A description of the Quarter Wagering System, with examples of basic play and how to win by applying the system as a wagering strategy.
Quarter Wagering System
One of the problems associated with playing Blackjack is the relatively lengthy amount of time it can take to reach a financial objective. In order to minimize risk and maximize opportunity, most betting systems are designed to win slowly.
Consider that a full Blackjack table will average about 60 hands per hour. Of those, perhaps seven or eight will be pushes, so only 52 or 53 actually result in winners or losers. Discounting, for the moment, the effect of doubling down and splitting, a player winning 27 hands and losing 26 hands is thought of as doing well. In other words, the entire profit for an hour can come down to just one hand, and if the average wager is $5~$10, it is like playing for minimum wage.
What’s more, to accomplish a $10 profit, the player may have put 60 x $10 = $600 in bets at risk. The return on investment is just $10/$600 = 1.67%. It is little wonder, then, that a few betting systems have bee devised to win (or lose) faster, and one of those is the positive progression known as the Quarter Wagering System.
Quarter Wagering Basics
The first step in implementing the Quarter Wagering System is for the player to divide his/her entire bankroll by four to determine how much a “quarter” is worth. For example, a quarter of a $200 bank roll would be $50, while a quarter of a $1,000 bankroll would be $250. The amount that should be wagered each time is always a quarter of the remaining bankroll—whatever is left after winning or losing.
The theory behind this betting system is that the size of wagers will increase to take advantage of streaks when the player is winning and decrease to limit losses when the player is losing frequently. Because no more than a quarter of the bankroll is wagered at one time, there is always a cash reserve available to take advantage of a good double down or split opportunity, too.
This is not a particularly sophisticated approach to wagering, but can be extremely useful when one has only a short time available to play. It is also way to earn profits very quickly, although it must be noted that losses can occur just as fast.
Applying the System
Because the size of the bankroll will be rising and falling, it will often be difficult to calculate with accuracy and speed exactly how much one quarter of it is. Moreover, after winning $250, a $1,000 bankroll becomes $1,250, which would require the next bet to be $312.50—not a very common amount to wager.
With these challenges in mind, the player can simply keep his/her chips in four stacks of equal height; say $310 or $320 per stack. As long as they are about the same, betting one of the stacks each time will be roughly equivalent to Quarter Betting. Anyone watching such play will assume the player is a “high roller” betting on gut instinct, not even bothering to count the chips.
Of course, any losses have a big and immediate effect on the wagering, especially if the very first hand is a loser. However, unlike most progressions, this system never has the player risking everything that is left of the bankroll. No single bet will ever be more than 25% of what remains.
Tipping is an absolute must when playing this system; it goes with being a “high roller.” Some players choose to tip after any win of three hands in a row, but it is preferable to tip at the end of the session, win or lose. Such a practice ensures that the maximum number of chips is available for play.
