Ask any novice gambler which betting strategy is the most unprofitable and you will definitely get a clear answer – the Martingale system. However, if you ask the same question to an experienced player with many years of experience in this field, they will usually answer you with something other than the Martingale system.
There are few problems in the canon of world gambling literature that are more debated than the Martingale system. This betting system, which was developed in France in the 18th century, is designed for games in the heads/tails format, which means that you can also use it for some casino games with a similar betting pattern (i.e., a 50/50 return) such as blackjack or roulette.
If you want to delve deeper into this topic, keep reading. This article gives you a detailed look at how the Martingale works in a casino environment – first in blackjack and then in roulette.
Martingale in action: Blackjack
The Martingale system essentially requires you to double your previous bet every time you lose. For example, let's say your first bet that you lose in blackjack is $5. In that case, your bet should be $10.
This process continues until you win, so if you lose the second game, your next bet will be $20, and so on, and so on. This strategy essentially forces you to double your bet every time you lose, with the hope that you will eventually win.
Once you win, the logic of the system says that you will report a profit of one unit. One unit is equal to your initial bet. In the case presented, after losing three games in a row, we will have to bet $40 on the fourth game to win $80 and report a profile of $5 ($75 will cover our costs).
Martingale in action: Roulette
Similar to blackjack, if you lose a spin, you must double your bet on the next game. To ensure that the Martingale system is implemented well, you must limit your bets to red and black, high or low, or even and odd numbers (50/50 odds).
For example, a player bets $10 on red and loses on the first spin. He will then have to bet $20 on the next spin. If he loses again, he will have to bet $40 on the third spin. If he finally manages to hit the color, he will win $80, which means a net profit of $10.
Does Martingale really work? Wrong!
While the Martingale may seem like a great way to make money playing blackjack or roulette, it is not the solution to all your gambling problems. From a purely mathematical point of view, this system is bulletproof, but the real world of gambling is full of problems. The main problem with the Martingale is that it requires an extremely high bankroll.
To illustrate, if we consider your previous initial bet of $10, after just 6 losses you will have to bet $640. This is of course much more than most players can afford. And it is also the main reason why this roulette strategy doesn't really work very well.
Okay. What if you have an unlimited bankroll? In this situation (it should be noted that in an ideal world) the Martingale system would work. However, casino rules should not exist. They have a maximum betting limit for every online game, which makes it impossible to properly implement the Martingale system. Even if you could increase your bets indefinitely, the casinos will prevent you from doing so because they do not want your advantage.
Using the Martingale costs something
The Martingale system can only be successful if we can ensure its main principle: the ability to continue doubling your bets until you win back all your losses. If this betting pattern is disrupted for any reason, the Martingale system will collapse like a house of cards. Therefore, if you are trying to make some money playing blackjack or roulette, you should look for a slightly different strategy. While the Martingale can be quite successful on a small scale, you simply cannot rely on it as a comprehensive betting strategy.
