• Martingale System Roulette
• Martingale Betting System In Roulette

Within the game of roulette, one system stands tall as the go to for players looking for an easy to understand, straightforward, winning strategy. The Martingale system has been used for over two centuries and continues to be the most popular roulette strategy choice for players. In this guide, you will learn exactly how the Martingale roulette strategy works, both in theory and in practice.

Further to this, we will give you an in-depth understanding of how the Martingale odds play out over the course of a game before discussing whether or not the system is technically legal. Finally, we will compare the Martingale roulette system against other well-known systems before ending with some of its shortcomings.

Martingale Roulette System – The Theory

Of course, this is roulette, so you might be really unlucky and hit the table limits after a sequence of losses. This system is also known as the Cubic Martingale for obvious reasons. If one of your numbers comes in, you’ll be paid out 2:1 So say you bet 1 on each column (total 2), you’d get £2 back, plus your winning bet. The Martingale System is beautiful in that way, it is a guaranteed winning roulette betting strategy in the long run, given that you have enough resources to cover the exponentially growing bets. Martingale betting system for roulette appeared more than 200 years ago in France. Since then, this betting system has been of great interest not only to roulette players: gamblers use this strategy in.

19 hours ago  The Anti-Martingale System. It’s true, there really is an anti-Martingale system when it comes to betting on roulette. It was created because the original Martingale system was highly. The Martingale Betting System The Martingale system is very simple. Your aim is to win an amount equal to your original roulette bet size. You’ll do it by placing this bet on either red or black at the wheel (you could also bet.

With origins dating back to the 1800s, the Martingale system descends from probability theory where within a sequence of fixed random variables, there will always be a point where the next value will be equal to the present value. Now don’t run away. With a simple example, this theory becomes very straight forward and easy to understand. First, think about a person continually betting on the outcome of flipping a coin where the outcomes are fixed – heads wins and tails loses. If the person betting was to double their bet after every loss, a win would recover all previous losses in one bet plus a profit equal to the first bet in the sequence. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the the following section below and you will see it for yourself.

The idea behind this system is that at some point, you have to win, and this win will recover all your previous losses, plus one unit of profit. In layman’s terms, double up until you win! By now, I’m sure you can see the attractiveness of such a system when utilised as a roulette strategy.

Martingale System in Practice

Now that you have a better understanding of how the Martingale system works in theory, let’s have a look at a practical example in roulette. Similar to the above coin example, players will choose a ‘relatively’ even-money bet. I say relatively because in roulette, these are not exactly 50 bets but we will discuss that in more detail later. In roulette these bets can be on low (1-18) or high (19-36) numbers, odd or even numbers or the most commonly used bet on red or black. For this example, we will be betting £1 on the probability that the ball lands on red.After the first spin, if the ball lands on red, we are very happy and have won our first bet with a profit of £1. If the ball lands on black and we have lost, at this point we will double our original bet from £1 to £2. If the ball then lands on red, we will have recovered our previous lost bet of £1 plus an additional unit of profit £1. If on our second spin, the ball lands on black and we lose again, we will continue doubling our bets on red until we win. No matter how long it takes, or the size of the bet, we will eventually win and recover our original bet.

But how will this strategy hold up if we lose five games in a row? The answer is: completely fine. Check out the above example and you will see just how straight forward the Martingale roulette system is in action.

Martingale Odds: Working Out Your Risk

The secret to the Martingale roulette strategy is really no secret at all; it’s a simple numbers game. As referenced earlier, the success of the system is down to the assumption that at some point, after a series of losses, you have to win, and with this win, you can recover all of your losses plus one unit of profit. So how can we believe that a player will eventually recover all of his or her losses? In order to demonstrate this theory, we have outlined in the table below how a player can recover all of their losses, even after losing nine games in a row by utilising the Martingale strategy.

So, the Martingale theoretical approach implies that, for instance, if you lose nine games in a row and double your bet on the following tenth spin, you will recover all of your losses and come out with a profit of plus one. Once you land a win after a series of consecutive losses, you start anew. The Martingale odds are stacked in your favour! Of course, Martingale only strictly works theoretically if you have the bank roll to support it.

Is the Martingale Strategy Legal?

As it stands, the use of the Martingale roulette system is perfectly legal. However, casinos do have countermeasures in order to decrease its effectiveness. One measure is to put in place maximum betting limits which mean, if a player is in a deep losing streak, there will come a point where they can no longer place a high enough bet to cover all their losses. For example, if a casino has a £500 maximum betting limit and a player has lost a £275 bet, they will not be able to double it £550. Another countermeasure to help reduce the players’ odds of successfully utilising the Martingale strategy is the fabled ‘other’ colour on the roulette wheel; the green. The green slots are filled with the number zero. In European Roulette there is only one slot and thus one zero, whereas in the American version there are two slots, one for zero and another for double zero. These green zeros represent the house edge. In European Roulette the green spread is worth 2.7% giving the house an edge of 51.35% in total. In American roulette, with two green slots, the spread is worth 5.26% giving the house an even bigger advantage of 52.6%.

