Estimated Read Time: 4 minutes

50% Betting System: Another positive progression system, that has recently become famous, is to increment your next bid by 50% if you have won the last. For example your first bet is $6 and you win, then add 50% i.e. $3 to it, so your next bet would become $9, then $13 and so on. An easy example of positive progression betting at work involves the Parlay system, where bettors let all of their winnings ride after each win. To illustrate how this works, let’s say you won a $40 bet; your next wager would now be $80 because you’re letting everything ride.

See All Guides

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just a recreational sports bettor, it pays to get familiar with a handful of betting systems.

Some of these strategies have been around for centuries, while new systems seem to pop up every year. Some are simple enough for a child to master, while others take a degree in advanced mathematics to fully understand.

Most betting systems focus on increasing the size of your bet every time you lose, but the Paroli system takes a slightly different approach.

Introducing the Paroli System

The Paroli system is a form of positive betting progression. It’s most commonly used in games like Roulette and Blackjack, but it can also applied to sports betting – as long as you’re choosing wagers with approximately 50/50 odds.

Unlike the Martingale system, which requires you to double your bet after a loss, Paroli has you double each wager after a win until three straight victories are achieved. At that point, you bank your profit and return to your original stake. Anytime you lose a bet, you immediately return to your original stake – this way you’ll never encounter big losses due to progressions.

For example, let’s assume your bankroll is flush and your original stake equals $100. Using the Paroli system, you would start by placing a $100 bet. If you win that bet you would proceed to risk $200 on your next wager. Should you also win that bet, you would then up your bet to $400 for your final wager.

Regardless of the result of that third wager, you return to your original stake for your fourth bet. In this scenario, you either finish with a $700 profit by winning three straight bets, or you lose your original $100 stake if the third bet winds up being a loser.

It’s important to note that you never increase the size of your wager after a loss. Whether the losing bet succeeded another loss or multiple victories. Following each loss or three straight wins, your next bet is always the same as your original stake.

Where Did the Paroli System Come From?

The Paroli system is derived from the Latin term “par,” which translates to “one that is equal.” It is unclear when exactly the system was first created, however the most popular belief is that it originated in the 16th century.

Some believe that Blaise Pascal, the French inventor of roulette, came up with the idea for Paroli. In that case, the system would have only been around since the 18th century.

Key Considerations When Using Paroli for Sports Betting

The first thing you need to do before deploying the Paroli system is to choose your original stake. Using a consistent betting unit size is crucial for the system to work as intended. This is the amount of money you’ll risk at the start of each betting cycle.

There is no concrete rule on how much this should be, but if you’re trying bet sports seriously, your unit size should be somewhere between 2-3% of your bankroll. If your bankroll is $5,000, your original stake would between $100 and $150 depending on the percentage you choose.

It’s imperative to choose bets that offer as close to 50/50 odds as you can find.

If using this system, it’s imperative that you choose bets that offer as close to 50/50 odds as you can find. The logic behind Paroli is that you double your bet after each win, but that you never increase the size of your original stake. Following wins, you’re doubling the size of your wager with house money, so if you’re betting a -400 favorite on the money line, your return won’t be great enough to allow you to follow the system properly. For that reason, you need to bet lines (or props) that are as close to even money as possible.

Pros and Cons of the Paroli System

The best part of the Paroli system is that it’s a great way to practice disciplined bankroll management. If you follow the system exactly, you’ll never get burned chasing losses and you’ll never bet too big when you think you’re invincible thanks to the hot-hand fallacy.

It’s one of, if not the easiest betting systems to learn. Even bettors with no previous experience will have no problem mastering Paroli.

Overall, the Paroli system provides a measured, conservative approach that’s great for those learning the ropes or patient enough for sustained incremental growth. You’ll never win outrageous amounts of money, but you’ll also never go broke quickly. Even if you do encounter a cold streak, the losses will do minimal damage to your bankroll. Unlike other progression systems, the probability of going bust following Paroli is low.

