For as long as gambling has been around, people have been trying to find a way to make a profit. This is how all the online betting strategies were created. Gamblers made them in the hopes that one of these strategies will help them win. However, casino games are mostly games of chance which means luck plays the biggest role. There is no strategy that will guarantee wins for you. However, using one will increase your chances of winning, whether you are playing for fun or not. It makes sense that there is no strategy that can beat the casino. If there were, casinos would have been a thing of the past. Instead, more and more online casinos are created every day. Online betting strategies were created so your chances of winning increase and prevent you from losing a lot of money.
All players can use these strategies, no matter if they are experienced casino players or beginners. There is a strategy out there for every type of player, all you need to do is find it. To help you find the right strategy for you, we are going to talk about the two types of strategies and the most common options out there. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about online betting strategies and how to find the right one for you.
Betting History
Betting strategies have been around as long as betting has existed. New ones appear all the time but the most popular option has been around for years. Before we talk about all the different online betting strategies that exist, there are two things we have to mention. The first one is the “Gambler’s Fallacy” which is a belief that was spread during the 20th century. The other thing is the “House Edge” which is an advantage that every casino game has over the player. Below, we will explain these terms.
Gambler’s Fallacy
Otherwise known as the Monte Carlo fallacy, the Gambler’s Fallacy is an inaccurate belief that began in the 20th century and still exists today. This belief suggests that the previous outcome in a casino game can influence the future outcome. It’s a belief that if a particular event occurs more frequently, it is less likely to happen in the future (or vice versa). Before we explain in detail, let’s make one thing certain – the Gambler’s Fallacy is completely wrong. Casino games are completely random, there is no way for players to predict the outcome.
For instance, imagine tossing a coin. It can only land on heads or tails, which means the chance of each outcome happening is 50/50. Both outcomes have an equal chance of happening and no one can predict the outcome. The coin can land on tails 10 times in a row and it still doesn’t mean that the 11th time will land on heads. The biggest example of why the Gambler’s Fallacy is wrong happened in 1913 in a Monte Carlo casino. It’s the reason why this belief is known as the Monte Carlo fallacy and why online betting strategies are needed. A lot of gamblers lost millions because they believed that after several times the ball landed on black, it was going to land on red.
However, as things in roulette are random, the ball landed on black 26 times in a row. Almost every person in that roulette game lost a lot of money waiting for red because they believed in something that was not true.
House Edge
Before we move on to the different types of online betting strategies, we need to discuss the house edge. This is a term that describes the mathematical advantage that the house, the casino, has over you. The house edge is the reason why at the end of the day, the casino always wins. You can get some massive wins while playing but if you keep playing for a long time, the casino will eventually edge you out.
The house edge is a feature that’s part of the game, it’s not set by the casino. For that reason, every game has a different house edge percentage. Different variants of the same game can have a different house edge. For instance, American roulette and European roulette have different house edges. The reason for that is because American roulette has a double zero slot (00) on the wheel. This is an extra slot which decreases the chances that the ball will land on the number that the player picked. That’s why the house edge in American roulette is 5.2632% while it’s only 2.7027% in American roulette.
In games like Baccarat, the house edge depends on what variant you are playing but also on what kind of bet you are making. The house edge will be different if you bet on the player or on the banker. It will also be different if the result is a tie. Baccarat games have a house edge that can be from 1.01% up to 15.75%. Keep in mind that a lower house edge means a bigger chance for the player to win.
Types of Online Betting Strategies
As we mentioned in the beginning, online betting strategies can be classified into several categories. However, most of them belong to two main groups. They can be progressive or non-progressive strategies depending on the betting method they use. Below, we will explain what’s the difference between progressive and non-progressive strategies. On top of that, we will mention the most popular strategies in the world and to which category they belong.
Progressive Online Betting Strategies
The strategies that are part of this category come with one requirement – adjusting the size of your stakes. Basically, a progressive online betting strategy asks you to increase or decrease your stake in every round, depending on the outcome of the previous round. The progression can be positive or negative and it depends on how you adjust the stakes.
A positive progression means that you increase your stakes when you win and you decrease them when you lose. Positive strategies are less risky because you decrease your stake every time you lose. So, if you go on a run of bad results, your stake will be very small, limiting the amount you lose. On the other hand, you keep increasing when you win thus maximizing your profits if you go on a winning streak.