Other Roulette Systems

Now that you’ve dipped your finger and got a taste of what the Martingale strategy has to offer, let’s see how it compares to some of the other more niche systems available to roulette players today. The following two are just a preview of the available betting systems. If you’re interested in finding out more about the existing strategies, we would recommend our comprehensive guide to roulette systems.

• Counts on winning and losing streaks
• Bet same after a loss
• Up wager by one unit after a win
• Less flexible than Martingale

• Advocates betting on 20+ numbers
• Numbers should be spread well
• Aims to reduce potential losses
• Somewhat chaotic, yet very flexible

The Oscar’s Grind system is based on the idea that there are periods of both winning streaks and losing streaks. In brief, when you lose a bet, you bet the same amount and when you win, you raise the bet by one unit. The method can withstand many bad runs however, the Martingale system is far more resistant to alternating wins and losses in short streaks.

The Kavouras system involves betting different amounts on at least 20 numbers chaotically spread around the roulette wheel. This method eliminates possible dealer interference, places several defensive numbers in play to minimise potential future losses and offers the opportunity for big wins. The system is deliberately very chaotic and flexible, however, if you prefer a far more standardised system that you can follow, the Martingale strategy is the one for you.

The Downfall of the Martingale System

As with any roulette system, both pros and cons exist and the Martingale strategy is not without its flaws. If it was foolproof, we would all be millionaires by now! Theoretically, the Martingale system is really sound, however in reality, there are two gaping holes which cannot be ignored. Firstly, the theory assumes players have an unlimited bankroll and can withstand huge losses. For most people, this is not the case. Secondly, open-ended table limits very rarely exist. As discussed above, many casinos impose maximum betting limits on their roulette tables in order to inhibit players from recovering from large losses.

Whilst it is statistically very unlikely that you will ever be unlucky enough to lose eight, nine, even ten spins in a row, it will eventually happen. At the end of the day, the roulette wheel doesn’t know you or remember your previous spins. In every spin, you either win or you *cough*die*cough* lose.

Conclusion

Whilst not completely fool proof, the Martingale roulette system can be a very useful way to ease yourself into a game of roulette and familiarise yourself with the mathematical side of gambling and odds. It is a very interesting theory and certainly worth testing out, but should always be played with low stakes at first. That said, if you prefer a high stakes game, we would recommend our guide to the best high stakes online casinos in the UK. If you want to find out more about roulette, check out our guide to the best online roulette casinos in the UK. Set yourself profit goals and loss limits so you don’t get carried away and above all, enjoy yourself!

I love writing about roulette betting systems because it gives me a chance to show off both my English skills and my math skills. And since no roulette betting system works in the long run, I get to educate and perform a public service — warning people off some of the slick system-sellers who make money from your naivete.

You might be surprised to know, though, that I love to use roulette betting systems when I’m actually gambling.

Yeah, I know you can’t win in the long run with such a system.

But I get bored playing roulette without some kind of system.

And sometimes, in the short run, these systems do work exactly as intended.

Here are my seven favorite roulette systems for you to try:

1 – The Martingale System

The most famous of all betting systems is the Martingale System, and it’s also one of the easiest systems to use. If you can double a number, you can use the Martingale System.

To use the system, you just place an outside bet at the roulette table – one of the bets that pays off at even money. This could be red or black, odd or even, or high or low.

If you win that bet, great!

If you lose, though, you bet again – doubling the size of your previous bet.

Martingale System Roulette

You continue with this progression even when you lose multiple times in a row, doubling your bet every time you lose.

If you start with a $5 bet, you’ll bet $10 after losing once, $20 after losing twice, and $40 after losing three times in a row.

Eventually, when you do have a win, you’ll win back the amount of all your previous losses and show a $5 profit.

The Martingale System sounds foolproof at first glance, and it would be foolproof except for two things.

• The first is that you don’t have an unlimited bankroll.
• The second is that the casino has a maximum betting limit.

And when you’re doubling the size of your bets, the bets can get so big so fast that you either can’t cover them because you’re out of money or because the casino won’t let you bet that much on the next spin.

Let’s say you’re playing in a game with a $5 minimum bet and a $500 maximum bet, which isn’t an unusual set of limits.

How many losses in a row do you need before you bang against the maximum bet?

1. $5
2. $10
3. $20
4. $40
5. $80
6. $160
7. $320

Lose seven times in a row, and you can’t make the next bet in the progression.

Plus, you’ve lost $495 up until this point.

Of course, in the short run, the Martingale System works a lot of the time, but you don’t usually show much profit.

In the long run, you’ll eventually hit a big enough losing streak to wipe you out.

2 – The Paroli System

The Paroli System is the opposite of the Martingale System. In fact, you’ll sometimes see it called the “Reverse Martingale.”

Instead of doubling the size of your bets after you lose, with the Paroli System, you double them after a win.

Once you’ve won a specific number of bets in a row (usually three), you return to your initial bet size.

The idea is that you’ll be taking advantage of the occasional winning streaks that are inevitable in a game of random chance like roulette.

