Popular Casino Strategies Through the Years
3 minutes
Last Updated: October 1, 2022
Throughout the history of casinos, the house has been known to have the upper hand. The random nature of the games doesn't benefit players much, either. They must put in extra effort to win, whether online or in brick-and-mortar casinos.
Over the years, many strategies have been invented to tip the odds in favor of gamers and make winning more achievable. Some techniques even claim to predict the outcomes. These strategies change over time.
They often evolve to benefit players, but casino operators also adopt ways to protect their interests. This article will examine some of these popular strategies, their efficiency, and how they've evolved.
What Are Casino Strategies?
Casino strategies are techniques and a combination of rules on selected casino games that aims to increase a player's winning chances by taking advantage of the house edge.
The house usually has the upper hand in casino games, but casino strategies can sometimes settle this mathematical disadvantage.
Top Three Casino Strategies
There are several tips and tricks casino players have employed over the years. Here are the top three with a high-efficiency rate:
1. Martingale
This strategy is used as a response to a loss, as it requires bettors to double their bet. Martingale is a straightforward betting approach that applies to most casino games.
It is a negative progression strategy where players double their bets after every loss and return to the original stake following a win.
When you win, you'll make up for all your losses and maybe rake in a bit of profit.
The idea is that you can't lose all the time, especially considering the random nature of these games.
The Martingale strategy is most effective with bets that have nearly equal chances of winning and losing, like in roulette. It's unpopular in online real slots.
Casinos impose maximum wager limits to preserve their interests, meaning players cannot keep doubling up indefinitely.
2. 1-3-2-6 Strategy
This strategy offers a positive progression sequence of betting in the form of 1-3-2-6. Here, players triple their bets after the first win, and in the event of a consecutive one, the stake drops to twice the base bet. Subsequently, it goes to six times the original.
This strategy requires you to revert to the original bet when you lose.
This betting technique takes inspiration from the Paroli system. It focuses on winnings but does not alter the payout or improve the house edge.
As a result, in some quarters, this strategy is tweaked to include when to walk away. The most popular adjustment requires players to walk away upon losing after a winning streak.
3. Card Counting
Card counting is a strategy popular in the game of blackjack. It involves keeping a running count of the cards as they are dealt.
When done effectively, the card counter can decipher the values of the cards remaining in the card deck. Card counting involves the following steps.
- Assign a value to every card in the deck
- Maintain a running count of the cards
- Evaluate the true count
Card counting is behind some of the most outrageous casino tales, including the infamous story of the MIT Blackjack team.
Knowing a dealer's cards is a significant advantage in games like blackjack and poker. This is arguably the most effective casino strategy and has evolved to include different techniques, some of which are stated below.
- Hi-Lo
- Hi-Opt I
- Hi-Opt II
- Knock Out
- Red Seven
- Omega II
Nowadays, this strategy is barred at many casinos, so card counters must take care not to get caught.
Do Strategies Guarantee a Win?
Casino strategies cannot guarantee wins. They cannot predict either the outcome of a slot spin or a hand of cards.
They simply put you in a better position where you can cut losses with smart bets and hopefully win more than you lose. In the world of casino gambling, this makes all the difference.