Every gambler knows someone who plays to a system. But serious blackjack and poker players don’t use systems because they’re overrated. Skill counts a great deal in both of these games and it tends to balance out the chance factor over any significant period. People who bet on the horses are always using systems, yet the house edge in horse racing is far greater than in the game of roulette – and the edge is too great in roulette, too. The bookies rake in between 15 percent and 25 percent on the horses, which takes any advantage away from you. Even so, some knowledge of horses can help you at the track but there is no information you can apply in roulette or craps. These are totally games of luck. None the less, gamblers do try to formulate betting systems to overcome the house edge in these games.
There are countless systems in use – doubling-up (also called the Martingale system), in which bets are increased progressively; doubling-up plus 1; raising, lowering and cancellation; and a myriad of subtle variations on these systems. A common factor they all share is this: they don’t work. Eventually you’ll lose because only one factor...