Flat Betting System: The only system you’ll ever need!

Known for its undeniable simplicity, the Flat Betting System is all about making even bets which don’t follow any particular positive or negative progression. Indeed, this is precisely how the Flat Betting System works: you establish what amount you want to bet before the games begin and it will be this particular amount which you will be required to bet every single time you play. 

What is the Flat Betting System?

While the flat bet amount remains the same, the player must make the right decision when it comes to deciding where to place his bets. This is where the Cover the Table Strategy should come in handy because you don’t just go with a single number or two and call it a night. In fact, the best way to use this strategy is to literally cover the table with your flat bet. Let’s see an example of what I mean below:

Start by establishing how much you’re willing to spend from before you start playing. This means that you should walk into the casino with a sum that you won’t mind losing (which you haven’t taken out of this month’s rent). Of course, we aren’t saying that you ARE going to lose it, but the fact of the matter is that you should never play money you can’t afford to lose. Anyway, let’s say that you have the sum of $500 in your wallet and that you are going to put down $20 on each bet made on roulette. The best way to act in such a situation is to put $20 on the first dozen numbers and a $20 on two street bets (street bets are bets which consist of three horizontal numbers such as 1, 2 and 3). So the numbers betted on are 1 to 12 and streets of 20, 21 and 22 and 30, 31 and 32.

• If the ball falls on a number between 1 and 12, you will be entitled to a payout of 2 to 1 and lose the street bets (this means that you’ll break even on the spin).
• If a number other than 1-12 and 20-21-22-30-31-32 is hit, you’ll lose all bets.
• If 20-21-22-30-31-32 falls, you will get a payout of 11 to 1 = $220. Your profit for the spin will be $180.

Can I bet on a single number/numbers?

The beauty of the flat betting system is the fact that there are absolutely no limits on what you can bet on. Indeed, the only reason why we have advised the above kind of bet is for the player to be able to deal with less variance. The reality is that if you decide to bet on a single number or two numbers, you will probably go broke much sooner in the evening. If you’re playing roulette, you have 2/37 chances to hit when betting on two numbers, however, if you bet on two exact numbers and add a column bet, you will improve your chances by a lot.

What do I need to be aware of when using the flat betting system?

Like many other betting systems, the flat betting system requires players to employ patience. Indeed, whether you’re on a winning high or at the lowest of low, it is never advisable to go crazy and throw caution to the wind. If for example a red 5 comes up four times out of ten spins and you’ve bet one unit every time, you’re going to end up with 134 units of profit which is no mean feat. However, just because Lady Luck is so obviously on your side, this does not give you the excuse to go crazy and basically lose it all by upping your game. To stick to the flat betting system, it’s a given that you have to fight the desire to go higher as this system is really about minimising as much risk as possible. Of course, the opposite of this is true too. If you’re feeling lucky but a red 5 doesn’t materialise in ten spins, there’s little to no point in suddenly (and inexplicably) attempting to up your stake in the hopes of somehow recovering your losses (which as we all know won’t get you too far anyway). Indeed, while what we are suggesting does come with a pretty hefty willpower price tag, it is worth sticking to your guns (especially if you don’t have a lot of money that you can squander). The great strength of this system ultimately lies in the fact that there are no myths and legends tied to it. At the end of the day, each spin of the roulette wheel is a standalone event which has nothing to do with what came before or after it and there are no guarantees. The truth is that even if the man next to you drops 2,000 big ones on red simply because he feels that it’s time that it comes up, there is absolutely no scientific proof that it will and there is an equal chance that both black or red will be hit every time. Assuming you’re no Rockefeller, learn how to be patient with yourself and bide your time.

The Flat Betting System in Blackjack

If you’re a new hand at the blackjack game, you might be tempted to increase or decrease the amount you put down on each hand every round. Now, whilst this method might offer a few very lucrative moments if Lady Luck is smiling down at you, you will sadly also be exposing yourself to a greater risk of increasing and decreasing your stakes at inopportune times. Winning on a hand of little value to lose on a hand of great value is nothing if not counterproductive and at the end of the day, you might end up winning smaller hand games but losing a lot of money in the process.

