Managing your bankroll at the online casino

A disciplined and skillful handling of your bankroll is enormously important for online casino players. Gambling on the Internet can easily become an addiction that can lead to financial ruin. With a reasonable approach, however, this is quite avoidable, and gambling is much more fun when you are not "betting the farm".

First, you should set yourself a monthly limit - an amount you can afford to lose. Calculate how much money is left after taking into acount your net salary, rent and costs for living expenses.

Determine how many "sessions" per month you want to play at the online casino, then divide the monthly amount at your disposal by the number of sessions. Now you have a limit per session - stop the session when you lose this amount!

Similarly, it is important to set a goal before each session, in the form of an amount you want to win before stopping. Let's say you get started with $50 - here it would be advisable, for example, to stop gambling as soon as you have accumulated $150. After all, you have won enough to play with "house money" during the next two sessions!

Bankroll Management example for Blackjack

A strategy that has always worked nicely for me is the 5% principle. Suppose I get into the session with $100. Then I would divide the $100 by 20, and thus play with $5 a hand. When I am winning, I adjust my standard bet after some time, for example, if I had gone up to $200, I would choose to play $10 hands from that point on. But here, too, I always have a target in mind and if I reach it, I would log in my winnings and leave.

Bear in mind that you can always lose at the online casino - it is called gambling for a reason after all! But the real fun starts when you have the strength to quit after you have made a small profit. The feeling of having beaten the casino is simply great. If you are able to muster the discipline to stop in time when you are winning, you will also have the strength not to fall prey to a gambling addiction!

Betting Systems In Blackjack

BlackJack just as about any other casino game, features a house edge. As people are competitive, or probably just looking for an easy way to make a lot of money, there have been many trying to beat the casino by implementing different blackjack strategies. One is known to work mathematically – blackjack card counting. However, this article won't be about counting. This one will be about a strategy that is totally welcomed across casinos and is widely used among gamblers around the world. This article will be about blackjack betting systems !

A betting system is a mathematical progression of numbers or units. It's commonly known in the gambling world, as there are systems for roulette, slots and just about any other casino game. While most of these systems look good at the first glance, they actually don't really work longterm. No system can change the house edge, as each round of betting will feature edge for the casino.

To make use of betting systems even harder, casinos have implemented table limits. This is actually not the main reason for table limits, but it also makes using betting systems harder. You'll often won't be able to make a bet required by the system, just because betting limits won't let you to!

Martingale betting system

Martingale is one of the very first betting systems, that got popular. It's rumoured to have been invented in the 18^th century. Back then a game of coin-flipping was widely popular and Martingale was invented exactly for that reason. It advised that a gambler, who bet on the coin to land in a specific way, should double his bet size every time he lost. If he won, he just kept betting the same stake. Martingale betting system seemed like a sure thing for those, who advertised it. However, there were some things these advisors didn't think of. While a single coin-flip is a 50/50 to be either heads or tails, the chance of coin landing at heads or tails several times in a row is quite significant.

Advisors advertised the strategy as one, where it's impossible to loose. Surely, you'll eventually flip the side of a coin, you are betting at. However, a gambler would have to be wealthy. How wealthy – infinitive. You'd have to have an infinitive amount of money, in order to use Martingale as a sure thing.

How exactly does Martingale work?

Imagine a game of blackjack, where you are playing 1 box. You bet $5 and loose. According to Martingale, you now have to bet $10. Every time you loose, you have to double your stake. Once won, you can return to the starting bet of yours.

The d'Alembert betting system

The d'Alembert betting system was invented by Sir Jean De Lon d'Alembert. The system depends on the outcome of your last spin and is somewhat similar to Martingale one, by following a similar logic.

However, d'Alembert system advises to bet more when winning and less when loosing. This is exactly the opposite suggestion, compared to Martingale.

The system suggests, that after one type of an event has occurred, it's more likely that the other type will happen. If you lost the previous hand of blackjack, you are more likely to win the next one. This is obviously not the case and that's one of the main reasons why this system is flawed.

How does d'Alembert betting system work?

