Betting systems are rigid betting strategies that are designed to defeat the house advantage of various casino gambling games. The goal behind betting systems is to pick bets and size them in a way that beats the casino at its own game. Hundreds of betting systems have been developed over the years, but they all have one thing in common:
Betting systems do not work.
If I had to guess, I would guess that you’ve probably already heard that before. In fact, I would be willing to guess that even most of the people who do try betting systems or who pay money for “secret” betting systems have heard that before too. But, they still fall for the same old empty promises anyways.
Something about the way the human mind is constructed makes us all susceptible to the big promises made by betting systems. The explanations of many betting systems sound completely plausible at first. For example, the Martingale betting system is one of the best at deceiving us.
The Martingale betting system uses a simple approach: double your wager if you lose your bet. Keep doing this until you win. A simple leap in logic from there leads us to the conclusion that if you use the Martingale system, you will never end the day on a losing note. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that in actual practice.
Betting Systems Debunked
The problem with betting systems is that they do not change the inherent house advantage that is present in all casino games. The very rules of every casino game are designed to give the house a slight advantage over the long run. The house advantage isn’t very high, but it’s enough for the house to turn a tidy profit every year.
Betting systems do not change the rules of the game and therefore cannot change the built in house advantage. Additionally, betting systems cannot take advantage of “lucky streaks” to help you win more money when luck is on your side. Lucky streaks are merely an invention that gamblers make in their minds after the fact.
This idea of lucky streaks is a good example of “gambler’s fallacy.” The gambler’s fallacy is the belief that past events have some impact on future events. For example, a player may feel like he is on a lucky streak because he has won the last three bets in a row. Therefore, his betting system may tell him to increase his bet sizes because he is on a lucky streak.
In actuality, every event in a casino game is a completely random, independent event. It doesn’t matter how many times you have won or lost in the past 20 minutes, and it doesn’t mater if the roulette ball has landed on black the last five spins straight. The next outcome is still a completely random event.
Gambler’s Fallacy Example
The coin-flip example most clearly demonstrates gambler’s fallacy. Let’s pretend you and a friend are flipping a coin and betting money on the outcome. Now let’s say that the coin has landed on heads the last ten times in a row. At this point, many people would feel like the coin is “due” to land on tails eventually. They may even feel that the coin is slightly more likely to land on tail than it is on heads.
Actually, the coin is equally likely to land on heads or tails no matter what has happened in the past. Even if the coin has landed on heads for the last hundred trials in a row, the next flip is still a 50/50 shot.
In real life, you would probably demand a new coin or have someone else start flipping the coin. But hopefully this example shows the point I’m trying to make. In a highly controlled casino environment, you can rest assured the games are all fair. No matter what you see in the short term, it has absolutely zero affect on the outcome of the next bet.
Common Sense vs. Betting Systems
One of the easiest ways to debunk the existence of winning betting systems is to simply use a little cold, hard common sense. Casinos have been in business for hundreds of years and they still offer the same games with the same rules. If there were any winning betting systems out there, wouldn’t the casinos have changed the rules or gotten new games at some point?
Even with all the geniuses in the world, mathematicians who have proven insanely complicated theories, scientists who have sent people to the moon and the very people who created gambling games in the first place, we have yet to see concrete evidence of a winning betting system.
Furthermore, does it really make sense that someone with a proven betting system would sell their secret on the internet for $20 a pop? Of course not. Who would sell a winning betting system online when they can win way more money putting the system to use? The only guaranteed money people make with betting systems is by selling them.
I’ve even seen some salesman claim that they are releasing this new top-secret betting system out of the goodness of their heart, or because they want to teach the evil casinos a lesson. The only reason they are charging $39.99 is to cover the fees of printing the system. If you fall for that one, well, I guess you’re the target market for these salesmen.
Are there any advantages at all?
Despite this thorough debunking of gambling betting systems, I actually do believe they offer a couple of advantages. However, I placed this section last for a reason – it is important that you understand the limitations of betting systems before you attempt to implement them in your own game.
One advantage of betting systems is that they can be a fun way to change things up at the casino. If you’re unsure of which bets to place or just want to try something new, there’s nothing wrong with using a betting system to determine your bets. Just remember that no matter what your betting system says to do, do not ever wager more money than you planned on wagering.
Some betting systems tell you to stop after you have won a certain amount of money. That in itself can be an advantage. If you happen to reach a certain level in winnings, quitting is probably a good idea. Take your money home before the odds catch up with you.
As long as you view betting systems as a harmless way to change things up, there’s nothing wrong with giving them a try. But it is important that you don’t get carried away with any betting system. Set limits on how long you plan on gambling, set win limits, set loss limits and set betting limits. Those limits are far more important than anything your betting system tells you to do.