Betting strategies usually rely on changing the value of your bet after each win or loss.
Negative progression means increasing your bet after every loss. Positive progression means increasing your bet after every win.
However, if a game is designed such that there is no bet possible with a positive expected value (i.e. every bet has an house edge), no strategy could ever be designed to allow the player to win in the long run. Common casino games such as roulette, punto banco, and craps are all designed like this. It is possible to have a winning strategy at blackjack, but this involves card counting which requires effort, and casinos may try and stop you.
Martingale strategy
The Martingale strategy is perhaps the best example of a negative progression strategy – this is where you would double the amount of the previous bet after every loss. The thought behind this strategy is that if you eventually win, you recover earlier losses and make a small profit. However, it is entirely possible for the you to lose several bets in a row, and as you keep doubling your bet you will hit your own financial limit or the casino’s limit, before you have made a winning bet.
Reverse Martingale
The Reverse Martingale strategy, where you would double the amount of the previous bet after every win, is an example of of a positive progression strategy. You are guaranteed to lose all your money, if you keep playing, due the negative expected value of every bet.
