Martingale System Roulette Winning Strategy

Learn How to Beat Roulette with the Martingale Betting Strategy

© Nicolas McGregor

Dec 26, 2008
European Roulette Wheel, Wikipedia Commons, Lars H. Rohwedder
The Martingale system is considered as one of the best European roulette systems known. But is playing Martingale roulette really a winning gambling strategy?

The Martingale system was devised in 18th Century France as a mathematically proven winning gambling strategy in games of luck that had an even chance, such as a coin-flip. Adapted for roulette, the Martingale system is played exclusively on the European roulette wheel, with its single green “zero”, and never the American-style “double-zero” table.

Using the Martingale system does require a substantial initial bankroll, but advocates of the strategy claim that the roulette payout will quickly cover this starting stake.

Winning Gambling with the Martingale Process

Playing Martingale roulette is surprisingly simple. The Martingale process is as follows:

  • Select a color to bet on, red or black. Stick to this color for the entire roulette session.
  • Bet the lowest denomination on the chosen color. For example, a dollar.
  • If the chosen color lands, the player has won back the amount bet plus one dollar, and the Martingale process starts again with a lowest denomination bet.
  • If the chosen color does not land, double the initial bet. For example, if the last bet was for a dollar, the new bet is for 2 dollars.
  • If the chosen color does not land again, double the bet again. For instance, if the last bet made was for 2 dollars, now bet 4 dollars.
  • Continue doubling the bet each time the chosen color does not win. Statistically, the chosen color has to eventually win. By doubling the bet each time, the player will recoup the amount already lost, plus the value of the initial bet, in this case, a dollar.
  • Once the chosen color wins, the Martingale process begins again, with a lowest denomination bet on the chosen color.

By doubling the bet with every successive loss, the Martingale system theorizes that a win of the minimum bet is inevitable, as the color chosen to bet on, governed by the law of averages, must eventually land.

The Anti-Martingale System

A variation on the Martingale betting strategy is the anti-Martingale roulette system. The anti-Martingale process is the same as the Martingale system, except instead of doubling a bet each time a bet is lost, the player instead doubles the bet each time a bet is won. When a bet is lost, the Martingale starts again, with a bet of the lowest denomination.

Martingale Betting Strategy: Best Roulette System?

The Martingale system has one major weakness. It presupposes that the gambler has unlimited funds. Should a player bet only on red, the likelihood of a chain of 10 or more successive blacks hitting are mathematically slim. However, as experienced players of games of chance know, one in a million chances seem to happen nine times out of ten.

And so, even though the probability of encountering a mathematically rare lengthy string of losing bets in a single sitting is unlikely, repeated play means that such an event is inevitable. And when this event occurs, following the Martingale betting strategy will break the bankroll of all but the wealthiest of high-rollers.

For example, beginning with a single dollar bet, 20 successive losing bets will require $524288 to see spin number 21. And due to the single green “zero”, the odds remain slightly less than even that this spin will be a winning spin.

Another flaw in the Martingale betting strategy is the assumption that a casino will allow a player to infinitely double their bets. Every reputable gambling house has a table betting limit, which prevents a player from doubling a bet after a given number of spins of the roulette wheel.

While there are a number of online casinos that advertise that they do not enforce a table betting limit, sharing credit card information with such sites is probably more of a gamble than playing any amount of roulette.


The copyright of the article Martingale System Roulette Winning Strategy in Games is owned by Nicolas McGregor. Permission to republish Martingale System Roulette Winning Strategy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.


European Roulette Wheel, Wikipedia Commons, Lars H. Rohwedder
Learn Martingale System Roulette, Wikipedia Commons
     


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