Martingale Casino System: Pros and Cons

The Martingale system is actually a strategy developed for the roulette game. Therefore, it cannot be used as an 88 Fortunes slot machine strategy, for example. Slot machines are completely unpredictable and therefore, you cannot use any tactics or strategies. However, it is possible to use the Martingale strategy developed for roulette in other card and table games too. This is because the principles of the strategy can be adapted to such games. In fact, it is possible to use the Martingale system for all casino games out there, except for slot machines.

What Is Martingale Strategy?

First, let us explain what the Martingale strategy is. This is a progressive betting tactic, so you need to constantly increase the amount of bets. In simple terms, here’s what you need to do:

  • If you’re playing roulette, just deposit money into outside bets. These are odd/even and red/black. You can also use 1-18 and 19-36 betting options too. The reason you prefer them is that they are the options with the highest probability of winning. The likelihood of all these bets is about 48%, which is a pretty high figure. If you’re playing a different casino game, you still need to deposit money into options that are most likely to win.
  • If you do not win, you must double the stake in the next round and continue doing this until you win. Let’s say you start playing with 2 coins. If you lose, your next bets must be 4 coins, 8 coins, 16 coins, 32 coins, and… You get the idea. Each time, you are doubling the bet amount.
  • Theoretically, you may have to do this forever because there is no guarantee you will win. However, the Martingale system assumes that you will eventually win because it uses the bets with the highest probabilities. So even if your investment amount is constantly rising, you will be able to cover all your losses when you win.
  • Speaking of winning, you have to start from the beginning when you win. So start again with 2 coins and double the stakes each time.

The positive aspect of this strategy is that it really allows you to make a profit when you win. So if the strategy works, you can earn more than the total money you have invested. It is also legal to use this strategy, so you don’t have to worry about it. But these are the only positive things we can say about the Martingale system.

Cons of Martingale Strategy

The biggest problem of this strategy is that the amount of the bets increases exponentially. Have you heard the story about the rice grains placed on a chessboard? Even all the rice in the world was not enough to cover all the board. A similar situation goes for Martingale. Let’s say you started playing with 1 coin. In the 10th round, you need to place 512 coins. So if you don’t win after 10 rounds, you’ve already lost 512 coins. In the next round, you should place 1024 coins. Do you see the problem? If you don’t win in a short time, even a one-hour gambling session can make you bankrupt.

Moreover, there is no guarantee that you will win. The assumption that you will eventually win is due to a delusion called gamblers fallacy. This is a belief without any foundation: The fact that you lost in the previous round doesn’t mean that you have a better chance of winning in the next. Probabilities are recalculated each time. So you have the same chances to win in round 10 and in round 50. There is nothing ascending or descending. Casino games do not work like that. Even a simple heads/tails game does not work like that: The possibility of getting tails, for example, is the same for each throw. Of course, you think that “well, the result was heads for the last 10 throw, so the possibility of getting tails is increased” but, no, it does not work like that.

Another problem is that the Martingale strategy requires a very high budget. If you’re going to double your stakes every time, you have to have a pretty big budget. If you’re betting with limited resources, the Martingale strategy will be completely useless for you.

But the biggest problem is the payout: Martingale uses bets that are most likely to win. The problem is that the payout rates of these bets do not exceed 1: 1. So even if you win, it’s not possible to make a big profit. And the likelihood of this is very low, as we mentioned above.

Unfortunately, Martingale is not a useful strategy at all. Do not use this strategy in any casino game: You may experience very high financial losses and even go bankrupt. There is no system that offers 100% guarantee for roulette and other casino games. These are games of chance, so you just have to rely on your luck.