Just about everyone agrees that in order to play blackjack to win, it pays to stick to the blackjack basic strategy. This strategy is a series of moves based on cards that the player and dealer have been dealt. Blackjack is a skill-based game — it can be won consistently with a combination of smarts and luck.

But most people who faithfully play blackjack according to the basic blackjack strategy discover that although they may come out ahead some nights, mostly what they do is stay even. For some card players that's enough; for other gamblers, however, the idea is not just to have a good time playing blackjack the goal is also to win and win big. So what these players do is combine the blackjack playing strategy with some form of a betting system to possibly boost their take.

A betting system without the basic strategy is like an airplane without wings — a disaster waiting to happen and a way to lose altitude and money. But a betting system with a good strategy can — with luck — line a player's pockets significantly. Most betting systems are progressive betting systems and these can be divided into two kinds: positive and negative. A positive system builds on wins and a negative system builds on losses.

Some betting systems — like the D'Alembert and the Martingale — have been around for a long time. You can read about them in both online and paper books and articles. Some systems, however, are so sold on themselves that to find out about them, you have to pay money.

Rumors have it that the Trioplay system is good for players with small bankrolls and that it is a relatively conservative system. But considering how many free betting systems there are, it's hard to fathom why anyone would pay good money for the Trioplay. There is very little chance that it is anything but a variation of a different system and probably not a groundbreaking variation at that. If you want to jazz up your blackjack with a progressive betting system, go ahead, but go with a free one that is out there in the public domain. You have better things to do with your money —- like playing a few more hands of blackjack.

Bottom line advice: log onto the online casino, play online blackjack with the blackjack basic strategy, use one of the public domain blackjack betting systems if you think it will help you, and forget about paying for a commercial betting system like Trioplay. That's the way to get the most out of playing blackjack.