Sports Then and Now

You might think that you don’t really need to think about the different types of betting that people use in blackjack; after all, you’ll win if you beat the dealer and lose if the dealer beats you. That’s really what’s at the heart of the game when you play at Slotzo. However, there are, perhaps surprisingly, different types of bets that people can use to enhance their fun while playing. We’ve paid out some of the most popular below. Remember, as with every type of gambling there is no guarantee that you will win using any of these methods, and it is a good idea to only bet with money you can afford to lose. 

Flat Betting

When you try flat betting it means you are betting the same amount for every hand, no matter what else might be happening. There are both benefits and disadvantages to this strategy, and it is down to each individual player to determine which is the best option for them. 

The first benefit is that you won’t lose a huge amount over the course of the game. If you be £5 on every hand with the house edge of 0.5 percent (which is usual) then you will break even or make a small profit if you win more than you lose over time. The disadvantage is that small profit – it really will be small. So although you won’t lose much, you won’t win much either. 

This strategy is perfect for those who want to play the game and enjoy the thrill of trying to beat the dealer, but who aren’t overly fussed about whether or not they make any money. Perhaps, if the option were open to them, they wouldn’t make a bet at all but would just play for the fun of it. This won’t suit every player, so if you are the type who wants to try to make a profit, a different method of betting might work better for you. 

Progressive Betting

If flat betting meant keeping the wager the same for each hand and therefore neither really losing or winning (even if you lose or win), progressive betting is something else entirely; this, as the name suggests, is the type of betting that means your wager changes on each hand. 

There are different progressions that you can look into using, each one with a strategy of its own, but the thing they all have in common is that they will either increase or decrease on each hand. How you determine which direction to go in, either up or down, will depend on the strategy that you are using. Some players, for example, will decrease their wager when they are losing and increase it when they are winning. Of course, there is no basis in logic for this move, and it is essentially random, but it means they know what they will do each time and not hold up the game trying to decide on their wager. 

The two main options are: 

·         Increasing your bets when you lose a hand. Every time you lose, you make your wager higher in the hopes (and of course there are no promises because it’s a game of chance) of winning back what you lost and then some.

·         Increasing your bets when you win a hand. Alternatively, you can do the opposite. Again, since this is a game of chance there is no reasoning that will make you win just because you are betting more, but the idea is that you will continue to win and actually make a profit which, thanks to the low house edge, can be hard to achieve in blackjack. 

Both of these systems have their pros and cons. If you choose to increase your bets when you lose then, if you do win, you will recoup your losses and not be out of pocket. Yet a ‘losing streak’ can become expensive and you’ll have to keep paying in until you win again. What if you run out of money first? 

If you choose to increase your bets when you’re winning you could come away with a large profit because you’re not only beating the dealer but you’re doing so with a larger stake. Yet overall, on the basis of playing the same number of games as you would if you were flat betting, you’ll actually lose more money on the balance of probabilities. 

The Martingale System

Known to be one of the oldest betting systems in the world, if you use the Martingale System you will be doubling your bet every time you lose. The idea behind this is that losing won’t last forever, and eventually you will win, and when you do you’ll have a large profit to take away from it. 

It sounds like a good plan – almost as though you can’t lose. Yet there is a risk. Since you are doubling your money each time, you will run out much more quickly than if you were to simply increase your bet by a set amount as detailed above. You might lose everything you brought with you to bet with before the win comes. If there is a table limit, you might have to stop using the system, and that can be problematic too, reducing your profit when it comes. 

The Martingale System is a good short term way to make a loss pay, but if you plan to use it long term it carries much more risk than it does reward, no matter how high the stakes finally get. 

If you are considering using the Martingale System on your next game of blackjack then it’s wise to ask yourself a question. Ask yourself whether you’ll lose a larger amount of money than you normally would in exchange for making your chances of winning that much higher. If the answer is yes, it’s probably best to use a different method. If no, then the Martingale System could well be ideal for you. 

Whatever you choose, the chances of winning and losing stay the same, and there is no promise that just because you’ve lost a lot (or won a lot) that streak will continue, or change. The cards are shuffled each game, and nothing that went before makes any difference to the present.