Along with the Martingale system, the Parlay system is definitely one of the most extreme blackjack strategies that you can use. The reason why the Parlay is so extreme is because you double bets after every win. This being said, it’s hard to keep your profits when you’re letting winnings ride on every wager. Interestingly enough, this is why they also call the Parlay the “Let It Ride” system too. No matter what you call the Parlay though, it’s a very popular system that’s worth examining closer.
Win Limit
One popular strategy in many casino games is to set up a win limit, so there’s a stopping point where you are keeping profits. And nowhere is a win limit more important than with the Parlay system because, if you don’t set barriers, you’re going to lose profits again and again. Speaking of which, this is often the biggest downfall of most people who use the Parlay because they don’t set any boundaries when doubling their bets.
Moving along, the win limit you use all depends on your personal preference, but it helps matters a lot if you pick a realistic goal. For example, if you’re making $10 bets, it’s quite unrealistic to assume that you’d hit a $1,000 win limit before losing at least once. However, if you set out to win $150 while making $10 wagers, this is pretty doable. Here’s how the sequence would go when doubling bets with the Parlay:
$10 bet win = $10 total profit
$20 bet win = $30 total profit
$40 bet win = $70 total profit
$80 bet win = $150 profit
As you can see, you’d only need to win four bets in a row (provided you never lost) to hit your win limit. Assuming you go through a losing streak, it becomes tougher to hit the goal, but it can be done.
Loss and/or Bet Limit
You should also consider setting up a loss and/or bet limit when using the Parlay. The loss limit is obvious because you don’t want to burn through your entire bankroll in one night. As for the bet limit, this is just a predetermined number of bets you’re willing to make before quitting for the night when you don’t reach the win limit.
If you were making $10 bets, a good loss limit would be $100 (or whatever’s relative to your bankroll). For the bet limit, this all depends on how long you want to play blackjack before quitting. Assuming this amount was around two hours, your bet limit should be 120 wagers.