You bet $5 on red, so you bet $10 on red on the next spin. You win again, and now you bet $20 on red.

If you win, you’ve won a total of $35 over three spins of the wheel.

And you start over again betting $5.

Of course, in the long run, the Paroli System works no better than the Martingale System, and for the same reason:

Changing the sizes of your bets does nothing to change the odds of winning or losing.

Also, you have no way of predicting when a color gets “hot.”

That’s only visible in retrospect.

3 – The Labouchere Betting System

The Labouochere betting system isn’t one of my favorites because it’s more complicated than I’d prefer.

But it’s not that complicated that you can’t master it.

Here’s how it works:

You start with a list of bets of varying sizes in order from smallest to largest.

For example, you might write 10, 20, 30, and 40 down on a notecard in a row.

You start by placing the lowest bet on the card. If you win that bet, you cross out the first and last numbers on the card.

If you lose that bet, though, you add the size of that bet to the last number in the series. 10 + 40 is 50, so your list would become 10, 20, 30, 40, 50.

You play until you run out of money or until all the bets are crossed off.

You could also eventually run into the same problem you have with the Martingale. You might hit a bet size that’s higher than the table limit or that your bankroll won’t accommodate.

4 – The Grand Martingale System

If you’re not afraid of risk, the Grand Martingale System might be just the ticket for you. It works just like the Martingale System but with one big difference.

Instead of doubling the size of your bet after each loss, you triple the size of your bet after each loss.

Martingale Betting System In Roulette

The advantage of the Grand Martingale System is that you’ll see bigger winning sessions when you do win.

The disadvantage is that the bet sizes will get much larger much faster, which means you’ll hit your bankroll or maximum bet limits sooner.

Here’s a Grand Martingale progression starting with $5:

1. $5
2. $15
3. $45
4. $135
5. $405

Notice after just five losses, you must place a bet higher than the table limits of $500 to continue with the progression?

It’s a fun way to play, but it’s still a loser in the long run.

5 – The Hollandish System

The Hollandish System is a gentler roulette system because you don’t raise or lower your bets as often as in other systems. Instead of raising your bet after your first one, you make three bets at a certain amount before raising the size.
The Hollandish System also takes it a little easier on you by not requiring you to raise your bets by as much. You use a specific progression, as follows:

• 1
• 3
• 5
• 7
• 9

So if you start by betting $5, when you get to the next level, you’ll bet $15. And then $25, and so on.

You only move up in levels if you’ve shown a net loss from the three previous bets.

For example, you start with a $5 bet. You win twice, but you lose once. You’re showing a net profit, so you stay at that level for another three-bet streak.

Your buddy, though, lost twice and won once. After three bets, he moves up to betting $15 per bet for the next three bets.

One of the big advantages to this system is that you don’t have to increase the size of your bets as much during an extended losing streak.

Here’s what a progression would look like with six losses in a row using the Martingale System:

1. $5
2. $10
3. $20
4. $40
5. $80
6. $160

But with the Hollandish System, your bets would look like this:

1. $5
2. $5
3. $5
4. $15
5. $15
6. $15

You’ve lost significantly less money on this losing streak using the Hollandish System.

6 – The Hot Number System

This isn’t even a betting system, really. It’s just an attempt to win some money by betting on the “hot” roulette numbers.

To put this system into action, just look at the board at the roulette table showing the numbers that have hit over the last 10 or 20 spins.

Find the number that’s been hit the most often.

Bet on it.

Keep betting on it until another number gets “hotter.” (That just means it’s won more times over the last 10 or 20 spins than your original hot number.

The idea is that you’ll catch a table that isn’t perfectly calibrated and win money based on the higher probability of catching that hot number.

7 – Orson’s Go Big or Go Home System

This one is a system of my own devising. I like the idea of stop-loss limits and win goals, even though I understand that they don’t improve my probability of winning.

With my go big or go home system, I want to win a 35 to 1 payout or go broke, whichever comes first.

I start with about 40 bets of $5, or $200. That’s my loss limit. (I’m not willing to lose more than $200 playing roulette in a single session, almost ever.)

I then choose a number, and I keep betting on that number until it hits, or I run out of money.

Depending on when it hits, I make a big profit or a small profit.

And here’s what I do if I really want to hit it big:

• I let my profits ride so that I can win two jackpots.
• So I bet $5 on 16 and win 35 to 1.
• Now I bet $180 on that number. That’s my winnings plus my original $5 bet.
• If I win this one, it’s time to call it quits, because I’ve hit the jackpot — a cool $6300.

It’s like playing a slot machine with a $6300 jackpot, but my odds of winning are better than they would be on a slot machine game.

What are the odds of winning?

The odds of winning that bet once are 1/38, or 37 to 1.

1/38 X 1/38 = 1/1444, or 1443 to 1.

I’m still trying to win using this system.

Conclusion

That’s basically just a list of my favorite seven roulette betting systems to use. I want to warn you again that none of these work in the long run.

Betting systems are not advantage systems.

Do you have a favorite roulette system that I didn’t cover here?

Leave a comment and let me know.