Imagine, that you are playing blackjack on 1 box at a casino. You bet $20 and loose, follow up by decreasing your bet and betting $10. Vice versa, if you bet $20 and win – bet $40 on the next hand.

Fibonacci betting system

The Fibonacci betting system, also called Fibonacci sequence, is a betting system that follows a sequence of numbers, which determine the stake you'll be wagering in the next betting rounds.

This betting system is designed in a less aggressive way, than other ones like Martingale. Instead of doubling your stake, you'll be increasing it by a few units. By using Fibonacci, you are less likely to hit betting limits or go broke. It should be noted, that it will also be harder to get your losses back, if you hit a bad streak.

A fibonacci sequence starts with numbers 0, 1 and you start by betting the sum of these two numbers – 1+0 = 1 unit. (You have to determine the size of 1 unit, before starting to use this system)

In case of loosing, you add the number of units, that you just bet. to the sequence. If you lost in the first hand of a sequence, you'd add 1 to the sequence and it would look like 0,1,1. Now you move on and bet 1+1= 2 units. In case of loosing, you add 2 to the sequence. If you win, cross out the amount of units, that was just bet.

The system ends when all the numbers are crossed out and you are left with a zero. If you win on the first try, start the system all over again.

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Exploring the Martingale System Roulette Strategy

The Martingale System has been around for a very long time dating back to the 18th Century. The Martingale System was developed back then for wagering on coin tosses but it would apply to any Even Money wagering proposition. It is most commonly used and associated with Roulette.

How Does The Martingale Roulette Strategy Work?

The premise of the Martingale System is actually very simple. You make your first wager on an even money proposition, like red and black or odd and even. If you win the bet then you make another bet of the same amount. If you lose the bet then your next wager would be for an amount that is double what the previous bet was for. As an example, if you initially wagered $5.00 and lost then the next bet would be for $10.00. Every time that you lose your wager you continue doubling your bet amount until you win. At that point you revert back to the original betting amount. If this process continues then you will come out ahead.

It Sounds Too Good. Is There a Flaw in the Martingale Roulette Strategy?

The Martingale System will work unless one of two possible outcomes occurs. Because the Martingale System requires that you continue to double your bet every time that you lose, and extended losing streak could cause the amount of the wager to become very high. One way that the Martingale System for Roulette will not work is if your next doubled bet exceeds the table maximum betting limit. The other way that the Martingale System could not work is if you have a long losing streak and the increasing size of the wagers that the system calls for causes you to go broke.

How Can I Improve My Chances With the Martingale Roulette Strategy?

There are a couple of things that you can do to improve your chances of winning with the Martingale Roulette System. The main thing that you can do if you play roulette only is to find a roulette game where there is a low table minimum bet and a large table maximum bet. The best place, if not the only place, to find this kind of situation is Online. Until you have built your bankroll up you will want to start out with the lowest bet amount that you can find. The more times that you can double the wager after losses, without exceeding the table maximum or your ability to cover the wager, the better that your chances of making the Martingale System work for you are.

Is There a Way to Guarantee That I Will Win at Roulette?

Unfortunately there are no absolute guarantees. If there were then it would not be called gambling. But while all casino games are structured with an advantage to the house, using good techniques and strategy can help to turn the odds more in your favor. Using the Martingale System with the suggestions in this article will most definitely improve your chances of winning. A way to get an even bigger advantage is to take advantage of some of the amazing casino bonus programs that are available for you on this site. Getting a Deposit Bonus and the many other ongoing promotional bonuses will play a big part in swinging the odds over in to your favor and in making you a winning Roulette player.

BlackJack is one of the most popular casino table games in the world. As with all the casino games, house features some kind of an edge and blackjack is not an exception. While you can't do anything to lower casino edge in most games, it's different with BlackJack. Shortly after the game was launched, some of the sharpest math minds noticed, that it's possible to change the casino edge by keeping track of cards. This is also known as card counting method and players are often referred to as advantage players. Keeping track of cards means noticing and counting the high or low value cards, that gets dealt. By doing this player gets a better idea about the amount of high-value cards left in the shuffle machine. It's suggested that a deck featuring large amount of high-value cards will benefit the player more, as there's a higher chance to hit BlackJack, which pays 3 to 2. Having a large amount of small cards (5s 6s etc.) benefits the dealer and hurts the players chances.

