Blackjack and Progressive Betting

Some blackjack players just can’t seem to get over the idea that progressive betting systems are the key to huge profits. So they go from the Martingale to Labouchere to D’Alembert system in hopes of finding the answer to guaranteed riches in blackjack. Unfortunately, the one major thing progressive bettors fail to realize is that varying bets doesn’t change the house edge from a general sense.

Assuming you’re not a card counter, but you use perfect basic blackjack strategy, you’ll be facing the same 0.5% edge no matter if you bet $10 or $50. This being said, it doesn’t really make sense to change up your bets based on some sequential system that doesn’t take all of the variables into account. Sure it might be fun to try a blackjack system once and a while, but in the end, it’s not going to influence the house edge at all.

Another point worth making about all of this is that progressive betting can be quite dangerous in regards to your bankroll. For example, if you go with an extreme negative progression like the Martingale where you double bets after every loss, there’s a very good chance you will go through your entire bankroll at some point. So you also have to think about the huge risk involved with progressive betting.

The one time where progressive betting can work in blackjack is with card counting. For example, when there are more 10-value cards and aces in the deck, you gain an advantage over the house. And if you make larger bets in these situations, you can win some major money over the long-term by progressively making wagers larger.

But once again, this is only in the case of card counting, and the vast majority of blackjack players are not skilled card counters. Instead, they merely use basic blackjack strategy in an attempt to lower the house edge down to 0.5%. And as we mentioned before, you don’t gain any advantage by making your bets larger or smaller from hand to hand. In fact, you might just be adding a lot more risk to the equation.