A lot of both veteran and new players use a variety of betting systems to help them generate a profit. Is it really the betting system that they use that helps them generate a profit or is it just a streak of luck that happens to come about while they are using the system?
In this article, I will explore betting systems and whether they actually work. I will then explain two of the most popular betting systems that people use in case you want to try it out and see if it works for yourself.
TipYou can always practice these systems by playing in free mode first at one of my recommended real money online casinos before depositing any cash.
What is a betting system?
Betting systems are mathematical methods of strategically placing bets and using your casino bankroll that is meant to guarantee a profit (or at least drastically improve your odds) if followed correctly. To follow a betting system, a player will have to bet on certain odds or systematically increase or decrease their bet sizes based on whether they won or lost the previous bet.
The exact method of a betting system differs drastically depending on what kind of betting system is being utilised. However, most betting systems will fall into one of these two categories:
- Progressive positive betting systems: These betting systems require the player to increase their bet on a winning bet and decrease their bet (or return to their initial bet) every time they lose.
- Progressive negative betting systems: These betting systems require the player to increase their bet every time they lose and decrease their bet (or return to their initial bet) every time they win.
Why do people use betting systems?
Since the beginning of humankind, people have been very apprehensive about attributing events to things like luck or chance and instead have tried to solve and understand them. When it comes to gambling – it’s no different. Many players strongly believe that the probability of winning in online gambling can be manipulated and that there is a “golden formula” which will help you beat the odds every time you play.
While this is positive thinking, it is also very unlikely. Although it can definitely happen that a player beats the casino using a betting system, it is very unlikely that that was the only reason that they won, because if it was that easy then everyone would do it! Unfortunately, at the route of everything, gambling is games of chance and while you might be able to come up with certain strategies and systems to improve your odds, you won’t ever be able to change how the actual game works which is reliant solely on chance and whose odds are, unfortunately, stacked in the casino’s favour.
Despite all of that though, there are still more and more betting systems invented every year and lots of players still rely on older betting strategies as well. Players who use betting systems believe that it evens out the disparity between the player and the casino’s advantage, which to a certain extent could be true, but whether it is or isn’t, betting systems are definitely here to stay and will continue to be used by veteran players and newbies alike.
Do betting systems actually work?
The biggest misconception about betting systems is that they are a surefire way to always walk away with a profit, however, this is not always the case. Most betting strategies will only work short term and start failing the longer that you play. Depending on the duration of your play session, a betting system could help you or it could actually work against you.
It’s a sad truth to have to accept because we all want there to be a surefire way to beat the casino, but unfortunately, that is just not how it works. The reason for this is that most casino games (especially games like Roulette) are based purely on luck. Casino games usually require little to no strategy and it is extremely likely that someone placing bets randomly without any thought could do just as well, or even better, than someone strictly following a betting strategy, because it all literally comes down to luck at the end of the day!
For instance, many players will spend hours taking note of Roulette wheel outcomes in order to find a pattern, see hot or cold numbers, or algorithms to try and predict what will happen next, but a roulette wheel doesn’t have a memory bank which means that any previous outcomes will have absolutely no direct influence on what will come up next. The odds at a roulette table, no matter how many of its previous spins you monitored, will always stay exactly the same.
All of this being said, while there aren’t any betting systems that can guarantee a profit, there definitely are a few good ones which will certainly at least boost the odds of you winning for a short time.
Popular betting systems
As promised, here are two of the most popular betting systems for you to study and try for yourself if you want to see whether they really work. Both of the following methods are used for Roulette and I chose them because they have the least cons and are the easiest to follow compared to some of the more complicated betting systems out there.
The Whittaker Betting System
The Whittaker betting system is designed for making even chance bets on Roulette. Even chance bets are bets that basically have a 50% chance of winning and doubling your stake. For Roulette, even chance bets would be betting on red or black, odd or even, and low or high. The Whittaker betting system is a progressive negative betting system which means the player has to increase their bets when losing and return to their initial bet after every win.
