Lesson description
Find out which betting systems will give you the worst losses and the signs to spot these types of flawed strategies, with Mr Blackjack.
There is a story that you will probably hear going around about this guy that had a sure-fire way to make $100 every day for life playing blackjack at a casino in Vegas. I think of this as the big fish story.
He caught a fish this big with a tiny worm. For that strategy to work, you need 10,000 worms to guarantee that big fish every day.
This guy would go to the casino and bet $100. If he lost that, then $200. If he lost that $400, then $800, $1,600, $3,200, $6,400, and so on. If he wins, awesome! He made $100, and he can go home up to $100 for the day.
But what did he risk to win that $100? $12,700. So for this reason I believe the Martingale system to be the worst progressive strategy out there. You have to risk so much money in return for small rewards that you need a rock-solid mental game to stop yourself from tilting.
On the flip side, there's another story about a retired guy that cashed his pension check at the casino every two weeks. He would show up on a Friday. The casino would cash his check for him and he would bet it all on one hand. He was independently wealthy, so this might give you an indication as to why at the end of the story.
He would wager his entire $400. If he won, he let it ride.
He won so many times in a row that he was up to $1 million in the betting circle. The pit bosses and security were watching. All the tables had stopped dealing because everyone in the casino was watching this old guy play.
He had over $1 million in the betting circle, and the dealer flipped over a winning hand. They asked the guy, 'Why’d you do it? Why didn’t you quit?'
He replied, 'I love playing more than I love money.'
Why am I telling you this? Because eventually, you will lose a hand. The strategy of stacking your chips over and over again will eventually result in a loss.
Avoid strategies that make you exponentially stack your bets without any consideration of your advantage or strategy in the game. You may walk away with a payout, but it relies on you being lucky and having a big bankroll.
