| Soccer, or football, betting is a multimillion dollar industry, | | | | disciplined gambler it can have positive results in |
| and like all major betting markets there are many | | | | contests that have 50-50 odds. This is why it remains |
| people that develop systems for making their bets. | | | | popular, but it is still only suitable for bets where there is |
| However, there are also many people that take betting | | | | roughly a 50% chance of winning and the game itself |
| systems from one type of game and then try to | | | | is random, such as in roulette. |
| modify these systems to make them work with other | | | | Applying this system to sports betting is just downright |
| types of games. These modified systems sound | | | | absurd. Unlike random games of chance like roulette |
| convincing to the novice gambler but often are utterly | | | | the skill of sports teams, and thus their performance, is |
| inappropriate. | | | | not random. Quite simply, some teams are better |
| In general, progressive betting systems involve making | | | | skilled than others and some teams are better at |
| a series of bets where each bet is based upon the | | | | playing under specific circumstances than others. With |
| results of the previous bet. While there are many | | | | a little research, one can make intelligent bets on sport |
| unique systems of progressive betting, many of the | | | | teams, an option that is unavailable for those playing |
| most common ones are variations of the Martingale | | | | random games of chance like roulette. There is no |
| betting system. In its simplest form, Martingale requires | | | | valid probability that all sports teams will eventually |
| the person using it to double the amount of the | | | | have an equal number of wins and losses and thus |
| previous bet at every loss on the assumption that they | | | | Martingale and derivatives makes no sense for sport |
| will eventually win and once they win they will get back | | | | betting. Nevertheless, one often sees betting systems |
| all of their lost bets as well as one unit of profit. | | | | on offer for sports betting that are essentially based |
| Mathematically, the system is unsound over the long | | | | on the traditional Martingale system and this is nothing |
| run; but if it is used on a short-term basis by a highly | | | | more than taking advantage of people's ignorance. |