Betting on Roulette with the Martingale System

How to Use the Martingale System

The Martingale system works best with even money bets. In the case of roulette these are outside bets with almost 50% chance of winning. Thus, you would be looking at betting on red or black, odd or even, and 1-18 or 19-36. All of these bets pay even money at 1:1 and have almost a 50/50 chance of winning. The only reason why it is not exactly 50% is because of the neutral green 0 or 00, but they still offer the best chance of winning.

What Does Martingale Betting Look Like?

As mentioned, the Martingale system is a negative progression betting strategy. This means your bets are constantly growing after losing. In fact, the system calls for you to double your bet after a loss. Therefore, if you are sitting at a table with a €1 minimum bet and hit a fifteen bet losing streak, your bets would look like this::

1 – 2 – 4 – 8 – 16 – 32 – 64 – 128 – 256 – 512 – 1024 – 2048 – 4096 – 8192 – 16284

The main reason why we suggest starting with the minimum bet allowed is because of the steep rise in bets after losing. Assuming your first five spins are unsuccessful, your bet will already be €16, and you will have lost €15.

When you do place a winning bet, you should immediately return to your original stake and start the process again. Thus, looking back up at the example again, if your sixth bet is a winner, you will have won €32 – having bet €31 – and made a €1 profit. Your seventh bet should go back to the original stake, which is €1.

This is the reason why the Martingale betting system is so popular. Technically, you could always make a profit by using the strategy over a long period of time. However, this would only prove to be the case if you had an unlimited budget and the table didn’t have an upper betting limit. The reality is, there are many reasons why the Martingale may fail. We will discuss them later on.

The Martingale versus the House Advantage

Theoretically, the Martingale system could beat the house, if the odds of winning an even money outside bet was 50%. However, due to the green 0, the house has the edge. The chances of winning 1-18 or 19-36, even or odd and red or black is not 50%, it is 48.6% (on a European or French Roulette table). For American Roulette, with a 0 and 00, the odds of winning on one of those bets is 47.2%. Because of the 0 and 00, the odds are never in your favour to win. Hence, the saying: the house always wins.

Why a Large Bankroll is Important for the Martingale

Arguably, the Martingale system is a successful strategy for reclaiming losses and winning a minor profit every round. However, there are certainly some flaws with the system. One of them is that it can eat through your bankroll extremely quickly. After several rounds that do not win, your stake will have grown considerably. Thus, if you do not have the bankroll to fund the strategy, its best you opt for another betting strategy.

Another flaw with the Martingale is that you make as much of a profit on a €1 bet as you do on a €4096 bet. In both cases, your profit will only be €1. This is certainly not too appealing, given the pressure that comes with betting such a large amount.

A 10 Round Losing Streak

To demonstrate, we will take a look how much a 10-round losing streak will cost you and what the odds are of such a streak. First, however, keep in mind that the odds for American Roulette and European Roulette will differ. Here is how:

• American Roulette: The chances of falling into a 10-round losing streak is 0.1275%
• European Roulette: The chances of falling into a 10-round losing streak is 0.1631%

To make this calculation, we have focused on 19 out of 37 numbers for European Roulette and 20 out of 38 numbers for American Roulette (when placing even money bets). The reason being, we have to include the green 0 and 00.

For instance, if you bet on an odd number to land, the chances of it not falling are 18 even numbers and the neutral 0. If you play ten rounds, and the first six bets are even, the 7th bet is 0 and the ninth and tenth are even again, you will have lost 10 in a row.

When looking at European Roulette for a moment, the odds of an odd number not landing in 10 rounds is 1:784. However, this is the odds only at the start of playing. Each time an even number of 0 falls, the odds increase, as you are racking up losses.

When using the Martingale with a €1 starting bet, the statistics suggest that you are likely to win €784 before going on a losing streak of 10. Incidentally, a losing streak of 10 will cost you €1023. This is why the Martingale is useful to increase your chances of winning in the short term. However, in the long term, the losses are larger than the winnings. This is one of the reasons why the Martingale system is risky to use.

How Casinos Stop Players from using the Martingale

Another thing to consider is the steps that casinos take to stop players from using the system. Most roulette tables have upper betting limits. When sitting at a table with a maximum bet amount, you may not be able to use the Martingale system to full affect. If the betting is capped at €500, after nine unsuccessful bets, you will not be able to place a tenth bet following the strategy and reclaiming back your losses. However, there may be a way round this. If you have the funds to bet such large amounts, then you could switch play to a VIP table that has a higher betting limit.

Closing Remarks

The Martingale system is the most popular roulette strategy in the world. It is a fantastic option for making small winnings over the short term and it is very easy to master. However, in the long run – because of the house advantage – you are likely to lose more than win.

The issue with the Martingale system is that you must have a bankroll to fund the strategy. It is an expensive betting system that must be followed strictly. Thus, if you want to play with this strategy, make sure that you plan your budget and bets carefully, and keep an eye on the table’s maximum bet.