If you’re serious about becoming a great blackjack player, you’ll want to learn a system or two.
While you don’t have much power over the game, or the outcome of each round, you do have power over the play you put down. So, by playing tactically, you may have a better time at the blackjack table.
Here you’ll find a useful guide to blackjack systems, the most common systems that blackjack players swear by, and why you should include them in your play.
Blackjack Bankroll Management: What Is It?
A blackjack system can help players in multiple ways. Some claim to fight the house edge, but they mostly limit losses and can bring out a slight advantage in short-term play.
A system guarantees a predictable structure in what is an ultimately unpredictable game. If you decide on random play values and change them a lot throughout your session, then you may open yourself up to more losses. With a system, you can think less about the chips and more about enjoying the game.
With a bankroll management system you can play in a more orderly fashion – there will be a main philosophy or specific set of actions for you to follow, in order to keep you safe and/or get the best results possible.
Related Posts:
Why Do Blackjack Systems Matter?
Many players swear by systems and bankroll management for a reason – they can help you at the blackjack table.
The exact benefits vary, depending on what kind of player you are. If you’re a more aggressive player looking for wins, then these kind of systems can help in the short-term, though luck is still a huge component there.
If you’re more casual, then you just want to experience the game and have a good time. In that case, using a bankroll management system keeps you in the game for longer. More time at the table can translate into a more enjoyable experience.
How Do Blackjack Systems Work?
Systems dictate how much you play on each round, so they work fairly similarly across different casino games. For blackjack, you already know that you decide on a play amount for each fresh hand you’re dealt.
Blackjack bankroll management systems also focus a lot on streaks – you increase or decrease your play in response to prior wins and losses.
The idea here is that you can recover a losing streak while keeping your plays restricted. That way, you won’t get carried away after a winning streak either. A system provides a great framework that you can use to keep parts of the game predictable and ride out emotional highs and lows.
Related Posts:
Progressive VS Non-Progressive Blackjack Systems
There are two different types of blackjack systems – progressive and non-progressive. It’s more common to see non-progressive systems described as flat play systems. This means your play stays the same for your session, never responding to the action of the game.
Most systems are progressive, so the play amount reacts to the game as described above. These systems can be further split into positive and negative progression systems. Positive progression systems increase the play after each win, so it’s targeting those so-called winning streaks. Negative progression is more about recovering losses, so you increase the play after a loss instead.
The Most Common Blackjack Systems
Now that you have basic knowledge of bankroll management systems, let’s look at the specific ones that blackjack players use.
Martingale
The Martingale system is the most common negative progression system used in the casino.
That’s because it keeps things simple – you double your play after each loss. That way, a follow-up win would recoup the prior loss. It can help you recover from a losing streak, but there’s always a chance that a streak can outpace your bankroll.
As such, it’s better to have a larger bankroll if trying Martingale.
Paroli
The Paroli system is the polar opposite of Martingale. Here, players double their play after every win, instead of every loss.
All profit goes into the next play, with the assumption that a win streak could be even more rewarding. This can put immense pressure on your bankroll and quickly reach the table limits. To combat this, and potentially claim profits from a streak, a lot of Paroli users will restart after three consecutive wins.
Much like the Martingale system, Paroli assumes that wins and losses come in identifiable streaks – that often isn’t the case, and players should be wary when depending on them. You may see this system called the ‘reverse Martingale’ instead.
Fibonacci
Alongside the Paroli system, the Fibonacci is the most common positive progression system.
With this technique, you increase your play in accordance with the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.) that’s commonly found in nature and mathematics. Every new play is the sum of the two that came before it. Losses reset the whole sequence. The Fibonacci’s biggest advantage is that it doesn’t double your play, like Martingale or Paroli, so your play won’t balloon so quickly.
However, it’ll take around five winning hands in a row to see meaningful profit. It’s also possible to use the Fibonacci system with negative progression, too.
1-3-2-6
Another sequential strategy is the 1-3-2-6 system. This is where you decide on a play amount and then use those four numbers to guide you, increasing the play with every win.
Note that the numbers here correspond to units, not your actual play. So, if your unit is 5, then your sequence would be 5, 15, 10, 30. Once the sequence has run its course, you start over. Assigning units is a great bankroll technique, and this method avoids the long, bloated Fibonacci sequence.
Its biggest downside is its restrictiveness – it demands rigid adherence and restarting the sequence after 6, no matter what.
Flat
The flat system ditches play progression altogether, as already mentioned earlier in this guide.