On the other hand, negative online betting strategies ask you to increase your stake when you lose and reduce the stake when you win. Compared to the positive ones, there is more risk involved here. If you go on a long losing streak, it might cost you a lot of money. However, once you win, you will get all your losses back and make a little profit.
Keep in mind that both types of strategies only work on bets with even odds. You need to play a game where you get a 50/50 chance of winning or a progressive strategy won’t work. One such game is roulette, where there is a 50/50 chance that the ball will land on black or red. For that reason, progressive online betting strategies are mostly used in Roulette. However, these strategies can be used for pretty much every casino game with even chances of winning.
Most Popular Progressive Strategies
One of the most popular online betting strategies in the world is the Martingale Strategy. It belongs to the progressive group and is mostly used in roulette. This strategy asks the player to double his bet every time he loses. The progression restarts to the initial bet after you get a win. For instance, you bet 10-20-40-80-160-win-10, etc. This strategy suggests that even if you go on a long losing run, once you win, you will get your money back plus a little profit. In reality, it’s a bit more complicated because casino tables have a maximum bet limit and also the casino takes a percentage thanks to the house edge.
The Reverse Martingale works exactly opposite to the one above. With this strategy, you double the bet every time you win and once you lose, you go back to the original stake. There is less risk playing this way as you can’t lose a lot. However, just one loss will have you back at the beginning.
Next, we have the D’Alembert Strategy which is one of the online betting strategies with a negative progression, just like the Martingale. If you use this strategy, you need to increase your stake every time you lose. However, instead of doubling your stake, you just increase the base amount by one unit. Alternatively, when you lose, you don’t restart the progression but rather decrease your stake amount by one unit.
Last but not least, we have the Fibonacci Strategy. It’s another negative progression that works based on the Fibonacci sequence. This sequence starts at zero and then a one. Each number after that is a sum of the previous two numbers. So, the sequence looks something like this: 0-1-1-2-3-5-8-13-21-34, etc. In betting, players need to start at one and go to the next number in the sequence when they lose. When you win, you go back to two numbers in the sequence.
Non-Progressive Online Betting Strategies
Contrary to progressive strategies where you adjust the stake of the bet in every round, non-progressive strategy work in a different way. Most of them allow you to change the stake amount at random. These online betting strategies aim to increase your winnings by covering several betting options. Basically, they don’t focus only on even bets like the progressive strategies. With the non-progressive strategies, you keep the same betting amount, even though players sometimes include progression, for example doubling the bet after a win or loss, to increase their possible profit.
Most Popular Non-Progressive Strategies
The James Bond Strategy, as the name suggests was created after the famous agent 007, aka James Bond. In the books, he plays roulette and uses this strategy. It’s the most popular non-progressive strategy and it covers more than half the bets on the roulette table. Because of that, it helps in increasing the chances of getting wins in favour of the player. This is how the strategy looks:
- $14 on 19 – 36
- $5 on the Line bet 13-18
- $1 on 0
These bets cover half of the possible bets while betting only $20. These are the possible outcomes:
- If the ball lands on 19-36, you win $8
- If it lands on 13-18, you win $10
- On the small chance, it lands on 0, you win $16
- If the ball lands on 1-12, you lose $20
It’s important to note that you don’t have to pay $20 for each round. You can play any amount as long as you follow these rules:
- 70% of the stake on 19-36
- 25% of the stake on 13-18
- 5% of the stake on 0
It’s a very fun and easy strategy that doesn’t require large stakes. Leaving the table with a lot of profit is hard but you also can’t really lose a lot. There are players who use this strategy but also apply a progression to it. They increase their stakes every time they lose. It increases the risk but also the reward once you win.
Neighbouring Numbers Strategy
Last but not last, we have to mention the neighbouring numbers strategy when talking about online betting strategies. This strategy asks the player to split his bet over three or more neighboring numbers on the roulette wheel. To make it easier to understand, simply pick a number, place a bet on it, and then also bet on the numbers that are next to it. Since roulette is a game of luck and chance, this strategy theoretically increases your chances of winning. For instance, you picked number 5 and the ball landed on 6 which means you lose. However, you were very close as the number was right next to yours.
If you use the neighboring numbers strategy such an outcome won’t happen because you also bet on the numbers next to 5 which include 4 and 6. This is a very simple strategy that largely depends on your luck. However, if you get it right, your winnings will be higher because single numbers have much higher odds than betting on red/black or odd/even.