Table Games Progressive Betting System

Hello everyone, just a quick question for those of you who use the progressive betting system on table games.

I like playing double deck blackjack at Gold Coast for $5 a hand because it lets me run the system and retreat back to $5 if things get ugly.

If I've won two or three in a row and my bet us up to $20 and I push, I never know what to do. I could leave the $20 out there for the next hand, but technically my winning streak ended with the tie. So should I go back down to $5 and pocket the $15 so I have something to show for the mini-run?

Also to that end - switching games - when do you guys typically start pressing your craps bets? I usually play the pass line with odds and throw a come bet or two out there. I haven't been playing that long, just a couple years and it's still tough for me to identify what is a legitimate "roll" or what is just a nice little run.

 

First, NO BETTING SYSTEM CAN ELIMINATE THE HOUSE ADVANTAGE. With that out of the way, it's still fun to press and get lucky with some positive variance. For craps, I usually only press my place bets. Such as place 6,8 for $12 each. I will collect 2 wins before "going up one unit" which is $6 and usually stop when it gets to $30 on each number. If I keep hitting I may buy 4 or 10. Waiting until the 2nd hit to start pressing helps me pace myself instead of getting wiped out by a point 7 out.

 

I actually use a very similar Progressive System in both BJ and Craps.

If I win two hands or make two points in a row I double my base bet. Win two more then double again, as soon as I lose I retreat back to my base bet.

Real life example:

BJ -

Bet $10 - win ($10 total profit)
Bet $10 - win ($20 total profit)
Bet $20 - win ($40 total profit)
Bet $20 - win ($60 total profit)
Bet $40 - lose ($20 total profit)
Bet $10

Craps -

Bet $5 pass line - make point
Bet $5 pass line - make point
Bet $10 pass line - make point
Bet $10 pass line - make point
Bet $20 pass line - make point
Bet $20 pass line - Craps out
Bet $5 pass line

 

So are you playing max odds which are married to those $5/$10/$20 bets abrown??

I don't use a progressive system but if I'm on a table that is not the straight 3-4-5 odds table, the way I try to increase my bets when the table is hot is 1 more come bets and 2.) increase the amount of odds

 

If I am playing at Casino Royale then I double my odds and not my pass line starting at 5x and going up from there. If I max out, for example at $3 where you can only go 20x, then I start upping my pass line.

I just bet 6 and 8 place bets doubling as I double my pass/odds bets.

 

Blackjack -- go with your gut. When it's me, I will let it ride with a push on 4x my initial unit. If I get to 10 units, I may chicken out some and pull a couple off. I may get the feeling the run is over. But not a lot. I keep enough going that I don't feel bad if the run continues.

Craps -- I press something on every win, especially when I'm above my buyin. When I get two units spread across, I switch to come bets with double odds (a three unit come bet pays more than a three unit place bet). As I get most of the numbers covered I will press my odds.

Bottom line -- press on every win. Go back to one unit on a loss.

 

Good stuff guys!

 

In blackjack, I press approximately 50% of my winning hands and double when it's mathematically correct. I always go back to the table minimum after a losing hand.

I had an older dealer tell me that in all the years he'd been dealing, he'd never seen anyone walk away with a large win unless they played some kind of progressive betting system.

 

Every now and then I will use a pure Martingale playing blackjack. Pushing a hand is like the hand did not happen. In your example, I would leave the $20 out there, until a win/loss result happened.

As has been said, no system will beat the house, but systems are no worse than flat betting. More volatile of course, but not a higher, or lower, house edge. They are just another way to play. And if you are willing to pay the entertainment "cost" there is no harm in using them.

 

This is most evident at dice. The shooter is betting $5 pass with no odds or other bets. Rolls for 1 hour. Racks $50 profit.