Positive Progression Betting System

On the other hand, the entire success of the system relies on you winning three bets in a row. Winning three consecutive wagers at even odds is just as likely as losing three consecutive wagers. The system won’t statistically improve your chances of being a long term winner. There’s no way to know how long it will take to reel off three straight winning bets. You will need to be prepared for prolonged spells of small losses.

Use Paroli if You’re Risk Averse

If your tolerance for risk is low and you’re not looking for a get rich quick scheme, then the Paroli system may be for you. The strategy will not guarantee you a profit, but it will keep you in the game longer than almost any other betting system. It will minimize your losses when you run cold, and maximize your wins when you go on a mini-heater.

Looking for More Betting Systems and Strategic Advice?

Once you’ve moved beyond the basics, it’s worth taking some time to experiment with a few different betting systems to see what works best for you. Exploring our sports betting strategy section is a great place to start.


Although generally regarded as a true game of chance, especially if one opts for a punto banco variant, Baccarat can be a good platform for testing some of the most popular betting strategies. There is however an ongoing controversy when it comes to using any betting systems, even in the more skill-requiring baccarat versions, such as chemin de fer and baccarat banque; a number of gambling veterans often refer to betting systems as a myth encouraged by the casinos, with a sole purpose of prolonging gameplay time and enhancing the players’ losses. Still, there are a lot of experienced players that would disagree and advocate for a few of the most widely known betting systems that can be applied to baccarat as well.

There are two main types of progressive betting – negative and positive. With the negative progression system, the player gradually decreases betting amounts after every winning hand and increases the wager after a loss. Positive progression system takes the opposite approach and the players who use this particular strategy increase the bet after every successful hand and lower the stakes when the luck turns against them.

Fibonacci

Using negative betting systems in the game of baccarat – such as Fibonacci, for example – will not give you the advantage in terms of the game’s outcome; the point of the betting system is to keep the losses under control and dent the house edge. Whether or not this is possible can be debatable, however, Fibonacci system is known to prevent hasty decisions that could cut your gameplay time drastically. It also allows you to keep track of your losses in the dynamic baccarat environment or regroup when you find yourself in the cold streak.

The system can of course be adjusted to your own bankroll and even reversed. Instead of increasing the bet by the total of two preceding numbers (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13… corresponding to bets of $10, $20, $30, $50, $80, $130…) and then going back two steps after a win, the player can also go one step forward after a win and go back two steps after a loss.

The main disadvantage of this betting system is that the method is predominantly suited to the high rolling players that can endure potentially long cold streaks. Players with a more limited budget may not find it equally beneficial since the results are short-termed and the losing streaks can go on hours on end.

Positive Progression Betting System Free

Paroli

Paroli follows the positive betting structure, meaning that every win should be followed by doubling your bet three times in a row. The system starts with flat betting up until the first winning hand, when the player needs to double the wager. In case the hand loses, the player will return to the original flat betting amount; otherwise the stake will be increased by 2x once again, following the same pattern in the progression of three.

The whole idea of Paroli pattern rests on the belief of winning and losing streaks existence, allowing the player to maximize the winnings during the hot streaks and minimize losses during the cold ones. However, as with many other betting systems, Paroli strategy works for as long as luck is on your side and your winnings can thus be successfully directed towards increasing the wagers by several units; not to mention that it is far more stable than the negative betting systems and does not come with a large bankroll requirement. On the the hand, the losses can easily accumulate and exceed the expected level, placing you in a rather unfavourable position.

Positive Progression Betting Systems

It is therefore easy to conclude that there are not bullet proof strategies nor there are any guarantees directing us to the perfect formula; with the abundance of gambling tactics, most are in fact considered worthless by a large part of the gambling population. The latter can of course turn out to be true if you are putting all of your eggs in one basket and one should always remember that the strategies are primarily designed to be a gamblers’ crouch, helping them keep records on their wagers and enabling budget control, but not much more. Sometimes, entering the game with realistic expectations and commons sense can in fact be the best strategy that one can employ.