While there are many card counting systems on the market, the most commonly used one is the Hi-Lo system. This blackjack card counting system is based on assigning a different values to cards, that are dealt. The count starts at 0, when decks are shuffled. Each card dealt changes the current count by either +1/-1 or 0. Goal of card counting is to add a point value to each particular card, this way making a rough translation to the effect of cards removal. This effect is the exact calculation of changes into the house edge, by a single cards removal from the deck.

When using a Hi-Lo card counting system in blackjack, cards have the following values:

2s – 6s = value of +1

7s - 9s = value of 0

Ts – As = -1

So what's our takeaway on the card values offered? When the card count is highly into the positive, there are many high value cards in the deck, thus you have to bet higher. Vice versa, when the count is highly negative, it means, that many high value cards have been dealt. The chance of hitting a blackjack is way lower, so you shouldn't increase your bets. Instead, you should decrease them.

How much can you win counting cards?

A typical game of BlackJack in a casino will feature a house edge of roughly 0.48%, which is small compared to other casino games, such as roulette. This means, that for every $1000 wagered, you are expected to loose $4.8 . If you are a decent card counter, you'll be able to get an edge of 1% over the casino, which turns into an expected win of $10 for every $1000 wagered. Higher edges are also possible, but this depends on your skill level, variation of the game, hands dealt per hour and other factors.

BlackJack card counters are advised to have a large bankroll for playing. Normally, you'll be looking at a bankroll of 100-150 times the maximum bet allowed. There is no limit to the amount of money, you can win, while counting cards at blackjack. It all depends on the amounts of money, you are betting.

Is card counting illegal?

Card counting is not illegal, however, it's also closely watched by the casinos. No casino will allow card counters to play at a table. While it's not forbidden by law, casino has an opportunity to ban any player from entering their casino. There's also a casino blacklist, which most casinos have access to. Once you are on this list, you'll have a hard time entering any casino worldwide.

Casinos are spending huge amounts of money and time, in order to prevent card counters from being able to play. There are several systems and softwares implemented, to scan blackjack tables for possible card counting. Casinos are also taking some basic steps to make it harder for card counters, such as dealing while player is increasing his wager. Talking to a particular counter, to mess up with his mind is also one of the basic methods used.

Card Counting in a team.

Card counting in a team was implemented way back in the 70s. Ken Uston published a book on this very same topic in 1970. Book was based on Ken's experience, as he was working in a team, playing as the big player. Card counting by MIT students has also been visualised in a movie called ''21'', which is based on somewhat real life happenings.

Team counting includes a team of at least several people. It's divided in spotter players, who always play for the table minimum and big players, who as per they name – bet big.

Spotters are first ones to join a blackjack table, they keep a track of the count, but don't take advantage of it. When the deck gets hot (highly positive), the spotter signalises the big player and he then joins the table. A spotter says something unrelated, which is agreed before and specifies the current count. Based on that, big player makes a bet and now keeps a track of the current count. When the deck starts to cool off, he leaves. This is exactly the way, how many card counting teams stayed under the radar of casino card counting spotters and softwares. Several teams have won millions of dollars from the casinos over the years.

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Meta: An article about card counting in blackjack. Learn about blackjack card counting basics and card counting in a team.

Card counting at Blackjack

This is also known as card counting method and players are often referred to as advantage players. Keeping track of cards means noticing and counting the high or low value cards, that gets dealt. By doing this player gets a better idea about the amount of high-value cards left in the shuffle machine. It's suggested that a deck featuring large amount of high-value cards will benefit the player more, as there's a higher chance to hit BlackJack, which pays 3 to 2. Having a large amount of small cards (5s 6s etc.) benefits the dealer and hurts the players chances.

