The Martingale System
Dan Panzariu
The Martingale System
The Martingale system for playing roulette is easy to use, clear and makes sense which is why it is a very popular system for beginners and roulette rookies who want to try and beat the system and win some easy money. It is also one of the oldest strategies around.
Other systems that are out there can feel like they need a good mathematical understanding, so the Martingale system can seem like one of the better systems to try our first with its easy to understand concept. However like all systems there is still a lot of risk and although attractive to new players it is usually avoided by experienced players.
How to use the Martingale System
This system only offers the chance of a small payout each time to play dependant on your level of betting as it relies on placing bets on the table where the odds of winning are almost 50%. This being Odd or Even, Red or Black and the number blocks 1-18 and 19-36. Betting on these give you the maximum odds of winning. Alongside this the Martingale system is based on doubling your bets if you lose and continue to do so up until you win. At that point you will recover all your losses and be ahead of the game by the amount of your original first bet.
Decide how much 1 unit will be; this could be anything you want, but make sure you keep it affordable as you’ll be increasing your wager from this point on. When you lose, double your previous wager. When you win, return to betting 1 unit at a time. You’ll want to be making outside bets, specifically even ones. This includes red/black, odd/even and high/low. These bets will give you best chances of winning, so you don’t have to worry about minimising your losses as you’re nearly guaranteed to get them back quickly.
So first you need to decide how much your minimum bet will be. As an example will will just call your first bet ‘one chip’ but this value will be whatever you decide . Based on the areas of the table discussed earlier for using this strategy we will choose to bet on black. Therefore you will place you first bet (one chip) on black fro this first spin. If you win then great, you are already ahead.
However, if you lose then you would bet on black again but double your bet. You now have 2 chips on the table. If you lose again then you double again and on the next spin place 4 chips on black. A third spin after a loss would be 8 chips.
As long as you still have funds available within your set budget (it is always good to have a limit you are prepared to lose and do not exceed this) you can continue this strategy until you win. When a win comer in you will regain all your losses and be ahead by 1 chip.
Does the Martingale System Work?
In theory it sounds like a good strategy, however you have to always bear in mind that there is always a house advantage with the green zero and there is no way to compensate for the house advantage.
The concern with this strategy which can cause it to fail is that if you lose consistently then you are going to hit your funding limit and basically run out of money. The other issue is that even if you have the funds to continue you could hit the table limit at which point you are unable to continue doubling your bet and will have no way of recovering your losses.
Try it Out for Yourself
Sometimes it is worthwhile to try a system out for yourself, and a roulette bonus is a good way to test the strategy without risking too much of your own money.
Once you're comfortable with how it plays out, a casino sign up bonus can top up your balance when you're ready to try it for real.
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Scott McGlynn draws on over 30 years of sports betting and casino experience, bringing data-led insights and first-hand knowledge to our readers. An authoritative and trusted voice in the gambling industry, Scott ensures our readers are always informed on the very latest sports and casino offerings.
