What is the Martingale & How to Use It?

You’ve probably heard about it as many times as the other guy you ran into who just learned how about betting strategies. It is true - the Martingale betting system can increase your chances of winning more in the short term. However, you will also lose more with the system when you lose in roulette. So if you had any theories about the Martingale being an easy way to make money off roulette, dispel them immediately!

It is a concrete fact that the Martingale system will increase your chances of winning. The Wizard of Odds, the highest gambling math authority in the world, regards all other systems as worthless compared to Martingale.

What Is the Martingale System?

For any betting system to be essentially ‘successful’, it has to increase your likelihood of winning more in the short term, not to beat the house edge. The Martingale System is effective in that, and it may come as a surprise, it is an age-old betting system as well. This is how it works:

Place a standard bet of $5 for example on reds. Now every time you manage to win, make sure that you place the same bet on the next hand. In this case, when you lose, you should double the bet on the next hand. This way, once you land a winning hand following a couple of losing hands, your total win will be $5. Now for each time you have a winning hand, the total win will increase by $5, regardless of the losses you made.

How to Use the Martingale System

I know that you’re a little confused with what the Martingale betting system actually is. Let me give you an example where Joe will tell you how it works:

Joe bets $5 and wins, so he bets another $5. If Joe loses after that, he will bet $10, and if he loses again, he will bet $20. He loses again, he bets $40, then $80, and so on. That’s when everyone around him starts saying, ‘It’s not your night man!’ However, then he lands and brings his net winnings on the series from $5 to $10. See how the system works?

When you can double the bet you lost on, you will be guaranteed to be ahead when you eventually win!

The Practical Side

For all its greatness, in theory, the Martingale betting system is not as effective when it comes to real life. You will eventually run out of money in one place or another. Once you do, you will pay much more than you thought and your pockets will be empty before you know it. For example, if Joe started with $5 and lost all thirteen betting hands in a row, which is possible, he will have to wield $40,960 from his magic wallet for the next bet. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather spend $40,000 on a vacation than coughing it up on a roulette table!

The Martingale Betting System, to conclude, is highly effective if you’re on vacation and have only a couple of hours to spend on the casino, or if you have a lucky charm by your side!