Betting Progressions

Just what is a betting progression? A betting progression is a sequence of bets designed to improve the return above that of flat betting. Flat betting is betting the same bet hand after hand after hand. To progress ones bet, the bet will change from hand to hand. If the bet is increased during a winning series, it is called a positive progression. If your bet is increased during a losing series, it is called a negative progression. Let's look at a couple of examples:

Flat Betting:

Now let's look at the same series of wins using a simple positive betting progression. The progression is a simple 1-2-3 betting sequence. The first bet is $5.00, then if won, the next bet is $10.00. After this is won, the bet goes to $15.00. If the $15.00 bet is won, the player drops to 1 unit, or $5.00 and starts over, or flat bets until a loss occurs. So, here is the above winning series using the 1-2-3-1-1-1 betting progression.

Betting Progression:

This is an example of how the simplest betting progression works. As you can see, the winnings were almost double that of flat betting. Look at the above table and you will observe that if you win-lose-win-lose, you will be down $10.00 even though you won as many hands as you lost. This will happen occasionally. It is a condition known as being "Choppy." You can do something different, however, to combat the "choppiness", and that is to drop your bet after the first win. A Blackjack author by the name of John Patrick came up with a betting sequence which became known as the New York System. The betting sequence starts out, in units, 2-1-2. This is a New York City area code, hence the name. The whole sequence is 2-1-2-3-3-4-5. If a unit is $5, then the sequence would be $10-$5-$10-$15-$15-$20-$25. So, after a $10 win, the player drops down to $5. During choppy play, you would win $10 then lose $5, Win $10, Lose $5. You would be ahead by 2 units, or $10, after a win-loss-win-loss. Patrick would bet 2 units after a loss until he won, and then start the sequence over again.

Other authors advocate never dropping ones bet during a winning series. One of the earliest authors, Mike Goodman had a very good system as early as 1963. So as you can see, progressive betting has been around probably longer than card counting. He felt only a fool would drop his bet after winning, but there is a reason for it. I have played both ways and won both ways. In my book, Easy Blackjack for the Average Joe, I have 12 different betting sequences, three of which are unique to the book. The ones which are the basis for the book, E-Z Bet, were optimized mathematically to be the highest yielding betting sequences out there. I spend one chapter just comparing the different sequences mathematically.

Progressing ones bet when losing (negative progression) is generally believed to be risky. There was a sequence known as the Martingale which was crafted based on the losing series ending and when it did, you would win back all you had lost plus your original bet. Here's how it goes, in units: 1-2-4-8-16-32-64-128-256-512. So, if you lose your one unit bet, make the next bet two units. If you win, you are up by one unit. There are problems inherent with this system. First- you are going to risk a lot of money to win a little. If you lose five in a row, and this does happen, your next bet is going to be 32 units, or $160 using a $5 unit. So, you are going to risk $160 to end up with a $5 profit. If you are going to risk $160, it should be for $160 profit, not $5. Second- you will eventually run up to the table limit, if you have an unusually long losing streak. Although rare, losses of eight, nine or ten in a row do happen. Avoid using the Martingale in its pure form. It is dangerous. Things can go great for a while, then you have one of those long losing streaks, and you get locked in and can't get out without losing a load of money.

I do occasionally use a modification of the Martingale, limited in the number of negative progressions, and where in the sequence they are located. I include them in my book as well. I can't give them away or I wouldn't sell a book, but if you have the cajones, you can use a little negative progression to increase your winnings.

I hope I have convinced you that you can win more by using a betting progression than flat betting. You can! I also hope I have convinced you not to try the Martingale. It's trouble with a capital T. I also hope I showed you how easy it is to learn a betting sequence. It's as easy as 1-2-3. You can play Blackjack, have a few drinks, but not too many, enjoy yourself, play a sound Basic Strategy, and win a lot more sessions than you lose. So, try a simple betting progression and see how you do. If you want to see a dozen of them, purchase Easy Blackjack for the Average Joe, available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and Gamblers Book Shop.