette Royale,” which has a starting jackpot of $60,000. To play, you just play the regular roulette game as normal, but you also place a separate side bet of $1 on the progressive jackpot.

The game awards the jackpot if the same number gets picked five times in a row.

What are the odds of that?

Since Roulette Royale is based on European roulette, the probability of getting a specific number is 1/37.

Best Progressive Blackjack Betting Systems

To calculate the probability of getting a number five times in a row, you just multiply the probability, like this:

1/37 x 1/37 x 1/37 x 1/37 x 1/37 = 1/69,343,957

But you can also win money if the same number gets picked two, three, or four times in a row. If the same number comes up twice in a row, you win 15 to 1 on your progressive side bet. If it comes up three times in a row, you win $200. And if it comes up four times in a row, you win $3,000.

Here’s the thing, though.

You’d be better off just trying to parlay your winnings on a $1 bet.

If you win a 35 to 1 payout five times in a row, you’d see winnings of $35 x 35 x 35 x 35, or $1,500,625.

If you guessed that the house edge for this game is really high, well… good. You’ve been paying attention.

But What About Progressive Blackjack?

I wanted to use roulette to illustrate the principle of a side bet that has a progressive jackpot on a table game, but let’s look specifically at progressive blackjack and how to play.

Microgaming also offers a progressive blackjack game called Triple Sevens. This is a blackjack game dealt from five decks, and if you get a hand that consists of the 7 of diamonds, another 7 of diamonds, and a third 7 of diamonds, you win the jackpot.

There are other combinations which result in smaller winnings, too — enough to keep you interested and placing the side bet. The house edge, though, is high on this bet.

Here are the payouts based on a $1 progressive side bet.

  • If you get ANY 7 at all in your hand, you win $5.
  • If you get two 7s of different suits, you win $25.
  • If you get two 7s of the same suit, you win $50.
  • If you get three 7s of different suits, you win $250.
  • If you get three 7s of the same suit (other than diamonds), you win $1,000.

And of course, if they’re all of diamonds, you win the progressive jackpot.

The jackpot for this game generally hovers around $10,000, but as it grows, the house edge gets smaller. The break-even point is $109,000, at which point the game becomes positive expectation.

Progressive Betting Chart

Should I Play a Progressive Jackpot Game If the Expectation Is Positive?

Here’s the thing about progressive jackpots and expected return.

In some cases, the expected return doesn’t matter. If the odds of winning are so bad that you realistically never hope to win that bet, it isn’t worth gambling for the progressive jackpot — even if it’s a positive expectation bet.

That’s because the volatility is so high that you won’t realistically ever see the jackpot.

You’re better off finding a game with lower volatility even if you have a lower (but still positive) expected return.

Of course, you’re dealing with two different house edge figures in Triple Sevens Blackjack. You have your main bet, which is just a regular blackjack game. The house edge for that game is around 1% or so if you play with perfect basic strategy.

The house edge for the side bet is about 37% if the jackpot is $10,000. Every $10,000 you add to the jackpot subtracts 3.5% from the house edge, which means that the side bet becomes positive expectation once the progressive jackpot hits $109,000 or so.

And don’t forget that probably 10% of the bet goes toward increasing the size of that jackpot, too. The house keeps the rest, but that’s a huge chunk subtracted from your expected return.

If you’re just looking for the lowest house edge with the lowest volatility, I can’t recommend playing Triple Sevens. Other Microgaming blackjack games have better odds. The Vegas single-deck game has a house edge of just 0.31% if you play with perfect basic strategy.

Other Progressive Blackjack Games Besides Triple Sevens

Blackjack Betting Chart

That’s just one example of a blackjack game with a progressive jackpot. Land-based casinos have their own progressive jackpot blackjack games.

Here’s an example.

At one casino, the progressive jackpot is based on your first two cards combined with the dealer’s two cards. The jackpots pay out for the following combinations:

  • 4 aces of the same color (red or black, either one) pays off the progressive jackpot
  • 4 aces of different colors trigger a 2000 to 1 payout
  • 3 aces of the same suit trigger a 1000 to 1 payout
  • 3 aces of different suits trigger a 200 to 1 payout
  • 2 aces of the same suit trigger a 50 to 1 payout
  • 2 aces of different suits trigger a 15 to 1 payout
  • 1 ace of any suit triggers a 3 to 1 payout

This is an interesting variation because it affects strategy in subtle ways. One of the quirks of this game is that if you split the aces, you become ineligible for the jackpot. Most of the time, the correct play is to keep the aces together so that you can get the payout for the jackpot bet.

