The Most Popular Betting Strategies To Use In Any Online Casino

With online casinos (like Play88 or Mega888), even the most seasoned players sometimes need something extra to boost their play sessions. This is where the most popular, tried-and-tested betting strategies and tips come in.

Often interchangeably referred to as betting systems, these strategies have been refined and trialled over the years by players in casinos worldwide in order to skew the edge back to the players’ hands. But more importantly, they are a way for the players to make informed and calculated bets in almost every scenario imaginable for nearly every table game that you can find in any casino.

Before we begin, you should know that these strategies will not necessarily improve your chances of winning nor do they improve your skills in the game. Instead, the strategies can be adopted to take some of the pressure off by allowing you to focus only on the game and not on your bankroll.

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the most popular betting strategies so that you can make the best choice for your own playstyle.

Basic Betting Strategies

Each betting strategy begins with the concept of progression, which can either be a positive or a negative one. And every betting strategy revolves around the principle of what you should do after getting a win (positive) or a loss (negative).

With positive progressing betting strategies, you increase the size of your bet after each win. The fundamental idea of this strategy is to consistently raise your bets in order to take advantage of a potential streak of good luck until an eventual loss happens. Then, you simply reset your bet and carry on, or you can leave the table.

Negative progressing betting strategies are also similar with the difference being you place a bigger bet every time you lose a bet. This principle follows the same idea as its positive counterpart wherein your raise should remain constant throughout the time you play. One popularly used negative progression betting system is the Martingale strategy.

The idea of negative progression betting strategies is that in the event you suffer a string of losses, you can recoup your losses in one fell swoop after a win. Then, you simply reset the progression and start over again.

Apart from those two, there is also constant betting where you don’t change the betting amount regardless of a win or a loss. However, this betting strategy is highly risky since there’s no way to recoup your lost funds. Our advice if you plan on using this strategy is to set your baseline to smaller amounts so that you won’t get set back if you go on a potential losing streak at the start.

Advance Betting Strategies

Advanced betting systems are just more fleshed-out versions of the basics. They are still simple to understand but often involve more moving parts than the basic positive or negative progression strategies that we’ve explained in the section above.

As such, each strategy is based on you placing bets on a loss, a win, or betting on both. It boils down to the size of the change in bet amount after each round and the timing for when you should reset your bet.

The Martingale Strategy

This is probably one of the most widely used betting strategies around. The Martingale first made its way into casinos in 18th century France and has since risen to be every new player’s idea of the perfect strategy (hint: it’s not, really) to win at any game in the casino.

At its core, the Martingale strategy is a negative progression system. That means that you will increase your bet by your original bet amount each time you lose. Once you win, the next bet will be lowered and the bet will return to the original amount.

Let’s apply the betting strategy to Sic Bo as an example. Let’s also assume the minimum bet is one unit and we shall start with a one-unit bet. If you lose this round, the next bet goes up to two units and if you win that round, the bet goes back down to one unit. However, you should take note that the Martingale works best when the odds are closest to 50/50. And in the case of Sic Bo, the Big and Small bets are almost equal odds.

Another great game to apply the Martingale system is roulette but only if you’re placing an outside bet. The red or black bets are the best choice here as they have the most balanced odds.

Pros	Cons
Easy to understand and apply Great at recouping losses Good for short-term plays	Needs a massive bankroll in case you suffer a losing streak You may encounter situations where the bet you need to make exceeds the table’s max limit

There also exists a reverse or “anti” Martingale strategy where you increase your bet when you win instead of when you lose. But we’ll let you decide which one is better suited to your playstyle.

The Fibonacci Strategy

Based on the Fibonacci numbers, this strategy features a negative progression system that uses a sequence of numbers to determine the bet size.

The Fibonacci strategy uses the following sequence: 0-1-1-2-3-5-8-13-21-34-44-89

For the first wager, you’ll place a one-unit bet since the first non-zero number in a Fibonacci sequence is one. If you lose, you move on to the next number in the sequence. For example, losing six times in a row means that your next starting bet will be a 13-unit bet.

Upon getting a win, you’ll go back two spots in the sequence. Taking the same example as we’ve just mentioned, if you win your 13-unit bet then your next bet will be five units.

This betting strategy is perfect for even money bets such as even/odd bets or red/black bets in roulette. Otherwise, it’s also a great strategy to use in baccarat or blackjack as long as the payout is even.

Nevertheless, when you use this strategy you should always specify a cut-off point in the sequence so that you’ll know where to reset the cycle. Considering potential betting limits and your bankroll, we’d suggest setting it at 89 but you don’t necessarily have to follow our advice. If you wish, you could also set a cut-off point before or even after 89.

Another important thing to note with the Fibonnaci strategy is that you should always take your profits. At any point you have profits in the cycle, we highly recommend you go back and start over. This would ensure that you restart at a lower betting amount so that losses won’t be as bad and it pads your bankroll for another cycle.

Pros	Cons
Takes both wins and losses into account Has built-in protection for bankroll with profit-cycle reset protocol An excellent strategy to use for short-term or long-term sessions	You must memorise the specific sequence of the Fibonacci numbers Negative progression strategies tend to be less effective compared to positive ones

The Labouchere Strategy

Created by avid roulette player, Henry Labouchere in the mid-1800s, the Labouchere strategy is often compared to the reverse Martingale — with the added use of a sequence of numbers to refer to for each bet amount.

Specifically, the guiding principle of this system is that you double your bets each time you win. But once you lose, you take the lowest number in the sequence as your next bet unit.

As for the sequence, you’ll need to come up with a sequence of numbers you’ll have to follow before starting. Typically, most people use the sequence 1-2-3 as a start.

Using this sequence as an example, your first bet will be the sum of the first and last numbers in the sequence. In this example, your first bet will be four units.

Losing the next bet means you add it to your sequence (1-2-3-4) and start your next round with the same principle of taking the sum of the first and last number (five bet units). Winning this bet means you get to cross off both the first and last number in the current sequence. In our case, this leaves us with 2-3.

For the next bet, start with the first and last numbers again, which is five units. If you lose, add it to the sequence. If you win, cross off both numbers then start the next round with an all-new sequence.

It may sound overly complicated, but it really is pretty straightforward. In fact, the Labouchere strategy is one of the most popular strategies to use as it can help you recoup losses with fewer wins to get you back to where you started. This is also one of the reasons why it’s a fairly popular roulette betting system.

Pros	Cons
A flexible strategy that can be used at tables with low or high betting limits A good strategy for cautious players An excellent option to use in roulette	Not suitable for long sessions unless the sequence is long Long losing streaks will burn your bankroll pretty quickly

Excited to try out one of the betting strategies we’ve outlined above? Play88 is where you need to be to enjoy the latest slots, live casino games, and more! Sign up for a new Play88 account today and you’ll also be entitled to claim a Welcome Bonus of MYR1,388 from us.