Of course, while losing money is one of the inevitable risks that one signs up for when it comes to gambling, whether such gambling takes place online or in a physical casino, flat betting in blackjack greatly simplifies things for players as you simply put down the same stake on every single hand you are dealt. Now, while this idea might not appeal to everyone because some may argue that it takes the fun and spontaneity out of the bet, there are in fact numerous benefits of playing blackjack using the flat betting system. These include:

• Surpassing the House Edge
Contrary to what some may think, house edge differs according to the blackjack game variant that one chooses to play simply because each game has its own unique design and rules may differ slightly. Thus, the player focus must always be on playing a variant with the lowest house edge (if the result is to make a profit). Of course, the house edge is not everything. As any seasoned player worth his salt will tell you for free, luck and indeed the player’s ability to play the system of his choice well are as instrumental to winning over the house edge as anything else he will encounter on the mean casino streets. Thus, if your weapon of choice is the flat betting system, you will have a far greater chance of winning the long term house edge if you obey the rules and play one stake amount.

• Choosing a Flat Betting System Stake Amount
Selecting a flat betting stake amount is something which needs to be taken care of before you even step one foot near the blackjack table. Ultimately, how much you actually choose to drop on each hand should always be dependent on how much money you can afford to spend after you’ve taken care of all the things you need to survive. It is therefore imperative that you choose a flat betting stake amount which will secure you a good amount of hands and ensure that should you hit a rough patch luck-wise, you will still be catered for and not have to cut your night short. While many gamblers rant and rave about the joys of playing in a brick and mortar casino, the truth is that you will soon discover that if you choose to play blackjack online, you will be able to play against a cyber dealer and many times you will discover that you can play a much larger number of hands per session than if you were at a physical casino. Thus, it is important to take your chosen environment into account when choosing your final flat betting stake amount.

To help you out with the all-important decision of finding which stake amount you should settle on, we suggest that you stick to a hand number that you can easily remember and keep track of. The number of hands that we suggest you stick to have a more than reasonable chance of having a fairly lengthy blackjack playing session is one hundred. The truth is that while you may think that this number is a bit inflated, you need to keep in mind that the average blackjack game is over within 5 minutes. Setting yourself a target of a hundred hands will mean that with some luck and skill, you might even be able to make an ample profit.

For it to be easier for you to be able to stick to the 100 hand rule, it would be extremely helpful to you if you divided your gaming budget by a hundred too and use the figure you arrive at as a flat betting stake amount that you wager each hand for. Thus, if for example, you start with a budget of 200, you would need to stake each hand at 2. If you have 1000, you start flat betting at 10. The more you stick to round numbers, the easier it will be to keep track when the casino frenzy takes hold.

Of course, the buck doesn’t stop here. Ultimately, the seasoned blackjack player who knows that patience pays will be looking to make a small profit on every single session without having unreachable expectations. Thus, in addition to choosing a stake amount, the player should always have in place a goal for how much they want to win. The minute that that target is reached, the player needs to stop playing and cash out. Never continue to play beyond the amount that you have decided to budget however much money you make. Ultimately, the best thing for any player to do is to try to make around a 20 to 25 per cent profit per session, therefore, the second that that has been achieved and your initial bankroll has been increased by around that amount, stop. Greed seldom leads to anything good in the fickle world of casino.

Why NOT use the Flat Betting System in Baccarat

While we feel that the systems of betting that should be used when playing baccarat should be of the progressive variety to be able to withstand the boom and bust features of the game, we do not feel that the flat betting system is the way to go as time will be against you. The truth is that when it comes to playing baccarat, the faster you hit the profit mark, the greater your chance of making some sweet, sweet cash. Regardless of how many decks there are in a baccarat shoe, at most, you will have around 3 to 4 hits of winning plays by the close of the game. To help you make your mind up about whether or not to use the flat betting system or not, we have mapped out four different situations you will find yourself in when playing baccarat:

