Basic Systems for Wagering Money

When speaking of a betting system with craps, we are not talking about making several bets on the table at the same time. That is unless you are able to track multiple bets with these systems. Each betting system will work if you have a bet on the Pass Line or if you are betting a particular number.

The Martingale System

The Martingale system is a simple system based on the probability of losing infinite times in a row.

Usually is applied to 'even money' bets

The craps player starts with one bet and if he wins, starts again with one bet. When he lose he is doubling his bet and each time he lose he is doubling his last lost bet. When he will win he should recover all his previous lost bets plus one chip profit.

For a player to use the martingale system he should have a large bankroll. This betting system is a very risky one because of the maximum bet limits imposed by the casinos. If the player runs out of money or reaches the house limit, he can lose a lot with no chance to recover his losses.

The Paroli System

The player starts with one bet and he increases his bet when he wins rather than when he lose.

For this system the player should have a betting procedure, so he can know how far he will let the bet build before he is taking it down to the initial starting bet and how much to raise after each win. This obviously depends on the type of game played and the odds of the bet.

The paroli system do not require a large bankroll. It lets the profit run and cuts short the losses.

The 1-3-2-6 System

It is based on the premise that the player can win four times in a row.

The players initial bet is 1 unit, the second 3 units, the third 2 units and the fourth 6 units. Let's assume that each unit is $10 and the odds are 1:1 - even money.

The first bet is $10. When winning, $10 is added to the $20 on the table making the second bet $30. When winning again on the second bet, there would be $60 on the table. Of this you take down $40 and the third bet is now $20. If the third bet wins, you will have $40 on the table to which you add $20 making a total of $60 for the fourth bet.

If the fourth bet wins, there would be a total of $120, of which $100 is net profit. Now all the bet with the profit is taken down and the player starts the system all over again at $10.

If he lose the first bet, his loss is $10. The second level loss is $20. At the third level, a loss will give him a net profit of $20. At the fourth level, a loss leaves him breaking even. Each time he lose, he will start all over again at $10.

The attraction of this system is that the player will risk $20 at a chance of making $100 net profit. This means he can lose five times, and with one win he gets his money back.

The Labouchere System

Known also as the 'Cancellation' system. This system has many variations. In its simplest form, the player writes down a series or a set of numbers; say, 1 2 3 4 5 6. The series can be short or long and not necessarily sequential such as 1 1 1 3 3 5 7. The choice of a particular series depends on the type of game he wants to apply it to and the odds of the bet.

Each number represents the amount in units or chips to bet. He will bet the first and last of these numbers. In this example 1 and 6, which totals 7 units.

If he will win, he will need to cross out the two numbers and bet the next two 'ends' (the outside numbers). In this instance 2 and 5. If the player will win again, he will bet on the next two remaining numbers 3 and 4, and if he will win that too, he would have made a 'coup' or completed one game. Then he will start all over again.

If he will lose, then he will add that one number to the end of the series. Say he lost his first bet of 7 units (1+ 6). Then he will add number 7 to the end of the series to look like this: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 and his next bet would be 8 units (1+7). If he won the first bet but lost the second 2 and 5, then the series of numbers would look like this: 2 3 4 5 7.

After the series are completed or a 'coup' is made, the player will always get a profit. The negative side of this system is that he could end up betting large sums of money even if his initial bet is small.

The Parlay System

This system is similar to the Paroli system and has the effect of 'pyramiding' your profit. Pyramiding is a parlay wager whereby the original wager plus its winnings are played on successive wagers.

It is commonly used in horse racing betting. Basically you make a bet and if you win you re-invest the winnings on the next bet. You 'let it ride'.

This method of play is by no means risk free, but it offers the least amount of risk of all wagers since the player is only concerned with either a win, place or show selection or a combination of the three.