It should be stated that pressing bets increases your money at risk. With a higher bet you can win more or lose more (vs racking the wins instead of pressing gives you more ammo for future hands). If you want to play for long periods, flat betting is the way. If you want score big, press hard and press often. The downside of flat betting is that you never win a lot. Downside of hard pressing is you can flame out very quickly. That being said, flat betting is incredibly boring. Why work 9-5 when you can hit the lotto!

edit: Forgot to chime on on OP's question. I always reset to base bet after any loss. As a dice player, I stick to my starting spread of bets even if I'm up a lot. The dice don't care if you just tripled your buy in on the previous hand. I like to play as long as I can but I also want to win big. Pressing hard and resetting on a sevenout lets me do that. On the last day of my trip, I will push my starting action higher if I'm even or up on the trip.

 

I am an aggressive bettor.

Mainly a dice player I like to go all the way across a lot of the time. Once I have hit enough to cover my outlay then it is on. I will always press at least one unit but many times I will press two. Once the hot roll comes along I am raking in the profits. If the shooter sevens out then I will reset to my normal beginning bets.

When I am playing blackjack I will start pressing almost immediately. I will rack a few wins (maybe three or four) and then start getting aggressive. If I am playing $50 I will rack a green and press a green and keep going like that. Once I get to the $150 level it is rack two greens and press a black.

 

Is it wrong that I started laughing hysterically the second I read the word "system?"

 

Everyone has a system. Flat betting is a system.

But I agree you need to laugh when someone says, "I have a system ...that can beat the house."

 

Yes, I would agree: the OP didn't imply they had a "system" for beating the house and defeating the game's edge, but was instead asking about when using a progressive betting pattern what the board thought they should do if, on the third bet, they get a push - the bet where normally on a win they would pull the winnings back and start over in their progression, but because it was a push should they leave the bet out there? or still pull it back and take the smaller win and start over instead of risking it?

 

Substitute the word "strategy". It's a legitimate question.

 

One betting system works in blackjack:
"Bet one for bad, two for good" - Charlie Babbit to his brother Raymond.

 

I primarily play blackjack and use a progressive betting strategy. I keep my bet at the current level on a push, but will drop back down to my base bet on a split push (i.e. win one hand / lose one hand)

I am also an occasional craps player and have not really figured out a pressing strategy that I am comfortable with.

 

Bingo. I have no surefire systems or I wouldn't be in this office at 10am on a Monday in July! We all know the casino has an advantage on everything the second you walk in the tinted doors. My goal has always been to #1 put myself in a spot where that advantage is the smallest it can be and #2 take advantage of any standard deviation, or "run."

I'm not out to bust the place for thousands, but I want to win. And in a game as streaky as blackjack can be, I want to take advantage of any good run that comes my way. Whether I leave the table up $20 or $200 a win is a win!

With that said, here's another interesting spin. We've all been told never to leave a hot table. But when do you guys/girls decide to colour up? I usually kick out of a table when I've made 50 percent of my buy-in. A few weeks ago we were playing craps at the Quad and I made the tough decision to stop playing when I'd made $105 on my $100 buy-in. There were no signs of the dice "cooling", nor did they bring in new dice, change the chips, etc. I just thought it was a nice, round number and wanted to walk away with a 100 percent win.

 

Of course you never want to leave a hot table but the problem is that you do not know in advance when the table will cool. If you wait for the table to be cold before leaving you gave back potentially a lot of your winnings. So I would say you did what everyone should do. Leave when you are happy to leave. Good job by you.

As for betting progression in craps I like to go up after I have recouped most of my outlay on a particular roller. When I start going up I like to go up about 20-30% per win. For example my progression on a placed 6 or 8 would look something like 18-18-24-30-36-48-60-72-90-120-150-180, etc. 4,5,9,10 progression is more aggressive. My progression is not as aggressive as some but it still gets me up there on a hot roll.

 

I never set a win ceiling, but I continue to reset a win "floor". To use your example, I would make my floor $100. That is, I would not take my chip stack below $200 (buyin + win). If the cards or dice continue to be hot, I would rest the floor to $250. Then $300. Then $400, and continue on $100 increments.

Or, put green chip wins in my pocket and play until the stack is empty.

It's a good problem to have.