Advanced Progression Systems

The advanced systems differ from the intermediate systems by being multi-level or multi-phase.  They are more complicated and would be more useful to the professional Blackjack player.  They are hard to evaluate for profitability using my simple mathematical formula.  They are included for completeness, but not recommended for the beginning average Joe.

Advanced System #1

The first advanced system to discuss was created by Richard Harvey.  He calls it the 3-Level, Notch-Up, Notch-Down Bet Management System.  Level One is a 1-2-3 system where one unit is the basic bet.  Should you win all three bets, it’s time to notch up to Level Two.  Level Two increases the base bet to two units, so it is a 2-3-4 system.  In both levels if you lose, you drop to the basic bet for that level.  Should you lose again (two in a row) in Level Two you drop down to Level One, base bet.  Then as you win, begin progressing through the system again.  However, if you continue to lose, stay at the one unit level until things improve.  Level Three is a 3-4-5-unit system.  When in Level Two, should you progress to and win the four-unit bet, and the table seems very “player friendly,” go to Level Three.  Begin with a three-unit basic bet and go through the system.  If you lose one bet, go to your three unit basic bet for this level.  If you lose two in a row, drop back to Level Two, basic bet.  I am going to try to diagram the system because it is somewhat complex.

1-2-3 (if you win) 2-3-4 (if you win) 3-4-5

Level One           Level Two        Level Three

There is a built-in drop down after the third win, so it would act like the regression in John Patrick's New York system.  This lock in bet assures a winning series, so, it is a very smart thing to do.  This could be incorporated into any 123 betting progression with success.

Should you like an in depth explanation of this system, purchase the book Blackjack The Smart Way (1999).  It is well written and is another book you need in your library. Harvey gives some very practical information about some of the more controversial situations you encounter.  His information on card observation needs to be read by everyone who plays.  I have used it to my benefit when making a critical call on insurance, doubling, and hitting.

One thing to note is, with this advanced system, one does not always enter the sequence at 1 unit.  For instance, if you won five in a row, the next bet would be 4 units.  If lost, the bet to follow would be 2 units, which is the basic unit for that level.  If you only lose the 4-unit bet and win the 2-unit bet, you would start the next winning series there, rather than at one unit.  The next series would look like the following:

2 - 3 - 4 - 3 - 4 - 5 …   


Advanced System #2

Jerry Patterson in Blackjack A Winner’s Handbook (2001) created a four-phase system called Takedown.  The first phase is called Table Evaluation.  In this phase, as the name implies, the table is evaluated for its dealer or player bias.  This can be a brief evaluation but buy in with ten units, have a stop-loss of six units, and play the table minimum.  If you win two of three hands and the dealer breaks one of these, you may proceed to phase two.

Phase two is called Buildup.  During this phase you work your way up from one to five units per level.  The system uses a flat bet until three units are won at that level.  Starting with one-unit bets, flat bet until you have won three units.  They do not have to be consecutive wins and probably won’t be.  Once you’re three units ahead, go to level two with a two unit flat bet.  Again bet flat until you are ahead three bets or in this case, six units.  This is carried through five levels, to a five-unit bet, with the goal of winning three bets per level.  Once all five levels are achieved, you can go to phase three.  When a loss occurs during Buildup, drop down a level and stay there for one hand.  If you win, then go back up.  If you lose a second in a row, place one more bet at the lower of the two levels.  Should you lose, abort the sequence and leave the table or start again at level one.  So, three losses in a row triggers stopping play.  This preserves the winnings from the previous levels so you leave the table a winner.

Phase three is called Score.  Patterson feels if you have gotten this far then you are at a great table and you should cash in, or, as my dad says, “make hay while the sun shines.”  He introduces a progression system based on the Fibonacci Sequence.  Fibonacci was a mathematician in the Middle Ages who came up with a series of numbers called the Fibonacci Sequence.  The numbers are one, two, three, five, eight, thirteen, twenty-one… Each number is the sum of the two prior numbers.  Patterson suggests you set aside twenty units for this sequence.  Starting with one unit, if you win, bet two.  If you win, bet three, and on and on.  If you lose, move back two levels to get your next bet.  Lose two and go back to one unit.

The final phase is called Takedown, which stops you from losing back more than a third of your profits from phase three.  You simply divide the chips into one third and two thirds.  Play with the one third and when they are gone it’s time to go.  If you keep winning, put aside 2/3 of the winnings and add one third to your playing pile.  This way you restrict your losses during Takedown to 1/3 of your total.

Phase two, Buildup, is flat betting at five different levels.  Once 3 bets at one level have been won, you then move up a level and win three more, move up and so forth.  The goal is to win 3 bets at each of the five levels.  If you lose, drop down a level - say from 3 units to 2 units.  Win at that level and go back up.  Lose a second time, place a second bet at the lower level.  Lose this one and quit the table or start over at level one.

Advanced System #3

Frits Dunki-Jacobs in Betting on Blackjack, 2004, reveals his advanced system called the Current Loss Balance Betting Strategy.  It requires an explanation too lengthy for this overview.  So, I refer you to his book.  It does require you to use a negative progression through four bets, but as I have proven, the losses are no more with a limited negative progression(see Will you lose more using a limited negative progression).  

Advanced System #4

The next advanced system is from The Most Powerful Blackjack Manual, 2004, by Jay Moore.  He calls it Delayed and Up.  As with #3 above, this method is too complicated to explain here, and it sells books, so if you are curious, check it out.  I got mine at Barnes and Noble, but I'm sure any bookstore can order it.  It also has a negative progression as a major component.  There are a lot of similarities between my EZ Bet system and his.  The book is excellent and the system, or method, looks promising.

Advanced System #5

The final method, as he prefers it to be called, is The Big Secret.  It is found in Powerful Profits from Blackjack, by Victor Royer.  He explains it pretty well, and I will let you check it out in the bookstore.  It doesn't involve a negative progression, but I'll let Victor do the explaining.

If I were to use any of the above systems, I would probably use Jay Moore's method.  My reason is simply that it is a lot like my system, so I know it will work.  The first two methods have safeguards to prevent you from losing your profits back when a losing streak occurs, but I have only used them on paper and not with chips.