A Good Bet Or A Dangerous Game? A look at progressive betting

Across the globe, around 4.2 billion people enjoy gambling on a regular basis – that’s a huge 26% of the world’s entire population. Ask any gambling enthusiast for their tips and tricks and most will tell you about their ‘failsafe’ method of betting. In 2022, lots of regular gamblers swear by progressive betting and, in this article, we’ll explain what this is and the pros and cons of getting onboard. 

What is progressive betting?

The basic concept here seems pretty straightforward – progressive betting is all about adjusting the size of your current bet based on whether your previous bet was a winner or a loser. A popular gambling model with casino players, particularly those who visit the roulette table on a regular basis. The progressive model is broken down into two parts: 

Positive progression

With this option, the player increases the stakes of their bet following a win or decreases the stakes of their bet following a loss. 

The reasoning behind this model is that it will help you to maximize profits if you’re on a winning streak or minimize losses when you’re on a losing streak – which, of course, pretty much sounds like a win-win. An example of this would be as follows: 

Spin #1 £10 stake Win Total: + £10

Spin #2 £20 stake Win Total: + £30

Spin #3 £30 stake Win Total + £60

Spin #4 £40 stake Win Total + £100

Spin #5 £50 stake Win Total + £150

As you can see, in this (rather lucky) example, the positive progressive method would leave you £100 in profit. On the other hand, if you lost each time, you would only be out of pocket to the tune of £50. 

The pros and cons of positive progression

As with any type of gambling method, there are upsides and downsides and, in this section, we’ll look at the pros and cons of positive progression: 

The pros

• Increasing the thrill – Gambling is, of course, all about the thrill and, by steadily increasing the stakes, gamblers claim that the game becomes more thrilling.
• Increased profits – For the dedicated gambler, profits are a big deal and, the positive progressive betting model gives players an opportunity to quickly increase their profits.
• No rules – WIth this model, there are no strict rules or guidance in place, however, it’s always a good idea to set yourself some boundaries to ensure that you don’t get carried away or overspend. 

The cons

• Increased chance of loss – With this model, while there may be an opportunity to maximize profits, there is also an increased chance of losing everything in one go.
• Risk of addiction – Problem gambling has been in the news a great deal in recent years and, a player who is constantly chasing the thrill of a win may ultimately be at risk of developing an addiction to gambling. 

Negative progression

This model will involve a player increasing the stakes following a loss, or, decreasing the stakes following a win. 

The theory here is that you should eventually get a win – and that your wins will be achieved with higher stakes than your losses, thus increasing your overall profits. This is based on the idea that every losing streak will, at some point, come to an end. 

One of the safest forms of negative progression betting is known as the Fibonacci method. In this model, a player opts for the integer sequence of numbers when placing his or her wagers – i.e. each bet is the total of the two previous bets. For the beginner, it’s recommended that the sequence begins with one or the minimum imposed by the particular table, in order to keep losses to a minimum whilst the player finds their footing with this type of gambling. 

The pros and cons of negative progression betting

The Pros

• Effectiveness – When done correctly, negative progression betting can be extremely effective and can result in some good profits.
• Straightforward – This is a fairly simple gambling method which can be applied to a number of different games, making it extremely popular with many gamblers. Beginners will be happy to know that this method is refreshingly easy to learn. 
• Knowledge – Knowing your way around this type of gambling can be extremely valuable when coupled with knowledge of the positive technique as this allows players to switch between the two when the situation calls for it. 

The cons

• Fast losses – Because odds are not changed within this gambling model, players can experience some fast losses. 
• Slow burner – Gambling thrill seekers may not have the patience to persist with the negative progression betting model as it can be something of a slow burn.
• Addiction – As with the positive progressive model, and in fact any type of gambling, there is a risk of a fun pastime turning into a habit if the player doesn’t practice self-discipline. 

Should I choose positive or negative progression betting ?

That’s a tough one to answer as it does depend on your skill and experience, however, common thinking is that the positive system is better for beginners. This is because it offers a slightly safer way of getting used to a new way of gambling and helps you to keep losses low while you find your way. Negative systems, on the other hand, are considered more risky in that inexperienced players may find themselves quickly getting out of their depth. Although both positive and negative progression techniques have their separate advantages, a shared benefit is that they are both reasonably straightforward and, therefore, easy to learn. To get on board with either of these techniques, all you need is to understand the basic concept and to have a decent grasp of basic mathematics. 

Is progressive betting legal?

Absolutely – this is simply a system of betting whereby a player chooses a methodology which will hopefully minimize their risk while maximizing profits – which is essentially what gambling is all about. 

No such thing as a safe bet

There are many many different systems and techniques out there when it comes to gambling and, it often takes a fair amount of trial and error before a player finds his or her groove and settles on a technique that suits them. Anybody who fancies having a go at progressive betting is best trying a few dummy runs at home before playing the technique with actual cold, hard cash at stake as it can take a little getting used to. 

No matter which technique you choose, there is always a risk involved – that’s why they call it gambling! It’s important to stress that there are no gambling techniques which are foolproof and, therefore, guarantee a win. As well as choosing a technique, honing your skills will serve you well – choose your go-to game and get to know it inside out in order to give yourself the best chance of a win. 

As we’ve mentioned in this article, problem gambling is an increasing problem around the world and, with any form of gambling, it’s essential that you never bet more than you can afford to lose.