Using the Martingale System When Playing Roulette

Posted by Harry Kane on Friday, August 26, 2016

Roulette is a game of chance – no other way to go about it. The outcome is completely random, and depends on a single spin of the wheel. There is absolutely no way for players to predict what the winning number will be, or influence a certain outcome in any way. What players can do, however, is to bet smart. Knowing the odds, choosing a suitable roulette bonus and utilising a good strategy is key to winning at roulette, even though it’s strictly a game of chance.

In this article, we will talk about the Martingale – one of the most famous and widely used roulette strategies in the world. Players like it for its simplicity, ease-of-use, and the logical reasoning behind it. We will teach you how to use this system, and then warn you of its potential dangers – which is something many amateur players are not aware of.

The Martingale Strategy

The concept of the Martingale system is pretty simple – you increase your bet after every loss, so when you eventually win, you will make up for the money you lost, and start playing with your initial bet again. Sounds pretty logical, right? You don’t need any advanced math skills or extremely high IQ to understand and implement the Martingale in your playing style. You start with a small bet – preferably the table minimum, and double up every time you lose. Once you win, bet the smallest amount again – and so on.

This system works best on even money bets – 1-18, 19-36, Even, Odd, Black, and Red. Since the odds of those bets winning are close to 50%, the system should work as intended. The progression that you can use as a reference should go like this:

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

While it might seem that this strategy is flawless, the harsh truth is that there are many problems with it, and a lot of situations where the Martingale has a high chance of screwing you over. Let’s take a look at what is good and bad about it in detail.

Pros & Cons

The main advantage of this system is the fact that it really is capable of bringing you small winnings in the short run. Also, it is really simple and requires little to no thought at all in order to be properly executed. What many players don’t know, however, is that the Martingale is a high-risk system, which can drag you down with a lot of money.

The main problem here is the fact that even money bets do not have a 50% chance to win. On a standard European roulette, the odds are exactly 48.6%, because of the green zero pocket. This means that the casino always has an advantage, and you will almost always end up losing more money than what you’ve won. The Martingale makes losing streaks really, really punishing.

Because of the steep progression, a losing streak might result in you wagering outrageous amounts of money, just so you can recover for your losses. And, don’t forget, there is no guarantee that you ever will! Having this in mind, you probably realise that the Martingale has the potential to literally drain out your available funds, only to result in a minor profit.

Be Careful When Using the Martingale!

The Martingale roulette system is risky, and it is not advisable to use it in the long run. In the end, the amount of money you’ve lost will almost surely be more than the amount you’ve won. However, for short runs, it might prove useful. Make sure you bet smart and play it safe – otherwise, you might be in for some bad surprises. Good luck!