A positive progression system, the Paroli betting system aims to target smaller and more regular wins. Essentially, it’s designed to increase your profits, unlike other systems which reduce your losses. It does so by ramping up your stakes on winning wagers, while keeping them low after losses.
In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the Paroli system. We’ll explain exactly how the betting strategy works and what games you can use it on, cover its variations, and detail its pros and cons.
What is Paroli Betting System?
The Paroli system is a positive progression betting system. In short, this means you will increase your stakes after winning wagers, and decrease them after you lose.
Unlike similar betting systems, however, you’re targeting smaller, regular wins with the Paroli system, and actually stop if you hit three wins in a row. Thus, the Paroli system specifically appeals to more aggressive bettors, since it’s profit-oriented, but also punters looking for a sensible system with nice, short cycles.
Bettors start with a standard stake here. You then double that stake if you win, up to three times. If you lose at any point, you go back to betting your base stake. Crucially, this system must also only be used on 50/50 bets, like red/black in roulette.
We’ll run through specific Paroli system examples soon. To help you get the idea, however, here’s a quick table of all your potential outcomes when you start using the Paroli system. For this example, your stake size is $1.
| Initial Bet |
Second Wager | Third Wager | Next Bet Would Be… |
| Lose $1 | Lose $1 | Lose $1 | Bet $1 |
| Lose $1 | Win $1 | Win $2 | Bet $4 |
| Lose $1 | Lose $1 | Win $1 | Bet $2 |
| Lose $1 | Win $1 | Lose $1 | Bet $1 |
| Win $1 | Win $2 | Lose $4 | Bet $1 |
| Win $1 | Win $2 | Win $4 | Cycle Over, Therefore $1 |
| Win $1 | Lose $1 | Win $1 | Bet $2 |
Before we go any further, it’s worth noting that the Paroli betting system has stood the test of time. While it’s not certain who invented it, it’s usually attributed to Blaise Pascal, who was a French mathematician operating in the 17th century. Pascal also happens to be the man who invented the roulette wheel. So it would make sense he’d also have invented betting systems that work best on that game.
How the Paroli System Works
We’ve already given you a quick overview of the Paroli betting system. Now, it’s time to delve into the details of exactly how the Paroli betting system works.
- Identify the stake size you’ll be using. Technically you can use whatever you want here.
- Start small as you’re first learning the Paroli system, preferably using the minimal permissible stakes when playing casino games. Secondly, many bettors like to use – at most – 10% of their bankroll as their stake. This still gives you room for profit, but means you’re not risking too much on any one wager.
- Choose any 50/50 betting proposition. We’ll list a few suggestions shortly, but – for now – we’ll assume you’re just betting red/black on roulette.
- Pick a side of that proposition, and place your bet.
- If you lose, you simply bet again using the same stake.
- If you win, the system kicks in. You bet one more unit for your next wager. If that loses, you go back to one unit, and the cycle starts over again. If it wins, however, then you double your stake again.
Crucially, however, this is where the cycle ends. This stops it from simply being an anti-Martingale system, which would go on forever. It doesn’t matter how good you feel, or how much money you’ve made – after hitting three wins with the Paroli, you simply collect your winnings and either walk away, or start the cycle over again. That’s how the Paroli system works in essence.
Is It Effective?
Overall, the Paroli betting system isn’t the most ‘technical’ we’ve seen. Other betting systems, like the Labouchere system, for example, have a sound mathematical basis. If you don’t hit a very unlucky streak, you’ll be fine. The Paroli, by contrast, is essentially based on going on a ‘hot streak’.
That being said, it certainly has its advantages on even money bets. For starters, your losses should be limited. It’s also relatively realistic, since you only need to get three wins to complete a cycle. If you needed four, for example, it would be significantly riskier… but it’s certainly realistic to hope for three wins in a row.
To summarize, here are the main pros and cons of the Paroli betting strategy.
Pros
- Targets a realistic three wins in a row
- Doesn’t risk too much of your bankroll
- Will suit less aggressive, ‘slowly but surely’ bettors
Cons
- Doesn’t address the losing side of the equation – there’s nothing to stop you losing lots of wagers in a row, while using a full unit each time
- Only applicable to betting propositions with 50/50 outcomes
How to Use the Paroli Betting System
By now, you should have a solid idea of how the Paroli system works. The best way to learn such betting systems, however, is definitely by following examples. Here’s exactly how you might use the Paroli betting strategy for roulette.
Decide Your Unit Size
First, you need to decide what your basic stake will be. As noted above, we would recommend starting nice and slow here, and only ever risking 10% of your bankroll at most. In this case, we’ll assume you’re using a $10 stake.
Pick a Game
While you can technically choose any 50/50 game here, roulette is definitely the easiest way to get started. Simply load your online casino of choice, and load up one of its roulette games. Do remember that different games may have different rulesets (e.g. some roulette wheels, like those for European roulette, will have one ‘zero’ segment, while others will have two).
Place Your Bets
This is the easy part. Since you’re only using 50/50 propositions, you literally just need to pick one of your two available choices. Set your stake to $10, and place your bet. In this case, we can simply say that you guess the ball will land on red.
Follow the System
If you lose that first bet, you go right back and stake another $10 on red or black. If you win, you bet again, but this time using $20. If you also win that wager, you bet $40 the third time. If that bet wins too then the cycle is finished. You collect those winnings, and decide whether to try another round, or simply walk away.
