Everything A Player Needs to Know about the Martingale System

Roulette is a popular live casino game among recreational and avid gamblers alike. It is the very definition of a game of chance. Players watch a marble spin around and land haphazardly in one of many slots bordering a wooden wheel. It would seem that such a game could not possibly have any real strategy associated with it. However, this is an incorrect assessment. Almost as popular as the game itself is a tried and trusted strategy called the Martingale System. Martingale has been around for centuries and is still the trusted companion of many a professional gambler. Odds are anyone who frequents a Roulette table has encountered it at one time or another.

The basic idea is to use past data to predict future outcomes. So anytime a player doubles down following a losing wager they utilize Martingale. There is a little more to it of course, but that is essentially the main part of the strategy. The only requirements necessary for Martingale is that players wager on an even money bet. In the case of Roulette, this would be a red or black wager, or an odd or even wager. These are even bets because the odds are a lot better. It is almost a 50% certainty that a Roulette marble will land on either red or black. It is also close to 50% that the marble will find its way to an odd or even number. So placing a bet on one of these choices yields a better chance at victory. Martingale comes into effect after such a wager is made.

The idea is that if a player loses they immediately double down for the next spin. As the past result was one side of the coin the future prediction is that the other side will come up. So if a player doubles down and wins they essentially make up for their loss. So if a player bets red and it lands black, then they double down on red next spin as the marble will most likely hit red. If they bet $10 the first time around a double down wager of $20 and will win an additional $20. This ultimately wins back the previous $10 they lost. Now, what if it happens again? If lightning should strike twice the player just continues to double down until they eventually win. Because they continued to double their bet the eventual victory will win back all the lost money.

Pros

The biggest draw to the Martingale System is the odds. Generally, it is accepted that an even bet has about a 50% chance of winning. However, the odds of that choice being hit again go down. The second time around the odds of the ball hitting that same result drop to 25%. This means each time a player doubles downs the odds of them losing are diminished. Eventually, that marble has to hit the other side of the wager. By the seventh spin the odds of that choice being hit fall below 1% so it is near impossible that the player will lose. The second draw is that it utilizes even bets which are better choices anyway. So the player is already adopting a winning strategy.

Cons

The biggest con to Martingale is cost. Yes, by the seventh spin its darn near impossible for the player to lose. However, the player has to still have money at this point and if one continues to double down they may exhaust their bankroll before they get there. Additionally, streaks happen in Roulette and if a Martingale player gets on the wrong side of one it can be damaging to cost.