By keeping the play the same, it becomes much easier to control your bankroll and anticipate how many rounds you can get out of it. Another big advantage is that you don’t need to worry about sequences or other distractions that could take away from your enjoyment of the game.
Conversely, some players may find gameplay less exciting if the play is the same for every hand.
Labouchere
The Labouchere system is one of the more complex blackjack systems, but it’s also one of the most flexible.
It can be applied with a positive or negative progression, and only asks that you keep a string of numbers in your head. For simplicity, the numbers chosen will be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The first and last numbers in this sequence add up to your play – 7 in this case – and the hand will either result in a win or a loss. If it’s a win, you strike 1 and 6 from the sequence and move onto the next pair, 2 and 5. If it’s a loss, you add 7 to your sequence and use it for the next hand. It gives you a lot of freedom, but you need to memorize your chosen sequence to be quick and effective when playing.
If you’re lucky enough to remove all the numbers in the sequence, start again.
Oscar’s Grind
Oscar’s Grind is a stop-and-start positive progression system where you increase with wins and pause on losses.
If you start with a unit of 5, then lose, you’ll still put 5 chips down for the next hand. If you win, you add another unit to make 10. If you lose, you still play 10. Then, if you win, you add yet another unit to make 15. The goal is to achieve one unit of profit before resetting, so a consecutive win is needed for this example.
Real gameplay won’t have such a simple win-loss-win-loss pattern, so even more consecutive wins may be necessary to recoup losses and get that unit of profit. A larger bankroll may be needed to ride out repeated losses.
Tips for Using a Blackjack System
Those seven systems cover the overwhelming majority of blackjack tacticians out there. Now it’s your turn to pick one, learn it, and see what it can do for you at the table. Before you do that, there are some extra tips that you’ll want to keep in mind, no matter which blackjack system you pick.
- Take the time to properly learn whichever technique you’ve chosen. Thanks to online casinos, you can play a blackjack simulation in demo mode until you get confident enough to play for real. Learning a system isn’t just about how much you know, it’s also about how fast you can recall the information. If you delay the game to do math in your head, then you won’t be popular at the table and you’ll have a less enjoyable experience.
- Reinforce your system with goals and limits. Some systems have a goal built in, like Oscar’s Grind, where you stop the current system after making one unit of profit. Then you can start another round or walk away. You should set your own goal for when the session will end – either a time limit or a target that you can reasonably hit, with a little luck on your side. Remember that the house edge still exists, so short burst sessions are often more fruitful than long ones. As for limits, those will be your typical loss limits discussed in the bankroll section. Set a number and, if you lose that much in a given session, end it prematurely.
- Keep the natural limitations of the game in mind. Blackjack tables have play limits, so a system like Paroli (or any positive progression system) can quickly hit that limit and make it impossible to recoup some losses. Similarly, pay attention to how strict your chosen system is. Some require very strict obedience (1-3-2-6, flat) while others (Labouchere, Oscar’s Grind) give you a lot of freedom. More freedom means you can switch up your strategy, change play amounts, and adjust to fit a growing or shrinking bankroll.
Conclusion
That’s everything you need to know to get started with some of blackjack’s more sophisticated playing systems.
While there are many different systems to choose from, it’s recommended learning one or two that work for you. With this guide, you should find it easier to choose the best blackjack bankroll management system that matches your needs, making your time at the table more exciting.
If you want to go deeper into blackjack or find social casino guides for other games, there are a lot more resources here at the McLuck Blog. Find them and start enjoying all the best social casino games at McLuck!
FAQ
What is the best system for blackjack?
No one system is objectively better than another, but it’s undeniable that some are more popular than others. Martingale and Fibonacci are the most popular, but the best system for you is always determined by your bankroll, tolerance for loss streaks, and ability to remember and execute the strategy.
Can a blackjack bankroll management strategy beat house edge?
No system can beat the house edge. That said, one of the more demanding and famous blackjack techniques is card counting. This can sway the house edge, if done right, but casinos reserve the right to stop you from playing if they suspect you.
What is statistically the best way to play blackjack?
If playing the statistically best round of blackjack is the goal, then you’ll want to consult and learn blackjack strategy charts. These are different from systems; they visualize every possible move in a blackjack game (hit, stand, double down, split) and recommend the best move based on probability. It theoretically gives you the best chance of winning, but since it’s all based on luck, even the ‘correct’ choice to hit or stand could still result in a loss.
