The Martingale System - A Roulette Betting Strategy

Martingale System The Martingale system was developed in the 18th century as a way to beat games of chance where the odds of winning vs losing were 50/50. The most common application of this system at that time was in using to win in games involving the flip of a coin. The most common games to which the Martingale system is applied in modern times are roulette and baccarat.

The Martingale system is not named after any one person in particular. In fact, no one knows who was the initial inspiration behind it. This system is, however, known to almost every gambler even if they are not aware of its' name. The Martingale system is most often the first gambling system employed by gaming novices.

An Up As You Win Gaming System

The Martingales system is best described as an up as you lose system. Bet size is increased when after a bet lost. After a bet is made, you wait for a decision. If the outcome is a loss, then the bet is doubled. Should the next outcome be a win, then the cumulative result is a one unit win. This is the case no matter how many losses in a row are experienced as long as the next bet following a loss is exactly twice the size of the previous bet.

Let's take a look at the following example: The initial bet is one dollar($1). If that bet is lost, the next bet is two dollars ($2). If this bet is won, the net result is a one dollar profit. Two dollars won less one dollar lost on the previous or initial bet. Should the second bet also be a loser, then the next bet would be $4. If you win this bet, the net result is also one dollar. A $4 win less the previous bets of $1 and $2. This continues on into infinity as any win will make up for all previous losses plus one unit of profit.

The Reason Behind Gaming Table Limits

By now I am sure that you can see that a gambler with an unlimited bankroll would be a guaranteed winner as long as he/she continued to faithfully employ the Martingale system. I have used this system or variations of it with success in casinos myself. However, the casinos are not operated by fools. For this reason, they have installed upper bet limits to insure that you cannot keep doubling your bet forever.

Freak Gaming Streaks Do Happen.

The installed upper bet limits. You say "so what?". "There is no way such a bad streak such as 10 losses in a row will happen to me". The odds against it are prohibitive! To this I would replay that it can and will, just like it has happened to all of us. Walk by a roulette table with the lighted sign that displays the results of the last 10 or so rolls. Many times I have seen it all red or all black. Bad gambling streaks can and do happen, more than you think. About 10 years ago, I lotst 20 of 21 hands playing blackjack at the Imperial Palace casino in Las Vegas with my brother-in-law.

Consider this; many roulette tables in Vegas having a $5 minimum bet have a $500 maximum bet. If you started with a $5 bet an lost seven times in a row, your next bet would have to be $640 in order to break catch up with $320 in previous losses. The net result if you were to win this bet is a paltry $5. Hardly seems worth it now, does it.

Many gamblers have lost their entire bankroll due to bad streaks. Beware of this as a possible outcome when going to the casino with the intent of using the Martingale system. My advice is to use one of the various derivatives of this system we have posted on this site. The typically combine the martingale system with other systems or employ the use of stop loss caps to mitigate the risk of going bust at the table.