Abstract
In Section 8.1 we describe and compare six well-known betting systems, namely the martingale, Fibonacci, Labouchere, Oscar, d’Alembert, and Blundell systems. Assuming a house maximum betting limit, each of these systems provides the gambler with a small win with high probability or a large loss with low probability. In Section 8.2 we show, under certain natural assumptions, that none of these systems, nor any other system that one may devise, can turn a sequence of subfair wagers into a superfair one. This principle is known as the conservation of fairness.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ethier, S.N. (2010). Betting Systems. In: The Doctrine of Chances. Probability and its Applications. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78783-9_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78783-9_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-78782-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-78783-9
eBook Packages: Mathematics and StatisticsMathematics and Statistics (R0)