When using a Hi-Lo card counting system in blackjack, cards have the following values:
2s – 6s = value of +1
7s - 9s = value of 0
Ts – As = -1

So what's our takeaway on the card values offered? When the card count is highly into the positive, there are many high value cards in the deck, thus you have to bet higher. Vice versa, when the count is highly negative, it means, that many high value cards have been dealt. The chance of hitting a blackjack is way lower, so you shouldn't increase your bets. Instead, you should decrease them.

How much can you win counting cards?

Take into account, that BlackJack is a game of high variance. As usual, games which feature a tiny edge will have the most action. It's easy to win thousands at BlackJack, however it's also easy to lose them. Longterm is the only thing that matters in the end.
BlackJack card counters are advised to have a large bankroll for playing. Normally, you'll be looking at a bankroll of 100-150 times the maximum bet allowed. There is no limit to the amount of money, you can win, while counting cards at blackjack. It all depends on the amounts of money, you are betting.

Is Blackjack card counting illegal?

Card counting is not illegal, however, it's also closely watched by the casinos. No casino will allow card counters to play at a Blackjack table. While it's not forbidden by law, casino has an opportunity to ban any player from entering their casino. There's also a casino blacklist, which most casinos have access to. Once you are on this list, you'll have a hard time entering any casino worldwide.
Casinos are spending huge amounts of money and time, in order to prevent card counters from being able to play. There are several systems and softwares implemented, to scan blackjack tables for possible card counting.

Casinos are also taking some basic steps to make it harder for card counters, such as dealing while player is increasing his wager. Talking to a particular counter, to mess up with his mind is also one of the basic methods used.

Card Counting in a team

Card counting in a team was implemented way back in the 70s. Ken Uston published a book on this very same topic in 1970. The book was based on Ken's experience, as he was working in a team, playing as the big player. Card counting by MIT students has also been visualised in a movie called ''21'', which is based on somewhat real life happenings.

Team counting includes a team of at least several people. It's divided in spotter players, who always play for the table minimum and big players, who as per they name – bet big.
Spotters are first ones to join a blackjack table, they keep a track of the count, but don't take advantage of it. When the deck gets hot (highly positive), the spotter signalises the big player and he then joins the table. A spotter says something unrelated, which is agreed before and specifies the current count. Based on that, big player makes a bet and now keeps a track of the current count. When the deck starts to cool off, he leaves. This is exactly the way, how many card counting teams stayed under the radar of casino card counting spotters and softwares. Several teams have won millions of dollars from the casinos over the years.

Keen to try out Blackjack Card Counting right now? You are free to do so at 888 Casino (visit by clicking the link), which offers a wide range of BlackJack game types!

USA player? Count Cards at SlotLand Casino!

6 Casino tricks and tips to improve your chances at the casino

How would you like five simple, but effective casino tricks to increase your chances of winning? I will try to help you improve your results. Casinos make money when you lose and believe me, the odds are against you.

You absolutely must know the games before you play! It is a fact that the player with the most knowledge is also the most lucky one. Never get in a game before you have seen it and have learned how it is played. Find out about the games you want to play and if you play in a traditional casino, do not be shy to ask the dealer if you do not understand the game and its rules.
Never drink alcohol and play! One of the biggest mistakes of casino players is to drink and play. In most land-based casinos you will be offered free drinks - this only meant to make you spend even more money. Alcohol affects your thinking process, and you need a clear head in order to have chances of winning.
Write your bankroll off before you start. Before you start playing you should set yourself a limit as to how much money you want to spend, and stick to that limit. Consider the money as lost before you even start, and make sure that the amount is affordable to you.
Be sure to never fall into this trap: The worst thing for a novice player is if when he wins too much too soon. Remember, even if you are winning, you still have to keep your cool, play with your head and not get too wound up.
Consider your own safety. This tip refers to a visit to a real casino. It is a fact that many casinos attract dubious persons. For your own protection, you should not tell anyone at the casino when you have won big.. Also, do not show off your money and if you have a large bankroll, put your money into the casino safe if you want to leave the casino.
Of course you can always choose to play online - in this case your money is safe, especially if you play at one of our tested and reputable casinos. We recommend our test winner, Bet365 Casino. This provider of international reputation guarantees a secure gambling environment and a great experience fromt he safety and comfort of your home!