Casino Games to Try Paroli Betting
The Paroli betting system is flexible, in the sense that you can use it on lots of different game It’s also inflexible, though, in that you can only use it on even odds bets. Try to do so with different odds, and you’re back to pure and simple gambling – the system will no longer work.
Here are four of the most popular game types for Paroli positive progression betting.
Roulette
No game is as closely connected with the Paroli betting system. As noted earlier, the system’s (supposed) creator even invented roulette wheels.
Playing roulette is to play a game of pure chance… but that’s also exactly what we’re looking for here. While more complex bet types won’t work, a simple red vs black on roulette is basically the trademark wager for the Paroli strategy.
Baccarat
Like roulette, baccarat is not only one of the most popular table games, but also one of pure luck. You’re simply guessing whose hand will be better – yours or the dealer – with absolutely no skill or further input involved.
Technically, you can bet the tie here. That’s already not advised by experienced baccarat players, however. And, if you simply stick to betting your hand or the dealer’s, you’re getting a classic 50/50 proposition which is perfect for the Paroli betting system. Want to try it out? Check out our list of the best baccarat casinos.
Craps
Craps is another game of pure luck, since you’re trying to predict the outcome of a random dice roll. Another way it’s similar to roulette is that – while there are a few bet types available here – you can simply go for straight, 50/50 wagers.
In this case, you’ll be using ‘odds bets’ for those. These aren’t as straightforward as just betting red or black, but still aren’t exactly rocket science, and any of them will allow you to use the Paroli betting system for craps.
Blackjack
Blackjack doesn’t quite, technically, have 50/50 odds. It comes extremely close though, with the house advantage only being around 0.5% (your odds, therefore, are 49.5%).
Naturally, this does assume perfect play on your part, since – if you hit in highly aggressive, unadvised ways – your odds of winning will be lower with this betting system. Since you can simply use a ‘cheat sheet’ with online blackjack though, which will tell you exactly what to do in every situation, this is much easier than it sounds.
Overall, blackjack isn’t a textbook fit for the Paroli system. It’s close enough, however, that it shouldn’t realistically make a big difference that your odds aren’t quite 50/50 when using the Paroli system for blackjack.
Sports Betting with the Paroli System
So far, we’ve focused exclusively on casino games for the Paroli system. They are indeed the main way in which most people will use the strategy, but there is an alternative.
Sports betting is also compatible with the Paroli. You will still need to make sure you stick to even-odds wagers. As long as you do, however, then there’s nothing to stop the Paroli working just as well as it does with casino games. You can use whatever bet types you like, on whatever sport you please, as long as the odds are 50/50.
These are the most more compatible sports bet types for Paroli betting progression:
- Heads/Tails Coin Toss
- Over/Under Total Points
- Money Line
- Spread Bets
As you know, all of these can be found on MLB, NBA, and NFL wagers. There’s also a wide variety of other big-time betting markets that will let you use the Paroli system for sports betting.
Variations of Paroli Betting Systems
With the Paroli system having been around for centuries, it won’t surprise you to learn that a few other betting systems have been created. Here are the two popular examples.
Extended Paroli System
For some gamblers, the fact that the Paroli betting system ends after only three wins is a major attraction, since it feels more realistic. Others may find this frustrating, however, since it somewhat limits your potential for profits.
That’s where the Extended Paroli system comes in. This is pretty straightforward – you just extend the sequence beyond the usual three wins. There’s no hard and fast rule to how far you take it, so you can basically create your own modified Paroli betting system.
Do be aware, however, that your chances of success will lower significantly with each extra bet you place. Your chances of hitting three wins in a row – on even-odds games – are 1/8. For winning five in a row, for example, they jump all the way to 1/32. As such, we’d definitely recommend not adding too many bets to your sequence, and/or lowering your stakes accordingly.
Inverted Paroli System
The Inverted Paroli system, as its name suggests, is basically the negative progression version of the regular Paroli betting system. Rather than focusing on wins here, the system will instead kick in after losses.
It starts out the same as the Martingale betting system, since you’ll be doubling your stake after losses. As with the regular Paroli, however, you’ll only do this a maximum of three times, after which the cycle is broken. If you win, you’ll just bank that as profit and keep betting the same stake (as you would if you lost with the normal Paroli).
On the one hand, this does offset the main issue with the popular Martingale, since it doesn’t assume an infinite bankroll. Your losses won’t get completely out of hand here. On the other hand, it also doesn’t replicate the main benefit of the Martingale, which is that – mathematically – you should get your losses back eventually.
In short, you could end up taking a loss with the Inverted Paroli… but it shouldn’t be a big one.
Should You Pick Paroli Betting System for Online Gambling?
Punters use betting systems because they offer extra guidance for their real money bets. The Paroli betting system does so in a way that will appeal to a specific type of bettor. In short, this is not necessarily the system for the more aggressive bettors out there.
Since you’ll only be doubling your stake size up to two times, and tapping out after three wins total, there is a built-in limit on your profits. If you’d like a higher-upside system, the 1-3-2-6 betting system might be more suited to your needs – its sequence goes one bet further, and your stakes will be significantly larger.
For the bettors who prefer a safer, slow-but-steady approach to betting, however, this will actually be the biggest appeal. There’s absolutely no guarantee you’ll hit three wins in a row, of course, but it’s a nice, realistic target. Set your starting stake at a reasonable level, and you won’t be taking on much risk here either as you target those profits.
Overall, the Paroli betting system is a solid example of positive progression. If you’re looking for a strategy to help you collect mid-sized profits on even-odds betting propositions, this is a fine choice.