Money Management and Betting Strategy Pt 2
There are various money management strategies for all the games played in casinos. If you have found a successful one, stick with it. If, however, your strategy begins when you are at the tables, you need to modify it so that it begins at your home. After you determine the amount you will wager as a minimum bet, consider that amount as one unit, and therefore, think of your minimum wager as one unit. Then you are ready to play and use your money management strategy.
When using progressive betting, a player may increase his winnings by raising the value of his betting units. Similar wagering strategies double as progressive betting methods and money management systems.
One of these is the Allen method, by which the player wagers one unit, then if he wins, adds another unit to make a combined total of three units wagered on the second hand (the original unit, the unit won on the first hand, plus the unit added for the second hand). If he wins again, there will be a combined total of six units in the betting square. The player then takes down two units, and wagers the remaining four units. A loss at this point would result in a break-even point for the player. A win, however, would result in an eight-unit profit. After a win, the player again begins at one unit.
Should a loss occur at any time during the betting sequence, the player immediately reverts to one unit and remains at one unit until his next win. Then he again begins the betting sequence of 1-3-4-1-3-4, etc. Although this and many other such systems were primarily designed for baccarat, they can be used with equal effectiveness in other games as well.
Another fluctuating sequence is often referred to as the Barnett sequence. Barnett, an Englishman, supposedly won over a half-million dollars with this one.
The original bet is one unit. As with the Allen method, another unit is added after a win for a combined total of three units wagered on the second hand. After a second win, which puts a total of six units in the betting space, four units are taken down. At this point, the player is ahead by two units and has another two units being wagered on the next hand.
If the next hand wins, the player leaves his wager plus his winnings and adds two more units for a fourth-hand bet of six units. A loss at this time would result in a breakeven situation for the player. A win, however, would yield the player a 12-unit profit. After the sequence, or after a loss at any point, the player again begins at one unit.
The Barnett sequence then is 1-3-2-6-1, etc.
Although these two methods are not actually progressive betting sequences in the truest sense, they can be effective betting strategies - especially in a game such as baccarat or the outside even-money wagers in roulette. They can also be easily adapted to other even-money bets, such as pass line wagering at the craps table or blackjack betting.