What Is Flat Betting? Flat Betting Tips & Tricks

Flat betting refers to the practice of placing the same stake with every wager you place at sportsbooks, or through offline and online casinos for real money. It’s a tactic designed to mitigate risk by ensuring that you’re taking the same risk every time, and not spilling away more betting juice than you’d be comfortable losing. 

Flat bets aren’t about hitting the biggest jackpot – rather, these flat bets are meant to hedge risk for a higher likelihood of hitting a (somewhat smaller) reward. Rather than playing the game on hard mode and going straight for fighting Mike Tyson, you’re only trying to punch within your weight class. 

That way, even if you lose, you can easily dust yourself off knowing that you only lost, say, around 1-5% of your bankroll. This type of betting strategy is popular with sportsbooks and casino table games like roulette, craps, and baccarat. Whether you have your heart set on playing the best Michigan online casinos, best NJ online casinos, or best casinos anywhere in the world, here’s how you can use this strategy effectively.

Flat Betting Strategy

If you’re a novice casino player who doesn’t have much prior experience with largely chance-based table games like craps, baccarat, and roulette, then it’s advised that you only set aside 1-2% of your overall bankroll with each bet you place.

If you have more experience with such games, then you may be able to stretch bets to 5% of your bankroll. This strategy primarily works with fixed odds on free casino online (or offline) games, as progressive games require you to change your bet with each move.

Even blinds and antes – forced bets in poker, gradually rise throughout the game, hence the phrase “upping the ante” (for more on that particular betting system, read this guide). So if you’re intent on playing as a flat bettor, play games specifically with fixed odds or a fixed return-to-player percentage. 

Here’s how you can implement this strategy in both baccarat and roulette, and how you can implement it with a second chance through one big online casino no deposit bonus!

Flat Betting – Baccarat

Baccarat is a game where two cards are each dealt to the player and the “banker”. The ideal objective here is to get to as close to a numerical value of nine as possible. Flat betting is an ideal tactic with this game, because while the house (or banker) innately has an advantage and is more likely to win than not, that edge is pretty marginal compared to games like the types of slots you’d find at free sweeps cash casinos. 

So while you’re inevitably bound to take some hits playing baccarat, statistically speaking, flat betting ensures that those hits have a marginal impact and you can stay in play longer, increasing the odds that one of your own bets will hit.

Flat Betting Roulette Strategy

In roulette, it’s ideal to practice flat betting with both straight-up and inside bets (more on those in this helpful guide). Because inside bets have longer odds of hitting, it’s helpful to play with low stakes, so you can stay in the game longer and have better odds of a spin hitting. 

When you’re more likely to take Ls, it’s helpful to temper the size and scale of those Ls, that way you’ll have more shots at taking home Ws. But will you have a better shot taking them home betting flats or betting units?

Flat Betting vs. Unit Betting

These might seem like two synonymous terms, but surprisingly, they aren’t. Whereas flats are fixed with no variance in each wager, units entail scaling wagers depending on the estimated value of a bet.

In sports betting, units are often scaled in multiples of 1 to 10 – depending on the odds, you may just want to stake one unit or all ten. Your mileage may vary on the merits of unit betting with free casino online games, just as it may vary with flat betting. 

In any case, you can bet up to $50 both ways RISK-FREE, thanks to this great DraftKings online casino free signup bonus, no deposit required!

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