Progressive Blackjack Betting Systems

Playing in a blackjack game with a side bet on a progressive jackpot isn’t the only way to win a lot of money at the blackjack table. You could also use a progressive blackjack betting system.

A progressive betting system is one where you increase the size of your bets according to some established system.

And the system I’m going to share with you is dead simple.

Your goal with a progressive jackpot is to win a lot of money.

I call this my “go big or go home” blackjack strategy.

It’s simple, too. You’re going to play at a casino offering a $1 minimum bet and a $150 maximum bet. Your goal is to win $150.

With this system, you just let your winnings ride until you hit your win goal.

Assuming you don’t get a natural, you don’t need to win many hands in a row to achieve your goal, either. Here’s what the progression looks like:

  1. $1
  2. $2
  3. $4
  4. $8
  5. $16
  6. $32
  7. $64
  8. $128

Once you’ve won eight hands in a row, you’ve achieved your goal. Of course, that’s not a life-changing jackpot, but it’s still a big win for a dollar bet.

A better way to do this would be to find a casino with a bigger spread of betting limits. You might find a casino that offers $5 blackjack as their minimum bet but which also has tables that allow you to bet as much as $5,000.

Here’s how many hands you’d need to win in a row to win $5,000:

  1. $5
  2. $10
  3. $20
  4. $40
  5. $80
  6. $160
  7. $320
  8. $640
  9. $1,280
  10. $2,560

You’re probably thinking, “What are the odds of winning 10 or 11 hands of blackjack in a row?”

The truth is, the odds are slim.

But even though you’re facing long odds with this betting progression, you still have a better probability of a big payout by parlaying your winnings and letting them ride than you have of hitting the big jackpot.

The odds are a little worse than 1100 to 1, but since you’re looking at a 1000 to 1 payoff on the parlay, it’s not a terribly high house edge when compared to something like 35%.

The only trick is that you might need to switch blackjack tables after winning a few hands.

If you win seven hands in a row, you need to be able to bet $640 on the next hand. At a $5 minimum table, you usually can’t bet more than $500 per hand.

No problem. You just need to switch to one of the higher-limit tables.

Best Blackjack Betting System

If you play blackjack online, you can find even lower table limits. $1 blackjack is common at online casinos, and many online casinos even offer blackjack for 10 cents or 50 cents per hand — something unheard of in a brick and mortar casino.

You have to win a lot of hands in a row to turn 10 cents into something worth having, but it can be fun to try.

Also, if you occasionally get a natural with its 3 to 2 payout, you can get there even faster. You’ll see a natural more often than you might think, too.

You should, if you try this go big or go home strategy, stick with basic strategy for all your decisions. Don’t make the mistake of adjusting your play after winning four or five bets in a row. That’s a common mistake for beginners, who think they need to avoid busting to continue their progression.

Don’t do that.

Make the mathematically optimal play on every hand, which is what basic strategy tells you to do.

If you’re counting cards, you might make strategy adjustments based on the count. Then again, you’ll probably have an entirely different strategy for raising and lowering the size of your bets.

Conclusion

You want to know how to play progressive jackpot?

Here’s a simple, if tongue-in-cheek answer: very carefully.

Most of the time, a progressive blackjack game requires you to make a side bet where the house edge is 10% or higher. This takes blackjack, which is a game with some of the best odds in the house, and turns it into a game with a huge house edge.

You might as well play keno or the lottery or find a progressive slot machine to play.

If you want to combine that low house edge on the main blackjack game with the opportunity to win a big jackpot, this might be a fun way to play.

But I can’t recommend it in good conscience.

The odds are just too lousy.

Still, I don’t think anyone should judge someone else for the way they like to gamble. What entertains you might not entertain me, and vice versa.

That’s what gambling is all about, anyway — entertainment.

Keep that in mind, and you’ll be all right.

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