Situation 1: Hitting a 4-in-a-row

Thanks to your flawless use of the flat betting system, you’re up by 4 units in the game. Now while this would usually be a cause for celebration, when it comes to this particular situation, this amount is considered to be a good amount of profit but not the best you could get out of a baccarat game. The reason why this scenario could have been better is that you were not able to take advantage of your winning hands and put them to good use. The truth is that consecutive winning hands are only known to appear once and extremely rarely twice on the entire baccarat shoe. A baccarat player who takes an aggressive but careless approach can make around 15 units of profit given this same scenario whilst neglecting the possibility of screwing up the 4th play which will, in turn, leave him at a -1 unit disadvantage. However, a smart player will be content with settling for a 9 unit profit and protecting their 7 unit earning should they go bust on the 4th bet. The latter will give the player a 5 unit advantage, thus, as usual, patience will definitely pay. While the scenarios illustrated below are still winnable situations, a flat bet progression will NOT be able to get the most out of them.

Situation 2: Lose – Win – Lose – Win – Lose – Win (LWLWLW)

If you use the flat betting system in baccarat, you might find yourself in a position where while you won’t lose anything, you won’t gain anything either. The problem is that this kind of pattern is very common in baccarat games and can be maximised to the player’s advantage if a progressive system is used.

Situation 3: Lose-Lose – Win – Lose-Lose – Win – Lose-Lose –Win (LLWLLWLLW)

By using the flat betting system in such a scenario, you will find yourself in a pretty uncomfortable -3 unit spot. However, such a situation can still be overcome if a progressive system is used. Should you choose to use the right progressive system, you might still be able to make between 1 and 3 units of profit.

Situation 4: Lose-Lose – Lose (LLL)

Let’s say that you’ve started and managed to score yourself three losses in a row. To be able to come back from such a situation via flat bet, you would need to win three games consecutively and even then you’d only manage to theoretically break even. The reality is that you won’t actually break even if this happens because, for starters, there’s a 5% commission on banker bets. Thus, you would technically need 3-4 consecutive bets to be able to at least get back the money you put in. If you want to profit by at least 1 unit, you need at least 4 to 5 uninterrupted wins. That said, a very good system of progression will only require 3 successive wins for players to profit 4 units.

Always keep in mind the element of time: the less time it takes for you to get to your profit goal, the greater your chance of making money. In addition to this, if you can get to your target in less time, you will be able to save your energy for a further baccarat game. Unlike many other casino games, you must remain mentally agile when playing baccarat because it does require a certain amount of mental strength. Ultimately, flat betting in baccarat is both time and energy consuming as well as pretty limiting if you hit a downswing early on in the night. Indeed, if you’re serious about winning at baccarat, you should probably avoid flat betting altogether.

So what are the true advantages and disadvantages of the Flat Betting System?

If you’re new to the casino world, you could do a lot worse than flat betting because although you are likely to lose over time, the odds are not greatly against you which means that making a profit is easier. In addition to this, flat betting will keep you pretty stress-free as you won’t have to make large bets which keep getting larger or have to deal with having to discipline yourself. That said, the key to all this being workable is that you put your original bet at the right amount.

Flat betting is aimed at people who are interested in a gentler approach of playing and who don’t want to get bogged down with strategy. Thus, if you’re the type of person who likes to cross off numbers as you go or who thrives on playing around with sequences, this is probably not the right game for you. The beauty of the flat betting system is its intrinsic simplicity and realism. The reality is that progressive systems are based on the hope that you will win in the long term, however, as any seasoned player will be able to tell you, this is very rarely the case since casinos have the upper hand from the get-go. Flat betting acknowledges the fact that you are unlikely to make money in the long term and helps you to work within those parameters.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Flat Betting System

Try Flat Betting by playing CasinoTop10’s Free Games

Like with any other betting system, the best thing to do before you put down some real money is to practise on one of our melange of free games. Try and enjoy jaunts at our roulette, blackjack and baccarat tables and see how it really does pay to learn how to flat bet the proper way!

If it’s simplicity you are after, you could do a lot worse than the flat betting system. It’s easy to understand, remember and play. Unlike other systems, you can start to play as soon as you establish your bankroll without giving things a second thought. In addition to this, it is a safe way to play some of the best-loved games without losing a fortune in the process. So why not open one of our roulette or blackjack games and prepare for a relaxing evening where you are guaranteed an easy ride.