The Method
To use The Whittaker, you have to decide on an initial stake and bet it twice (two losing rounds) on an even chance bet and then determine your next stake on the same even chance bet by adding the sum of your previous two stakes together. If you win, you start back at your initial stake until you have had two losing rounds in a row and then continue the cycle.
At the beginning of each cycle (the round after a winning bet) you can choose to change which even chance bet you are making – this can only be done on the first bet of a cycle and not during a cycle.
Here is a step by step example to help you understand it simply:
- I decide that my initial stake is $10 and I bet on black. I lose the round.
- I bet $10 on black again. I lose the round again.
- I now add my two previous losing bets ($10 + $10) and bet $20 on black again. I lose the round.
- I now add my two previous losing bets again ($20 + $10) and bet $30 on black again.
- If I lose the next round, my bet will have to be $50 ($30 + $20). If I win the next round, I will have to start again with my initial stake of $10 (and I can change my even chance bet from black to a different even chance bet if I wish.)
- The cycle continues.
TipEstablishing your initial stake amount is important, because if it is set too high then you will run out of money quickly (especially if you lose multiple rounds in a row) and if you set it too low, it will take a very long time to see any substantial profits. A good rule of thumb is to divide your total casino bankroll by 100 and use that number as your initial stake to start the cycle with.
The Whittaker: Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Helps with bankroll management | A losing streak can cause LARGE bets that you might not have bankroll to cover |
| Covers losses and provides profit short-term | Short term, not long term, betting system |
| Easy to put into practice |
Fast Double Bet Betting System
The Fast Double betting system is designed for Roulette and is basically a form of a parlay bet. A parlay bet is when a player leaves their winnings on the table from the previous bet to be their bet for the next spin. The ultimate goal of a parlay bet is to win compounded amounts of bets on every spin. The Fast Double Bet system requires you to perform a parlay bet while also having extra reserved funds on the table.
The Method
To start the Fast Double Bet system, you will need to bet on any of the even chance bets. For Roulette, even chance bets would be betting on red or black, odd or even, and low or high. This betting system is a type of progressive positive betting system which means the player has to increase their bets when winning and return to their initial bet after every loss or after three winning rounds.
At the beginning of each cycle (the round after a loss or after 3 winning bets) you can choose to change which even chance bet you are making – this can only be done on the first bet of a cycle and not during a cycle.
Here is a step by step example to help you understand it simply:
- On my first spin, I decided that my initial stake is $10 and bet $10 on black. I win the first spin.
- On my second spin, I bet my previous round’s winnings ($20) as well as an additional initial stake ($10), so I place $30 in total on black again. I won the second spin.
- For my third spin, I bet my previous round’s winnings ($60) as well as an additional initial stake ($10), so I place $70 in total on black again. I win the third spin.
- After three winning rounds, I now collect my winnings and return to my initial stake of $10 and repeat the cycle.
If I had lost during any of those spins, I would have stopped increasing my bet and started back at my initial stake of $10.
TipIf you have a really unlucky streak and lose for 20 consecutive rounds, you can adjust your initial stake to help you recoup some of your losses. If your initial stake was $10, after 20 losses, start the cycle with an initial stake of $20 instead. If you continue to lose another 20 rounds, then double your initial stake again to, in this case, $40. Keep doing this every 20 losing rounds.
If you win, still keep up with the higher initial stake until you have completely recovered your initial bankroll and then return to you low initial stake again.
Fast Double Bet: Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Only 3 rounds in a cycle so you won’t be stuck placing incredibly large bets | Losing streaks will add up quickly as bets are only raised after wins |
| Covers losses and provides profit short-term | Short term, not long term, betting system |
| Easy to put into practice |
In Conclusion
One may want to test out the waters, as it were, before delving too deeply into the deep end of the sea that is betting online; but guaranteed, once the betting system has been tried, one will come back and surely find their groove when it comes to playing and betting for pleasure. Simply put, expect fun & games to ensue, all you really need to do is dive right in!
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